Healthy Homemade Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Your favorite Halloween candy? Go: ______! If you say "Reese's" then you will love my recipe for Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups with a healthier sweet and salty peanut butter filling and smooth dark chocolate shell! Mine was the mini Aero bars. I was obsessed with Aero as a kid... and then Caramilk and then Reese's cups. Halloween candy is so great, and then when you taste it 20 years later you're like, "Whoa, that's sweet!" These homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are not only delicious, but they are good for you! They taste just like Reese's peanut butter cups, except way better. They're made with just 4 ingredients and you can use the darkest chocolate you can find. It's up to you.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Fast & easy to make - this simple treat comes together in just one bowl with only 5 ingredients. It's a great treat to make with kids. Once the filling comes together, you simply portion it out and form little disks or patties. It's that easy!
• No-Bake dessert - there's no baking involved to make peanut butter cups. You simply mix some ingredients together and fill it into a chocolate-coated muffin paper.
• No special equipment required - if you have a standard muffin pan and paper liners, you can make these in a jiffy!
• Rich peanut butter flavor - if you love peanut butter, then you will certainly love these because they are so much more flavorful than store-bought Reese's peanut butter cups.
• Dark chocolate coating - I love the contrast of semi-sweet chocolate with the slightly sweet and salty peanut butter filling.
• Gluten free and vegan - these homemade peanut butter cups are naturally gluten free, dairy free and vegan as well so everyone can enjoy them.
• Better than Reese's - the texture of the filling is just perfect. It's very similar to a Reese's peanut butter cup, but without the hydrogenated oils and all that sugar. Plus, these have intense peanut butter flavor which makes them that much better!

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

• Peanut butter - I use smooth creamy unsalted natural peanut butter for this recipe (the drippy kind that you need to stir) to get a nice strong peanut butter taste.
• Maple syrup - peanut butter and maple is a lovely flavor combination and it adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Almond flour - fine ground blanched almonds helps to stiffen the filling so you can shape it. You may need more or less depending on the brand of peanut butter that you choose.
• Dark chocolate - semi-sweet dark chocolate is perfect since it is just the right amount of sweetness to enhance the filling which isn't too sweet. You can also use bittersweet chocolate if you really love dark chocolate.
• Coconut oil - this gives the melted chocolate coating more fluidity so that it is easier to coat the cups. It also prevents the need for tempering chocolate if you don't have time. However, if you are interested in learning how to temper chocolate, I have a full tutorial here.
• Salt - natural peanut butter is usually unsalted, and so we need to add some salt or else the flavor will be bland. It really makes a big difference.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

To make these cups, it is important to have paper cupcake liners. You can use the standard size or make mini ones.

• STEP 1). Stand the cupcake liners up on a baking tray or place them in a muffin pan to hold them upright.
• STEP 2). Make the filling. Stir together peanut butter, maple syrup, ¼ cup almond flour and salt until it forms a stiff paste. Add more almond flour if it is still too loose, then refrigerate for about 15 minutes until it is stiff enough to shape.
• STEP 3). Shape the filling. Roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into smooth balls then flatten them in your hands and shape them into little disks or patties with a diameter just slightly smaller than the base of your paper liners.
• STEP 4). Melt chocolate. Melt together dark chocolate and coconut oil until smooth over a double boiler or in the microwave. Spoon about a teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each cup, spreading it out to cover the base and pushing it slightly up the sides to form an edge and completely cover the bottom.
• STEP 5). Place a peanut butter patty into the center of the chocolate base, but make sure that the disk is just slightly smaller than the diameter of the base so that it fits in nicely with chocolate all around it. Gently press the disk into the chocolate to help push some of the coating up the sides and around it, but don't let it touch the bottom. Spoon more chocolate over top to cover evenly.
• STEP 6). Chill. Sprinkle with flaky salt if desired and then refrigerate until set!

RECIPE FAQ

If you love chocolate, check out these recipes!

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If you prefer healthier recipes, check out more of Christina's vegan recipes here:

Healthier Homemade Tahini Twix Bars (Vegan and Gluten-free)

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Easy Almond Raspberry Lemon Bars (gluten free)