I love myself a commercial holiday! Anything that invites me to pause and remember friends, family, and love gets a thumbs up in my book. Especially in a world that likes to move at the speed of light, I am grateful for any and ALL reminders to LOVE.
However, when I am in my ‘LOVE-space’ I much prefer to savor one (or two!) simple home-made treats like these peanut butter cups (or chocolate covered strawberries) over piles of overly-processed chocolates and rock-hard candy hearts (and that’s not because I am a clean-eating elitist, that’s because it tastes better). Plus I think making or receiving something that is homemade just feels really good.
If you are wanting to gift someone a little bit of love via chocolate this Valentine’s Day, I highly recommend these simple little peanut butter cups.
All I did was melt down some dark chocolate in a double boiler (you can use a microwave too, if you prefer) and line the bottom of a mini candy cup liner (be sure to watch the video to see how to form the chocolate into a cup in the liner – it’s much easier for me to show you then it is to explain!). Pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes while you make the peanut butter filling.
Now here’e the deal, all you really need for the filling is peanut butter and coconut oil BUT I found that if they sat out at room temperature for too long the peanut butter began to ooze through the chocolate. This is not a problem if you plan to keep them in your fridge but if you are going to gift them you’ll need to add 1 heaping tablespoon of confectioners sugar to the peanut butter mixture as well because this helps bind the peanut butter and coconut oil together. This is how I wrote the recipe (and how I demo it in the video). So basically your choice is, skip the sugar and store the peanut butter cups in the fridge OR add the sugar and extend their ability to be at room temperature.
And for those who do like coconut oil, you can also sub some good old fashioned butter (if you can make it organic and pastured, more power to ya!).
To finish them up, dollop about 1 teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture inside of each cup and then top with another teaspoon of the melted chocolate. Add a fancy, fun-loving sprinkle (hearts are my favorite!) and then finish them up in the freezer for another hour or two.
Once they have set up, I store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Please don’t ask me how long they will last because they have yet to make it past a two-day window in my house!
And finally! When you are ready to eat them, let them chill out for 5-10 minutes at room temperature, the flavors way better when they are not super cold.
The video is below for those of you who like to watch!
Happy Valentine’s Day my fellow health-loving foodies!! xo
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Dark Chocolate
- 2 tbsp. all natural peanut butter
- 2 tsp. coconut oil
- 1 heaping tbsp. confectioner sugar
- 8 mini candy cup liners
- Optional heart sprinkles!
Instructions
- Melt your chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave if youre short on time.
- Drop about 2 tbsp. of the melted chocolate in the bottom of a candy cup. Then use the back of your spoon to help push the chocolate up the sides of the cup to form a little chocolate cup. Repeat this until al 8 cups are done. Pop the cups into the freezer for ten minutes or until the cups are set up.
- In a small bowl combine peanut butter, coconut oil and confectioners sugar. Mix until you have a nice smooth creamy consistency.
- Remove peanut butter cups from the freezer and add 1 tsp. of the peanut butter mixture to each cup. Try not to let the peanut butter mixture go higher than the chocolate wall. Finish it off by drizzling another tsp. of the melted chocolate over the top of each cup.
- Top with a festive sprinkle and then freeze for 1-2 hours or until the have set through. Once my peanut butter cups are set, I store them in an airtight container in my fridge.
- Feed to a loved one and enjoy!!
- Makes 8 peanut butter cups.
Comments
Ray Hernandez says
Dani, love the recipe and your advised ( freezing bananas, this is how I found your website). I got a question, I saw on the the video that when you open your freezer you had a bag of almonds in there. My questions is this, do you also freeze your almonds? Also where can I find more information on the site about preserving food?
Thanks
Ray
Dani says
Hi Ray – I usually but my nuts in pretty large bags – so I keep a small amount in a mason jar in the cabinet and the rest I store in the freezer. Keeping them in the freezer helps protect the healthy fats and keeps the nuts from going rancid:)
James says
Dani, love your recepies, but in my country (Colombia) i have no easy access to Coconut oil, can I replace it for something else?