Chocolate Nut Butter Cups

I absolutely love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I had never had them until our holiday in Hawaii. I didn’t realise until we came back that you can buy them in Australia. That was certainly a scary find. I ate so many of them while we were away that I was scared I’d turn into one! I consoled myself with having to make the most of them while I could because unless we went to America again, we’d never be able to. Boy was I wrong and it was scary to face the demon that is the sweet, chocolately, peanutty delight of a mouthful that is a Peanut Butter Cup. They make my mouth water just thinking of them. The way they melt and the gooey peanut butter coats the inside of your mouth so its all sticky and makes the taste last until you eat something else… They’re amazing, but oh so bad!!! You know they’re bad when there is a warning on the back label about the calorie content. 21g sugar in one serving in fact, thats just over 4 whole teaspoons of sugar. I can’t quite remember what the caption said, but I remember we laughed out loud when we finally saw it and realised how many days in a row we’d eaten them…

So I had a friend over the other day for coffee. A beautiful friend she is, definitely one of the best that I have in the world. I love her so much that I wanted to make a scrumptious treat for us to enjoy together. What better to serve up than a peanut butter cup right? Luckily for us, I have made a little version of my own. It went a little something like this.

Nut butter cups

50g (Approx.) Raw Cacao Butter

1 heaped Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder

1 Tbsp Rice Malt Syrup

Pinch Himalayan Salt

Melt ingredients together over low heat in a small pot on a small burner.

Once melted and incorporated, pour about 1/2 cm worth of chocolate into the bottom of two patty pans (regular cupcake size). Make sure these are already sitting on a bread and butter plate.

Place on a flat surface in the freezer for 10 mins.

When firm, remove from freezer and place 1 Tsp nut butter in the centre of the chocolate and spread flat, leaving the edges clear.

Pour remaining chocolate on top and replace in the freezer. In 10 mins time, remove and devour!!

For an even healthier version, you could swap in coconut oil in the place of the cacao butter. These melt pretty quickly though so need to be kept in the fridge until eaten. They still taste great, but its not the full rich chocolately flavour that you get from using the butter.

As you can see, these are a quick and easy treat if you have these ingredients in your pantry already. What better way to settle a chocolate craving than with a far healthier version of the sugar laden ones in the shops. I wouldn’t go eating these every day or anything crazy like that, but they’re a much better option when it comes to swapping up better versions of your favourite things for healthier snacking and treats. Just goes to show that you don’t need to give up every delight in life, not when you can make it better for you so you can still enjoy it and not feel guilty.