Chocolate “not-peanut-butter” Cups

(Oh, you read that right. Wipe the drool off your keyboard!)

I was having one of those days that I wanted some chocolate. No, let me rephrase, I was going to hurt any man-woman-child in my way of getting some chocolate into my belly. Yep, it was one of those days. But I also didn’t want to eat something that I was going to really regret later because it had nine million calories per bite…so, as I was perusing through pintrest I came across a recipe from this paleo blogger for some tasty little “raw-ish” homemade peanut butter cup style chocolate treats.
Um, ok. Pretty healthy? Check. Did I have all ingredients? Check. Easy to throw together? Check.
So I threw together my own version and am happily keeping the little diddies of chocolate goodness the freezer for an afternoon treat later today. The original version called for raw almond butter, well raw nut butters don’t go over so well in Mr. Giggles tummy so I used sunflower seed butter instead. And I added some cocoa nibs for some low sugar crunch thrown in there also. Annnnnnd-we are a happy little chocolate family over here. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Chocolate “not-peanut-butter” Cups
gluten free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free, nut free*
Makes 12 large cups or 24 minis
  • ½ c. virgin coconut oil
  • ½ c. good quality cocoa powder
  • ¼ c. maple syrup
  • 1 t. vanilla powder
  • ½ c. creamy sunflower seed butter
  • 2 T. cocoa nibs, optional
DIRECTIONS
    1. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Set aside.
    2. Place coconut oil in a small saucepan and gently warm until about half is melted. Remove from heat and continue whisking until it is all melty-softened. (tip-this is easier to mix when the oil is super duper soft, but not all melted.)
    3. Put the softened coconut oil into a medium size bowl and add all the remaining ingredients, whisk to blend evenly, and then pour into the lined cupcake cups. Swirl with a knife for a pretty looking top and then pop in the fridge to set.
    4. You can keep these in the fridge or remove them from the liners, place in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer until chocolate cravings strike!

*please note, this recipe does use coconut oil which-though the percentage of people allergic to tree nuts and coconut is extreeeeemely low and in the allergy community is typically not regarded as being part of the “tree nut allergy group”-coconut is technically a tree nut according to the USDA. If you cannot use coconut oil I would try using 1/4 spectrum shortening + 1/4 light olive oil in substitution.

    happy, healthy eating! ~Giggles