Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (*plus, nut free option!)

Is it just me or do some things just taste different in adulthood? I used to love a Reese Peanut Butter Cup or a Kit Kat, Mr. Big, Aero… all of them. Now? Yuck-o-rama. They all taste like sugar mixed with wax.

Instead, I now prefer a rich darker chocolate and something far less sweet and artificial. So, we’ve started making our own version of a peanut butter cup — not only are they easy, with just a few simple ingredients, but when you buy ingredients in bulk, they are totally zero-waste AND you can switch up the fillings so they are even school-lunch appropriate (i.e. nut free)! My kids love these (even my non-chocolate-loving kid!)

Here’s what you need:

1 small pot, 1 medium pot/pan (to create a double-boiler)
1 silicon mould (the one I use is ‘puck shaped’, with 20 muffin-moulds, but other shapes will work too!)
2 cups chocolate for melting (I like 70% dark chocolate wafers or bars, but any type will do, even plain chocolate chips)
1/3 cup peanut butter (or almond, sunflower, pumpkin seed butter – whatever!)
2-3 Tbsp honey, date paste or desired sweetener
1 Tbsp coconut oil (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

Instructions:

Choose your desired nut or seed butter. I have made these with peanut, almond, pumpkin seed, and sunflower seed butters and all have worked great. In fact, you can even use a ‘filling’ of just dried fruits, whole nuts or even your favourite jam!
Prepare the filling: In a small bowl, mix together nut/seed butter and sweetener of choice. If you’re using a nut/seed butter with no salt, you may want to add a dash of salt here (for added tastiness, in my opinion). Depending on the consistency of your (sweetened nut/seed butter) filling mixture, you may want to add a scoop of coconut oil to thicken it (though this is totally not necessary). Note: The benefit of ‘thickening’ your filling simply helps keep the filling more solid so that it stays in the center of your cups, allowing it to be engulfed by the chocolate; however, if you’re like me, and are cool with more of a layered ‘sandwich’, there’s no need to have a thicker filling. A softer filling will simply spread across the chocolate layer, so it doesn’t get encapsulated by the chocolate, which means it’s a bit messier to eat and will need to be stored somewhere cool like the fridge or freezer – no biggie. However, the messiness factor makes the softer filling ‘sandwich’-type cups less appropriate for school lunch boxes.
Once your filling is ready (give it a taste and adjust sweetness/saltiness as needed), it’s time to prep your chocolate!
For the water bath/double boiler, add about 1 inch of water to the medium-sized pot/pan and boil over medium heat. Note: the double-boiler method is the best method here to keep the creamy integrity of your chocolate. Heating chocolate in a microwave or in a pot straight on the burner will work, but can mess with your chocolate consistency.
Dump chocolate pieces into small pot and place the small pot in/over the hot water bath. Stir chocolate occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn. Once melted (approximately 3-5 minutes), remove from heat.
Scoop melted chocolate into silicon moulds (approximately 1 tsp per mould). Give the tray a gentle shake to level out the chocolate bases.
Scoop 1-1.5 tsp of the filling mixture onto each chocolate base, aiming to keep the filling in the center as much as possible (or, again, if you’re okay with a sloppier cup requiring refrigeration, keeping your filling centred is less important).
If you’re looking for more of a centred, encapsulated filling here, you may want to place the filling into the fridge or freezer for about 10-15 minutes to help solidify the filling before adding it to the base.
Once filling has been added to the base, immediately scoop remaining melted chocolate over the filling (re-heat chocolate if necessary). Again, give your tray a good shake to even out the top layer of chocolate.
Place the tray in the fridge or freezer for about 10 minutes to solidify.
Once solid, enjoy immediately or store in fridge or freezer for up to 2 weeks (….. if they last that long without being devoured….)
IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to scoop out any remaining chocolate and filling with a spoon to enjoy as a snack… to avoid food waste, of course. Best to do this quickly before kids or partner notice. Try not to get chocolate on your face or in your hair because then you will be busted.