Sugared & Stirred

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peanut butter

Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups

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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (and eggs!) have to be were one of my all-time favorite candies before I began my dairy-free journey. Now I’m talking low-key obsessed. When I lived in San Francisco I would stop by the store on my walk home and buy two King-Size packs. And eat them all (would not recommend). So I love chocolate peanut butter cups!

When Bon Appetit came out with a Gourmet Makes episode about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, I was S-O-L-D. I had to try this better, more Reese’s-like version of peanut butter cups! I took Claire’s recipe from the video and made it with dairy-free dark chocolate and coconut sugar. The results were stellar. Soft, delicious peanut butter cups that I could store at room temperature without worrying about the peanut butter being a gooey mess.

Since these Peanut Butter Cups are created by a professional pastry chef, they’re a little different (and more time consuming) than the ‘ole melt-pour-freeze method we all know and love. For these cups, you will boil the coconut sugar with a bit of water and then slowly beat that into the peanut butter. This creates a firm and pliable peanut butter “dough” that you’ll be able to cut out and press into your melted chocolate pools. You’ll top those with more chocolate and voila! Peanut Butter Cups!

The recipe below makes quite a few candies, so feel free to halve it. And if you prefer regular size cups vs the minis then you can make that happen, too. Just trim your regular muffin liners down and be sure your peanut butter circles are slightly smaller than the liners (you’ll need a bigger circle cutter than what I used for the minis).

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Natural unsalted peanut butter is made solely from peanuts and doesn’t include any added sugars, salts, or oils.

Dark Chocolate is the easiest (and most affordable) chocolate to find without dairy. I recommend the Pound Plus bars from Trader Joe’s if you have one near you!

Coconut Sugar is an unrefined, low GI sugar. It has no coconut flavor and makes for a great better-for-you alternative to white, granulated sugar.

Yield: ~30 mini candies

Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups
These Vegan Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are ultra rich and creamy! A better-for-you version of a favorite childhood candy that no one can pass up!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted, natural creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 12oz dairy-free dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

  1. In a medium or large bowl, beat together the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt until just combined; set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, bring the coconut sugar and water to a boil and cook until mixture reaches 248°F (firm-ball stage). Remove from heat and slowly pour/beat into the peanut butter mixture.
  3. Scrape the mixture out onto a piece of parchment paper and allow to cool slightly. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll the mixture into a slab 1/4" thick. Allow to cool completely.
  4. Using a small cookie cutter (or other round object - I used a 1" piping tip) cut circles out of the peanut butter slab. The size of your circle cutter depends on the size of your muffin or candy liners. Keep circles on the parchment paper and freeze.
  5. Line a mini muffin pan with muffin liners. If you don't have a mini muffin pan, you should still be able to fill mini muffin liners without one.
  6. Melt your chocolate, along with 1/2 tsp of coconut oil, using the double boiler method or a microwave, being careful not to burn the chocolate.
  7. Remove peanut butter cut outs from the freezer and double them up (stack 2 together). Spoon enough chocolate into each liner to cover the bottom. Add 2 stacked peanut butter cut outs to each, pressing down slightly. Add enough chocolate over each one until the peanut butter is totally covered.
  8. Allow your peanut butter cups to set at room temperature. I recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature to keep the peanut butter from drying out.

Notes

For the double boiler method: in a medium saucepan bring 1" of water to simmer. Add your chopped chocolate and 1/2 tsp of coconut oil to a heatproof bowl - one that's big enough to sit on top of your saucepan without touching the water. Place bowl on saucepan and stir often until chocolate is melted.

Recipe loosely adapted from Bon Appetit

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

30

Serving Size:

1 mini cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 129 Total Fat: 8g Saturated Fat: 3g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 1mg Sodium: 62mg Carbohydrates: 12g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 9g Protein: 3g
calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate
© Rachael Ng | Sugared & Stirred
Category: Vegan

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Other recipes you might like:

Peanut Butter Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Cookies & Coconut Cream Popsicles
Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

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Traditional Peanut Butter Blossoms are those little peanut butter cookies topped with a milk chocolate Hershey’s Kiss that people seem to just love around the holiday season. They’re familiar, they’re topped with chocolate, and they’re a favorite at cookie exchange parties. I set out to create a dairy-free version, and after a bit of back and forth as to wether I should buy a kiss candy mold, temper chocolate, and make my own kisses, I decided to do what I felt my followers are more likely to realistically do: melt some simple dark chocolate and pipe it into little “thumbprints” in the cookies.

These cookies are a bit crispy on the outside with a chewy, peanut butter-y middle. You get to control how much chocolate you add, so go wild! Or not. It’s really up to you. You want to create little “thumbprints” for the melted chocolate by using something around your kitchen – small spoon, end of a marker, etc – to gently press into the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. Once the cookies cool, you’ll have a nice little spot, as shallow or deep as you like, for your chocolate!

The dough may seem a bit dry or crumbly, but once you work it in your hands, you should be able to form nice, smooth dough balls. The granulate sugar on the outside is totally optional, but since it’s the holiday season, I like to amp up the sparkle a bit with my cookies. I used a 72% dark chocolate bar for my topping, and it actually set on its own at room temp. If your chocolate doesn’t set at all, that’s okay. Just store your cookies at room temp in a single layer. The chocolate should firm up enough to not spill out of the thumbprints. Happy baking!

Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
Makes 18 small cookies

1/3 cup coconut oil, solid
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3oz dairy-free dark chocolate, chopped

1.) Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the solid coconut oil and coconut sugar until there are no more oil lumps and the two ingredients are well incorporated (I like to mash mine with a wooden spoon). Add the peanut butter and mix to totally combine. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix; set aside.

2.) In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a large wooden spoon or spatula, adding the almond milk along the way, until everything is well mixed.

3.) Scoop dough balls 1 Tbsp in size. Roll the balls until smooth and then roll in granulated sugar. Place them on your prepared baking sheet (11 will fit on a standard home baking sheet) and gently flatten a bit with your fingers until the dough edges begins to crack. Re-shape if necessary.

4.) Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes. Immediately press small “thumbprints” into the center of each cookie, using a small kitchen utensil – I had a wine bottle stopper that was perfect. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

5.) Once cookies have cooled, melt your chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals (or using the double boiler method*). Allow your melted chocolate to cool for a few minutes. Pour it into a ziploc baggie or pastry bag, snip a small piece of the corner, and pipe chocolate into the thumbprints you created. I like to pipe in a swirling motion, ending in the center. Enjoy your cookies right away or store at room temp in an airtight container.

*add an inch of water to a pot and place on medium heat. Set a heatproof bowl on top of the pot, making sure it doesn’t touch the water. Add your chopped chocolate to the bowl, stirring frequently until melted

 

 

Peanut Butter Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Grab a glass of milk (or whatever you’re drinking!) and get ready because these bars have a whole cup of stick-to-your-mouth peanut butter! These cookie bars are my first attempt at a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, but when the cookies didn’t spread – so. much. peanut butter. – I decided to press the dough into a baking dish and make cookie bars instead! These bars are soft, dense, and filling. They’re full of peanut butter flavor, and the chocolate chips add this extra bit of richness that makes these bars totally irresistible. I opted to use spelt flour, along with all-purpose flour, in these bars to bring in a slight bit of nuttiness. If you don’t have spelt flour available, all-purpose will work just fine as a substitute. Happy baking!

Peanut Butter Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Makes 12 bars

1/2 cup coconut oil, solid
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup natural peanut butter, unsweetened + unsalted
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp spelt flour*
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips + more for topping (optional)

1.) Preheat oven to 350℉ and prepare an 8×8″ baking dish with parchment paper – leave a bit of an overhang so you can easily pull the giant bar out of the baking dish once it cools. I also like to spray the exposed sides with olive oil.

2.) In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to cream together the coconut oil and coconut sugar. Beat in the egg, then the vanilla, and then the peanut butter.

3.) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir together with a wooden spoon, leaving a few flour streaks. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.) Firmly press cookie dough into prepared baking dish, using a flat measuring cup or your hands. Top with extra chocolate chips, pressing each chip a bit into the dough. Bake at 350℉ for 15-25 minutes. Allow cookie bar to cool before removing from the dish and slicing up to serve.

*if you don’t have spelt flour available, all-purpose will work just fine

NOTE: for cookies, omit the chocolate chips. Scoop cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and press down with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350℉ for around 6 minutes.