Creamy peanut butter filling coated in crisp dark chocolate, a little sweet and rich with a pinch of sea salt. A classic treat, easily made at home!
Peanut butter cups were practically a staple in my diet as a teenager before I went vegan and despite vegan options being available now they're always pretty expensive, so I thought it was about time to make my own! My one wish about them was that they contained crunchy peanut butter, so that's what I used here - I also increased the peanut butter to chocolate ratio, making them double stuff, because more peanut butter is always a good thing!
I used vegan dark chocolate here, but it was Cadbury bourneville, which is actually rather sweet and a little more sugary, with much less cocoa than most dark chocolates, making the final product taste like regular peanut butter cups. This was what I could get hold of at the time, but proper dark chocolate, up to about 70-75% will melt wonderfully too and will make the cups less sweet overall if that's your thing!
Dark chocolate also has some extra health benefits, aside from less sugar, contributing iron, magnesium, manganese and copper, which is a great boost, but I'm definitely not recommending to eat tons of chocolate to get your nutrients! These are still a treat, with a fair amount of sugar, but it's always nice to know something you're eating contains just a little goodness too. Peanuts are a good source of protein and fibre, niacin, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus, the protein and fat will also help to cause less of a spike in blood sugar, than if you were just eating chocolate alone. But no, this still doesn't mean it's a good idea to eat the whole batch in one go! If you manage to practice self-restraint, these will last for a week or so in the fridge - I've not managed to make them last longer than this to test extended shelf life!
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Vegan Peanut Butter Cups | Yield: 9 | Time: 40 mins
You'll need
- Glass bowl
- Saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Rubber spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Cupcake tray
- 9 cupcake cases
- Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 150g vegan dark chocolate (up to 70-75%)
- 150g crunchy peanut butter (1/2 cup)
- 70g icing sugar (1/2 cup)
- Salt (if using unsalted peanut butter)
Method
- Fill up your pan a small amount with water, the glass bowl should sit on top without touching the water. Break the chocolate into the bowl and place on top of the saucepan, bring up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, ensuring the water doesn't touch the bottom of the glass bowl. Stir often until the chocolate melts. Then remove from the heat, but don't discard the pan of water.
- Meanwhile, line the cupcake tray with the cases.
- To make the filling, mix the peanut butter, icing sugar and a pinch of salt (if using unsalted peanut butter) into a dough, you may need to use your hands once it starts to come together
- Using a teaspoon, spoon 1-2tsp melted chocolate into each paper case, ensuring it evenly lines the bottom, you should use 1/2-2/3rds of your chocolate here. Then place the chocolate in the fridge to set for 10-15 minutes. Scrape the sides of the chocolate bowl down and place on top of the saucepan (off the heat) so the residual heat keeps the chocolate from setting.
- Meanwhile, divide the peanut dough into 9, roll into balls and then flatten slightly into discs. Once the first layer of chocolate has set, place each disc on top, sprinkle a little pinch of salt and then top with the remaining chocolate and spread out to cover the peanut butter using a teaspoon. A rubber spatula will also come in handy here, for scraping the chocolate and ensuring an even layer on each one.
- Leave the cups to set up for at least 30 minutes in the fridge and enjoy!
- Store any remaining cups in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or so.
Cassidy xx
