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Are you a chocolate lover like me?
If you are, then you know what I mean when I say that chocolate has super powers. It’s one of those foods that soothes the soul. It can bring you back to life when you’re feeling down, bringing a smile to your face from its sweet richness. A taste that you turn to in times of good and bad. Chocolate is always by your side.
Chocolate is a little gift from the dessert gods.
So when I set out to make my own dairy-free, refined sugar-free version of With Style & Grace’s Chocolate Peanut Butter & Jelly Cups, I knew it all started with the chocolate. A dark, dark chocolate.
Like really dark. Like the unsweetened kind of dark.
But to me, chocolate isn’t really chocolate without a little sweetness. And when I’m thinking chocolate for dessert, I need that “sugary” pick me up.
This recipe is just that, but without the sugar. Only slightly sweet, but sugary enough that it qualifies as a dessert, this is a healthy spin on one of my childhood favorites. Packed with superfoods like coconut oil, almond butter and of course dark chocolate, I could eat these all day long and never feel an ounce of guilt.
- 6 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate (or chocolate of your choice)*
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1½ teaspoon stevia
- ⅔ cup almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)
- Coarse sea salt (optional, but worth it)
- Line a mini-muffin pan with mini cupcake liners, and place the almond butter in the refrigerator.
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler, adding the coconut oil, honey and stevia once it has become a liquid. Adjust your sweeteners to taste.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate into the cupcake liners, using the back of the spoon to push it up the sides of the liners slightly.
- Place muffin tin in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the tin from the freezer and scoop about ½ teaspoon of chilled almond butter into the bottom of each chocolate cup.
- Place back in the freezer for another 10 minutes.
- Once chilled, top each of the almond butter cups with the remaining chocolate and sprinkle with salt.
- Place the cupcake tin back in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Store the almond butter cups in the freezer, removing 5 minutes prior to serving.
- Enjoy!
This post was shared on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
I am not a huge fan of honey or stevia as a sweetner. Do you think maple syrup would work?
Hi Tonya,
I think you could use maple syrup, yes. You could also use agave or brown rice syrup or if sugar doesn’t bother you, try coconut palm sugar. All would work well I think.
Alyssa
These look really great! I’ve always been a big fan of anything peanut butter and chocolate related but it’s only recently since living in California that I’ve gotten into almond butter. Yum! I may have to give these a try
Thank you! I too am totally in love with almond butter. I’ve completely converted over to almond butter and am not looking back. I like it so much more!
wow, what an interesting recipe, I’ve never heard of this Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups but this recipe sounds like a left of spicy center winner. Thanks for this info!
Thank you, Nancy!
Oh wow… I came across this blog quite by chance and these were the first thing I saw. I have all the ingredients at home (sort of; Xylitol dark chocolate will be used in place of unsweetened and the honey and Stevia), so it was definitely meant to be! I’m salivating now.
These look amazing! Love the Sea Salt – you’re right, it’s so worth it!
I’m allergic to coconut – is there an oil you’d recommend as a substitution?
You could try another oil, but the thing about coconut oil is it solidifies so it helps the cups keep their shape. I can’t say for sure that another oil would work. Perhaps try a buttery spread?
I realize this thread is from awhile ago, but I just came across your recipe (great recipe, beautiful photos!) and thought I’d mention – for anyone else who might see this and is allergic to coconut – you can simply use a bar of dark chocolate that’s not unsweetened, and skip the oil if need be.
I just made these – they’re so delicious. I’d run out of almond butter, so used tahini, which worked wonderfully. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sounds yummy! Wouldn’t have thought to use tahini!
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