Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups are like the healthier cousin to the beloved store-bought peanut butter cups. Making them at home is easy, using a handful of wholesome ingredients like almond butter, dark chocolate and maple syrup, these chocolate cups are paleo-friendly and made without any refined sugars.

Almond Butter Cups

If you like peanut butter cups (and who doesn’t?!) you’re going to love these Almond Butter Cups. They’re a healthy version of that beloved classic chocolate treat. These chocolate cups are made with simple ingredients you likely already have on-hand and they’re so easy to make, there is basically no excuse you can’t jump in the kitchen now! Having these healthy treats on hand will surely stop any chocolate craving in its tracks.

Here’s what you need to make them:

• Dark chocolate chips (72% or higher)
• Coconut Oil
• Smooth Almond Butter
• Maple Syrup or Honey
• Vanilla Extract
• Coarse Sea Salt, for garnish

What type of almond butter to buy?

We prefer to use a natural style almond butter. When you buy it, it will have a layer of oil on the top. Make sure to stir that in fully before using it in this, or any, recipe. It is more drippy than the creamy version of almond butter, and easier to mix together with the sweetener and extract.

How to Melt Chocolate

Melting chocolate is really the only cooking this recipe requires. We suggest melting chocolate over a double-boiler. Most people don’t have a double boiler at home, so make up your own by placing a heat proof bowl over a simmering pot of water. Just make sure that the bowl is not touching the water. Using this method to melt the chocolate is an easy way to melt it, while making sure you don’t over cook the chocolate.

The microwave is a great way to melt chocolate, but you can easily cook the chocolate for too long in it, causing the chocolate to break. If you do use the microwave make sure to do it in very short bursts, no more than 20 seconds, and whisking in between each time.

How to Eat and Store Almond Butter Cups

These chocolate cups are best eaten when they are slightly warmed at room temperature (so the chocolate isn’t super hard), but they’re best stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

They’ll keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or slightly longer. And in the freezer they’ll keep for up to 3 months.

I like to store them in the freezer long term, and then grab out when I’m craving a healthy treat. Let it sit on a plate at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then it will be good to go!

If you like this homemade chocolate cup recipe, check out these others:

• Sea Salt Chocolate Pumpkin Cups
• Caramel Turtle Cups
• Paleo Chocolate Ganache Strawberry Cups

If you like this healthier treat recipe, check out these others:

• Paleo and Vegan Caramel
• Gluten Free Hostess Cupcakes
• Fudgy Paleo Brownies
• Cookie Truffles

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups are like the healthier cousin to the beloved store-bought peanut butter cups. Making them at home is easy, using a handful of wholesome ingredients like almond butter, dark chocolate and maple syrup, these chocolate cups are paleo-friendly and made without any refined sugars.

Servings 12 chocolate cups

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 28 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

  

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• 1-1/2 cups about 10 ounces dark chocolate chips (72% or higher)
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1/2 cup smooth almond butter
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Coarse sea salt for garnish

Instructions

• Place parchment paper or silicone muffin liners in a 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.
• In a small bowl combine almond butter, sweetener and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Place in freezer to firm up, about 10 minutes.
• Melt chocolate using a double-boiler method: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil with heatproof bowl over the top. Add the chocolate and the coconut oil to the bowl and slowly melt and stir the chocolate, whisking together at the end. Alternatively you could melt the chocolate in the microwave at 20 second intervals, whisking in between until it's fully melted.
• Place 2 teaspoons of chocolate into each of the molds with a spoon and gently push the chocolate 1/3 of the way up the sides of the parchment paper. Place in the freezer to harden for 10 minutes.
• Remove almond butter mixture from the freezer and take a tablespoon of mixture, roll it into balls and then flatten to a disk shape.
• Remove chocolate cups from the freezer and drop in almond butter disks in the center of the chocolate.
• Top the almond butter with melted chocolate and let sit for a few minutes before sprinkle with coarse sea salt. 
• Store in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.

Notes

This recipe was originally published in 2013, and republished with new photographs in 2019.

Nutrition

Serving: 1almond butter cupCalories: 121kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 20mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6g

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Paleo

Author: Lexi

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