Easy Recipe: Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Yield: Approximately 12 servings.
Click here for estimated nutrition facts.

To make these 21-Day Sugar Detox “safe” or to try an unsweetened version (which is also very delicious!) simply do not add any maple syrup. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1/4 C Coconut Cream Concentrate
• 1⁄2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• OPTIONAL: 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup, divided
• 
3 Tbsp Almond Meal (use homemade if you have it)
• 3
 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
• Dash of Cinnamon
• 2
 Tbsp Raw Almond Butter
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt

You will also need:

• a whisk
• mixing bowls
• a rubber spatula
• a plastic bag, one corner snipped off
• a mini muffin pan
• mini muffin paper liners

Preparation:

• Melt coconut oil over a low flame and whisk in half of the coconut cream, the vanilla extract and (optionally) 2 Tbsp of maple syrup. When that’s blended together, whisk in the rest of the coconut cream. Once that’s combined, whisk in almond meal, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Pour into a paper-lined mini muffin tin just enough to coat the bottom of each hole (this recipe made 9 for me but you can make them bigger or smaller). Place your tin in the fridge or freezer until that sets and is hard.
• While the first part of the cups are chilling, (optional) whisk the almond butter with 1 Tbsp of maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt. Then load in the almond butter into a plastic bag and snip the tip off of the end to make a homemade pastry bag.
• Remove the hardened chocolate from the fridge/freezer and proceed to pipe a small amount of almond butter into the center of each one. Be sure to allow an edge of chocolate to show all around the peanut butter so that the rest of the chocolate you pour in has more chocolate to bind with.
• Pour the remaining chocolate over each almond butter dollop until they’re covered and place back in the fridge/freezer. I

 found these to be room-temperature stable but I live in San Francisco and if it’s warmer than 70 in your house, it’s best to keep them in the fridge.

Yield: This depends on the size of your mini muffin tins, approximately 1 Dozen.

Variations:

• You can make these without the almond butter and make a simplified, solid chocolate version.
• Substitute walnut butter for almond butter for a different flavor.
• You can also make these without cocoa powder for a coconut-vanilla almond butter cup recipe or add mint extract to coconut cream and use that as the filling instead of almond butter for a chocolate mint cup

For more ideas of what to do with coconut butter/coconut cream concentrate, check out this post.

About the author

Diane Sanfilippo BS, Certified Nutrition Consultant, C.H.E.K. Holistic Lifestyle Coach is a New Jersey-based Holistic & Paleo Nutritionist serving clients locally and beyond (US & international) via phone, Skype consultations and nutrition seminars nationwide. Author of “Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle.” Creator of The 21-Day Sugar Detox, a program designed to help you bust sugar and carb cravings in 21 days with the help and support of a community who is all in it together! Co-host of The Balanced Bites Podcast, a weekly radio show about all things health and nutrition.

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