Kids in the Kitchen - Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Holidays everyone!

I wanted to make a healthy candy for a Christmas gift and I found a great recipe from the Nourishing Gourmet.  These are really easy and made with basic nutritious ingredients you probably already have on hand.  They include coconut oil, which may be new to you, but is one of my favorites for flavor and nutrition.  I will have a post soon on the benefits of coconut oil!

These are also something the kids will enjoy helping with.  When my granddaughter visited, she had fun making them with me and thought they were great.

Here is the recipe I used, adapted from The Nourishing Gourmet:

Homemade, Healthier Peanut Butter Cups

Homemade, Healthier Peanut Butter Cups
If you use another nut butter, you may need to add more honey. Peanuts are naturally sweet. For that matter, this is definitely a “to your own taste” recipe! And you can easily adjust the sweetener to satisfy you.

1st Layer:

3/4 cup of peanut butter (or use nut butter of your choice)

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are making this gluten free, make sure to use gluten free vanilla)

1/4 cup of coconut oil

1/3 cup of chopped and toasted nuts, walnuts, almonds, or seeds

 

2nd Layer:

4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate

2-4 tablespoons honey *

1-In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla, first two tablespoons honey, and nuts. Mix until well combined.
2-Drop by the heaping teaspoon into mini cupcake pans. Place in freezer.
3-Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in the top of a double broiler (or, like I do, in a heat proof bowl that fits on top of a pot you have). Mix in the honey. Bring about two inches of water to a boil in the pot and place the bowl on top. Watch the chocolate carefully so that it doesn’t burn, stirring gently while the chocolate melts. When there are just a few chunks left in the chocolate, take off of the heat and allow it to melt completely.
4-Drop by the teaspoon over the peanut butter mixture and place back into the freezer. Freeze for 20 minutes. Take out, and using a butter knife pop them out. Keep in the freezer or refrigerator and enjoy!

*To toast the nuts, place in a dry pan over medium-high heat. Stir almost continually until they are starting to brown. Take off of the heat.
*Use honey to sweeten to your taste.