These super simple, 5 ingredient healthier vegan chocolate peanut butter cups are refined sugar-free, dairy-free and absolutely delicious for any sweet and savoury cravings!
I like to use full peanuts, so I first have to remove the shells. Then they are ready to roast.
Roast the peanuts in the oven at 160ºC (fan assisted) for 7-10 minutes. The longer you roast them, the deeper the color of the peanut butter. I myself like the flavor more toasted, so I roasted them for 10 minutes.
As soon as the peanuts come out of the oven, carefully peel them. The skin should just come off easily when you scrunch them in your hands or with a towel. I then used a hairdryer to remove all the skins (although, be warned, this can be messy! )
Put the peanuts and a pinch of salt in a high-power food processor or blender and blitz them until you obtain a smooth butter. The longer you blend it, the runnier the peanut butter becomes. Store in a glass container.
Making the chocolate cups:
Use a double boiler to melt the cacao butter on low heat. Then add the maple syrup and salt and stir well.
Sift the cacao powder into the liquid ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
Carefully pour some melted chocolate in the molds and tilt on all sides to make sure they are well covered. Put the molds in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. The chocolate will harden quickly.
Note: If the chocolate coating is too thin, you can add a second layer and put the molds back in the freezer otherwise the vegan chocolate Peanut Butter Cups won't be strong enough when biting into them and will 'explode'.
Add some peanut butter to the middle of each chocolate cup. You can put the molds back in the freezer but this step is not necessary as long as your peanut butter isn't too runny.
Finally, cover the peanut butter with more chocolate so that you create completely coated cups. Put back in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
These vegan chocolate peanut butter cups are ready. Remove the molds and enjoy them right away or store them in the fridge.
Video
Notes
These peanut butter cups can be a great addition to any festivity or make for a fun gift as well. It’s so easy to customize them and make them look like little reindeer for the Holiday Season. To make the reindeer cups, all you need to add is some pretzels for the antlers, some redcurrant for noses, and edible eyes. Alternatively, for the eyes and nose, you can use small colorful button-shaped chocolates.