$850 Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Interested in how to make homemade peanut butter cups?  This easy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup recipe only requires 3 ingredients and about less than an hour plus it's paleo, clean eating, vegan, refined sugar-free, and gluten-free!

this RECIPE

It's hard to believe, but this post was actually first published way back on April 29, 2010.  It was my first recipe post ever.  Ever.

I remember being so terrified to hit the "publish" button once I had it all written.  I sat there, rereading my post over and over, to make sure I didn't have any typos and didn't sound like an idiot.

Then, finally, I published it.  Eek.

Fast forward about a gazillion crazy years and A LOT has changed.  I've now published hundreds of posts, many of them recipes.  I have THREE more little kiddos and that little baby who got me started on this crazy working-from-home ride is now a whopping 9 years old!

I have had my fair share of typos over the years, despite my best efforts to the contrary.  And...I've sounded like an idiot, at times.  Okay, maybe a little too often.

And life has gone on.

Honestly, it's been pretty darn wonderful.

Back in 2010, I had almost, completely, and absolutely NO idea how to use my digital camera.  I just focused as best I could and took the picture.  There was no concept of ISO or aperture, depth of field, composition, f-stop or any of that.

I''ve learned SO much over the years and have improved my photography along the way (hooray!).  Heck, I've even taught workshops on how to create your own viral food videos.  Who would've thought!

Which leads me to this photo:

This was the one and only original photo of these dark chocolate peanut butter cups from my first recipe post EVER.

And, for about 6 years, I have been desperately wanting to redo it.  

Like it has been almost literally killing me.  Okay, maybe not.  But still...

I was so happy to update these photos and update this very important first post to the blog.

Alright, now that I finally got all that history off my chest, let's talk about these wonderful 3 ingredient $850 Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, shall we?

I'm guessing you're wondering why the heck I call them that.  Let me explain...

No, these delicious little peanut butter cups won't actually cost you $850 to make. You see, I first made these for Dustin for Valentine's Day because he loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

After I made them, I left them in the freezer for 3 days to store until I gave them to him.  When Valentine's Day rolled around, I anxiously ran to the freezer to give him his present and I took a big ol' bite...

Sadly, they weren't quite defrosted enough to take such a big bite.  And so, silly me, I broke a tooth foolishly trying to bite into one.

A tooth, I found out later, would cost a crazy $850 to fix.  Bleh.

Thus, the title $850 peanut butter cups were born.  Sad, but true.

So, class, your lesson in this 8 year old story of mine is that you should most definitely allow these tasty chocolate treats to thaw for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator if you happen to store them in the freezer for three days.

How To Make Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

These dark chocolate peanut butter cups are so amaaaaazingly delicious.  And the best part is how easy they are to make.

I mean, c'mon now: chocolate + peanut butter = LOVE.  Am I right?

Because I only use dark chocolate, organic natural peanut butter, and coconut oil, they are also gluten-free, vegan, healthy, and totally clean.

Kinda like my 9-Ingredient Healthy Dark Chocolate Brownies.

Which, in Lacey's world, means you can totally have two or three of them before starting to feel guilty. Or four... 😉

Here are the super easy steps for how to make them:

1. Melt the chocolate, use either a double boiler or a large bowl placed over, but not touching, a pot of boiling water.

2. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter with the remaining 1 tbsp. coconut oil.

3. Line a plate, muffin tin (my preferred method), or small cutting board with cupcake liners. You could make these using mini or regular cupcake molds, depending on what size you’d like them to turn out. I recommend doubling up the liners to give them a bit more structure.

4. Pour enough of the melted chocolate mixture to cover the bottom of each liner.

5. Place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set.

6. Once set, add a small scoop of the peanut butter mixture into the center of the cup and gently flatten with your thumb or the back of a spoon.

7. Pour enough melted chocolate over the peanut butter to cover the top, about 1-2 tablespoons.

8. Place back into the freezer for about 25-30 minutes to completely set.

If you’re not going to eat these right away, make sure to remove the peanut butter cups from the freezer about a half hour before serving and place them into the fridge to thaw some. Otherwise, they’ll be difficult to bite through.

They really are quite tasty, especially broken up and put over ice cream (but, hey, what ISN'T good like that?).

Just be sure they are thoroughly thawed before you bite into them or it'll cost ya!

Thanks for taking a stroll down memory lane with me!  Here's too many, many more lovely food memories and, hopefully, no more costly tooth repairs!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Lacey Baier

This easy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup recipe only requires 3 ingredients and about less than an hour plus it’s paleo, clean eating, vegan, refined sugar-free, and gluten-free!

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 9 large cups

Calories 304 kcal

Equipment

• Dutch Oven
• muffin tin
• mixing bowl

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 16 oz dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), chopped
• ▢ ½ cup natural peanut butter
• ▢ 3 tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions

 

• To melt the chocolate, use either a double boiler or a large bowl placed over, but not touching, a pot of boiling water.
• Add the chocolate and 2 tablespoon the coconut oil and allow both to melt completely, while stirring occasionally.
• Once everything is smooth, turn off the heat, but leave the bowl on the pot to keep warm.
• In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter with the remaining 1 tbsp. coconut oil.
• Line a plate, muffin tin (my preferred method), or small cutting board with cupcake liners. You could make these using mini or regular cupcake molds, depending on what size you’d like them to turn out. I recommend doubling up the liners to give them a bit more structure.
• Now, pour enough of the melted chocolate mixture to cover the bottom of each liner.
• Then, place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to set.
• Once set, add a small scoop of the peanut butter mixture into the center of the cup and gently flatten with your thumb or the back of a spoon.
• Pour enough melted chocolate over the peanut butter to cover the top, about 1-2 tablespoons.
• Place back into the freezer for about 25-30 minutes to completely set.
• If you’re not going to eat these right away, make sure to remove the peanut butter cups from the freezer about a half hour before serving and place them into the fridge to thaw some. Otherwise, they’ll be difficult to bite through.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cupCalories: 304 kcalCarbohydrates: 19 gProtein: 7 gFat: 13 gSaturated Fat: 9 gCholesterol: 1 mgSodium: 75 mgPotassium: 453 mgFiber: 6 gSugar: 7 gVitamin A: 20 IUCalcium: 43 mgIron: 6.3 mg

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This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.