Let's get one thing straight.

These peanut butter cups taste like anything but a health food. With a title like "Vegan Peanut Butter Cups Recipe (refined-sugar, gluten + dairy free)" I know you're thinking it. You're rolling your eyes at me right now, saying there's no way that a recipe without any of the fun stuff (aka sugar and gluten) could possibly taste like anything other than cardboard. But it only takes 4 ingredients for me to prove you wrong!

Trust me, I get it. You're used to me posting sweet treat after sweet treat filled to the brim with all kinds of sugary goodness. I mean, is it even a meal if dessert doesn't happen?! Not in my book! However, I realized that over the holidays the sugar consumption might have gotten slightly out of hand. So, in an effort, to get things back under control, we've been attempting to go refined-sugar free (emphasis on the attempting part). To say it's been easy would be a complete and total lie. I ADORE cookies, chocolate and ice cream and want them almost hourly (No joke.). However, I was also surprised to realize how many sweet treats I already actually enjoyed that are refined-sugar free or naturally sweetened and are real, whole foods (I have no problem with GF/SF/DF things, but I DO have a problem with replacing things with a fake or chemical version of it. Trust me, at that point you're better off just eating the real thing!). I was also surprised to realize how easy it was to makeover some of my favorite treats into better, healthier versions. Case in point, these peanut butter cups.

I've always loved making my own peanut butter cups. They're an easy thing to make, they don't require tons of ingredients, and peanut butter is protein, so it basically makes peanut butter cups a health food, right?! Once we decided to (mostly) give up refined sugars, I knew I'd have to give my regular recipe a makeover. It was a surprisingly easy task and it turns out, I like this new and improved version even better than my original recipe. I haven't made these with anything but peanut butter yet, but I plan to try them with almond, cashew and/or pecan butter next, at which point, I'll probably want to consume nothing else for the rest of my life (I mean, hello! A healthy pecan butter cup??! Sign me up!).

Have you ever gone refined-sugar free? If so, what were some of your favorite treats? I'm thinking of doing a round-up post of all of our favorites. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups sugar-free chocolate chips (I used a brand called Pascha that I found at Whole Foods)

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened to room temperature

• ⅔ cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy, but smooth works well, too.)

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• Maldon salt flakes for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a muffin tin with liners, or, if you’re using reusable silicone liners, lay them out on a baking tray. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, set over low heat, combine the chocolate with 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil, and stir until melted, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a pastry brush or spoon to line the bottom and sides of the muffin tins with chocolate. Place the pan in the freezer until the chocolate is hard, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the filling by stirring together the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil with the peanut butter and maple syrup until well combined. Divide the filling equally between each chocolate cup {should be about 2 teaspoons of filling per cup}, then use a spoon to gently spread the mixture out on the bottom of each cup. Divide the remaining melted chocolate equally over the top of the cups, and sprinkle with salt (if desired). Once all cups are filled, place the tray back in the freezer, until the chocolate is solid, at least 30-60 minutes, then remove from the liners and place in a storage container. I like to keep mine stored in the refrigerator, but, if you like your peanut butter cups really cold, keep them in the freezer. Enjoy!

NOTES {added 4/2/20}

• The size and amount of peanut butter cups that this recipe makes depends on the muffin tin you use. My measurements and results are based on using a standard muffin tin pan. Feel free to adjust the filling and/or chocolate portions of this recipe to fit the needs of whatever size muffin tin pan you are using {more notes on this below}.

• Really any kind of chocolate will work for these. I’ve also made them using Lily’s chocolate chips or even regular dark chocolate chips. Use what you like or what you have on hand.

• Similarly, if you don’t have peanut butter, you can try another nut butter. I really like using cashew butter or tahini. If you use tahini, you don’t need to add extra coconut oil because it’s thin enough by itself, and if you use something a little drier, like almond butter, you might need to add a little more coconut oil to thin it out.

• If you like a thicker filling, you can easily just double the filling portion of the recipe.

• If you run out of chocolate to cover the tops, simply melt a little more.

• For an extra decadent treat, mix a couple of tablespoons of coconut cream {the really thick stuff at the top of a full-fat can of coconut milk or coconut cream} into the peanut butter filling. It makes the filling so decadent and delicious you may forget you were even making peanut butter cups and just want to eat the filling all on its own! I won’t say I haven’t thought about it myself! No shame! haha

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