These healthy chocolate almond butter cups are quick and easy to make with no need to heat up the kitchen. Packed with all-natural almond butter, cocoa, and topped with a sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt these will be your new favorite sweet treat!
Make these easy chocolate and nut butter cups for homemade candy, a food gift, or to stash in the freezer for a sweet treat any night of the week.
All about chocolate
For a person who says she doesn’t like chocolate or sweets for that matter, I’m starting to take a turn. And I’m discovering that I don’t mind certain chocolates. The ones that are not overly sweet and instead delight with the deep, complex flavor of real cocoa.
And while I’m telling secrets, here’s another. As a kid I kinda liked candy. I guess I got my fill (and the fillings to match). One of my favorite sweet combinations is chocolate and nuts or chocolate and peanut butter. Yet, today I cannot eat the peanut butter cups from one popular candy maker. They are cloyingly sweet and I can’t get through a pack – though back in my high school years I could finish off a couple at once. True story.
Anyway… one of my favorite things to do in life is to makeover a recipe.
These vegan chocolate almond butter cups are healthier than anything you’ll find in the check out aisle. They are just sweet enough to satisfy a begging sweet tooth and because I used high-quality cocoa I’ll go out in a limb and say they even give you a little health boost.
Is this a healthy snack?
The nut butter is packed with heart-healthy fats and protein for a satisfying mini dessert. The flavanols found in cocoa powder might help keep the blood vessels in good shape and help lower blood pressure for some people. This doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to go all the way in on these. These nut butter cups are better for you but still a treat!
Make these easy vegan Salted Chocolate Almond Butter Cups without heating up the kitchen!This recipe took a few tries. I tried both peanut butter and almond butter with equal success. But I was making these to take with me for a food demo almost an hour away. So, I tried coconut butter thinking that it would harden enough to keep the cups from melting.
Well. It did. But the coconut butter also made for a less pleasant experience. I prefer the version I’m sharing below using coconut oil for a little more melt in your mouth-abilty.
Best almond butter to use?
Get natural unsalted and unsweetened almond butter. No Skippy allowed. Your almond butter should require a strenuous stir – because separation is natural. If it’s instead sitting up on a spoon, it’s not going to work for this recipe.
All-natural nut butter should move, flow a little faster than honey. If it sticks to an upside-down spoon with no signs of hitting the floor, it’s the wrong one for this recipe and likely contains hydrogenated oils or palm oil.
And yes. Peanut butter would be great in this recipe. The same suggestions apply though. Go with an unsweetened, natural one.
Do you have to add the salt?
The pink Himalayan salt on top? Yeah. It’s optional but it’s just a sprinkle and I truly believe it makes takes these peanut butter cups over the top. Leave it off if you dare but I used unsweetened and unsalted peanut butter, so you might want to add a pinch somewhere along the way.
Stash a batch in the freezer to crush that chocolate craving when it hits.
Here’s the easy recipe! Be sure to pin it for later and tag me on Instagram when you make it!
Vegan Salted Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Ingredients
Chocolate Filling
- 1/2 cup creamy all natural almond or peanut butter
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Almond Butter Filling
- 1/2 cup creamy all natural almond or peanut butter
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
- 12 muffin liners or a silicone muffin pan
Instructions
- Stir the chocolate filling ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. In a second bowl, stir the almond butter filling ingredients until smooth.
- Place the muffin liners into a mini muffin tin. Fill each with about ½ tbsp. chocolate filling, then 1 tbsp. almond butter filling, and finish with ½ tbsp. chocolate.
- Freeze at least 30 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of salt. Serve and store the leftovers in an airtight, freezer-safe container to enjoy for weeks to come!
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Some brands include palm oil or partially hydrogenated oils that help keep the nut butter from separating. You can probably use those but may need to microwave it first so you can easily mix in the other ingredients.