Good day, everyone! I am delighted by the weather we are having in the Northeast this week – temperatures are in the high 70s with low humidity and sunshine peeking through puffy, white clouds. The nights are cool, allowing us to abandon the air conditioners and listen to the birds and bugs outside our windows. The dress code is long-sleeved t-shirts and shorts – this is late summer at its finest. And our farm share is rewarding us with all sorts of fruits and vegetables…which I’ll talk about later because today I must share with you a recipe that MaryAnn discovered – for chocolate peanut butter cups that are free! They are free from gluten, yeast, dairy and refined sugars – and absolutely decadent!
MaryAnn found the original recipe for Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge and made a batch that we tried. They were so melt-in-your-mouth good that I decided to make them soon after for a picnic. I made a few minor changes. First of all, I doubled the recipe. These treats are too good to just make a small batch. Plus you can freeze them and pull them out whenever you get a craving for that fabulous combination of chocolate and peanut butter. I used agave nectar instead of honey, but as I have noted below you can use either interchangeably. And lastly, the directions mention either using a food processor or bowl and whisk to mix the ingredients together – I just stirred them for great results – why bother pulling out the appliances if you don’t need to? This is a fabulous concoction using only five ingredients, no baking or cooking is necessary, and the results are fantastic!
Ingredients:
1 cup coconut oil (slightly melted, but not hot)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup natural peanut butter, softened
1/2 cup agave nectar (or honey)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation:
Prepare muffin pans with 24 muffin liners.
Put all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and nicely combined. (It will be very liquidy.)
Pour the liquid fudge into the prepared muffin liners dividing evenly between them (about two tablespoons of mixture in each).
Place the muffin pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or in the freezer for 10 minutes) until hardened.
Remove the muffin liners from the pans and enjoy! Store in the refrigerator or freezer.
I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free…and am happy to be featured too!
SensitiveEconomist 
And don’t forget–vegan! (Agave version only, of course.) My husband’s rugby buddy is vegan, and I while I have lots of ideas for snacks and refreshments, I have been searching for a yummy dessert recipe that we can serve when he comes over. Most recipes I’ve tried are very ho-hum (like, “Hmm, this is not bad, for being vegan…”). But this recipe is so yummy, I would happily serve it to my carnivore friends too. I Sensitive Economist!
That’s supposed to be “I heart Sensitive Economist.” Not sure where the heart went!
Thanks, Rachel, for your kind comments! You are right, the agave sweetened version is also vegan. I can’t say enough about this dessert, it’s so easy and delicious. I hope your buddy likes them too!
Pingback: Recipe for Gluten Free, Sugar Free Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; 8/28/12
I made these the other day with a half cup of mashed banana….i was trying to sneak a fruit into my toddler under the guise of chocolate. It didn’t work but they tasted great to me! I also used corn syrup ( from whole foods) because I didn’t have enough agave.
I like the idea of adding banana. It would add some sweetness and nutrition at the same time. Thanks for sharing your idea.