CHOCOLATE CHIA PEANUT BUTTER CUPS | VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE, NO PROCESSED SUGARsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #vegan7 years ago (edited)

These chocolate chia peanut butter cups are my guilt-free sweet treat for all the chocolate peanut butter cup lovers out there. They have a creamy peanut butter filling, covered in rich chocolate, with a hint of sea salt, and sprinkled with chia seeds.

I will take homemade peanut butter cups over store-bought any day. And I find that the store-bought versions almost always have refined sugar, hydrogenated oils and many other chemical preservatives. With only 5 clean ingredients, these cups taste like their store-bought counterpart without all the other horrible additives.

And they contain organic superfoods like chia seeds, coconut oil and cocoa powder. They’re sweetened with only 1 tsp of organic maple syrup in each from my neighbours’ maple trees. A much healthier alternative to the regular store-bought version, with excessive processed sugar.

Healthy benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil is an extremely healthy fat. The fatty acids in coconut oil are turned into keynotes, a very healthy form of energy, which some health experts claim is much more beneficial than glucose and other carbohydrates, and is in fact a superior form of energy for the body. Keytones release gradually in the body, providing stable energy to the body, unlike the sudden spike in energy that often ensues from certain amounts of glucose and certain carbs. Keytones have also been shown to improve brain health.

Some other health benefits of coconut oil is that is improves cholesterol levels in the blood. When applied topically it acts as an effective moisturizer to the skin, helps moisturize hair, and even works as a natural sunscreen.

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Here's how I did it

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup white chia seeds

This recipe makes 12 cups, at 125 calories per cup.

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Directions

Line a tray with wax paper and place 12 individual tsps of peanut butter on the tray in little disc shapes. Then place the tray in the freezer for 20 - 30 minutes, until the peanut butter is frozen or substantially more firm.

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While that's in the freezer prepare your chocolate. Take a mixing bowl and combine your coconut oil, cocoa, and maple syrup. Then place it in something that you can pour with.

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Then take a mini muffin pan and line it with mini paper muffin cups. Next take your peanut butter out of the freezer. Fill your first muffin cup with chocolate sauce to about 1/4 full. Then place a disc your frozen peanut butter in the cup. Then fill the remainder of the cup with your chocolate.

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Lastly sprinkle with chia seeds. Then repeat these steps for all remaining cups.

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Eh voila! Homemade chocolate chia peanut butter cups!

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe and feel inspired to make it at home. With only 5 ingredients, it's relatively easy to make and it's great for kids, or anyone whose a fan of peanut butter cups. Enjoy!

Much love,

Natasha


And in case you missed it, check out my recipe for Vegan Canadian Poutine for the Steemit Culinary Challenge. Sweet potato fries topped with chickpea "cheese" and doused in creamy vegan gravy...


And for more of my guilt-free sweet treats and other healthy recipes click the links below:

Vegan Poutine
Vegan Chocolate Chip Superfood Granola
Vegan Chocolate Date Truffles
Vegan Chickpea Curry
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cups
Vegan Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Cinnamon Chia Overnight Oats
Zucchini Fritters and Homemade Tzatziki
Vegan Pizza and Homemade Pesto
Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Donuts

Sources:

http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil#section2
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/glycogen/#axzz3mCyCCIye
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/glycogen/#ixzz3mD083vFA
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/start-the-bulletproof-diet/
https://www.bulletproofexec.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulletproof-and-your-morning-too/


Photos and recipe are mine and original.

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For more about me check out my Introduceyourself

And you can also connect with me on Instagram


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If you liked this don’t forget to vote, follow and resteem. And thank you for all your support!

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guilt-free sweet treats

Wish that I could order them from you, @natashahall
Followed you, Natasha Hall
Have a look @clitadias

Nice food))
Upvoted and resteemed))

Hi there, @natashahall Looks beautiful and scrumptious. We are from The Curator. (A post style magazine on Steemit) We do curating for creative, informative, & entertaining, yet undervalued posts. We love your fantastic post. And we feel that it is undervalued. We would like to share it in our magazine. But first, we would like to ask for your permission to add your post to our next issue, With a picture from your post. That we will use as a thumbnail, We will share a portion of the post gifts. With the posts that we share in that issue. If you agree to this. Please let us know below this comment, at your earliest convenience.
Thank you. PostHuntress @the-curator
And keep on steeming your awesome posts.

Hi @aliciaonline.wow, thanks for the wonderful feedback. I agree to have you share my post in your magazine. Thanks so much for the opportunity.

Hi again, @natashahall You are so welcome. It is our upmost pleasure.
Have a wonderful day/evening.
PostHuntress, @the-curator

Thank you so much for letting us share your divine post in Issue #7 - For The Love Food. Thank you again.
Keep on Steeming Fabulous posts.

ah yes wonderful! I live for peanut butter cups I think...:)

Yay! Glad you liked it :)

AHHHHHHHHH. Think i've waited for this recipe all my life. ;)

YAAAAYYY! So glad you liked it :D

I'll resteem it later when the traction slows down to give it a second boost.

Thank you! :)

Looks really good, thanks for sharing!

Thanks @shieha! Glad you liked it :D

Damn... those look amazing.
Time to stop buying Reese's peanut butter cups.

Lol yeah exactly! :) Thanks @illesbambi!

Thank you. Going to give these a try. I've been vegan for two months now and it's hard to find sweets that are vegan.

Awesome! I hear that. That's one of the reasons I make my own sweats :) Let me know how it goes!

Wow those look great.

Chia seeds looks like sesame ;p

Yes that's right! lol ;)