I don't know if there is any other combination than peanut butter and chocolate. Don't even bother arguing otherwise with me, because this is 31 years of me being obsessed. That being said, I've been trying, very hard, to be a little more cognizant of my sweet intake. I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't be depriving yourself of dessert. That also means though, that you should be paying attention to what you're having. While I have my go-to's when I'm out an about, I try to not even keep things at home, to help restrict me. We more often than not, keep dark chocolate chips in our pantry, and that is it. Just enough to satisfy the sweet tooth. And if you sit here and try to tell me that fruit is an option for dessert, I'm going to laugh at you and tell you its not.
Last week I made some great brownie's from the Detoxinista's blog (she's great BTW if you don't follow her) and this week I decided I needed some good old fashioned PB cups. While I could have just as easily melted down some of those chococlate chips, I thought it might be better to cut back the sugar as much as I could. Thats where cacao can be your best friend.
Aside from cacao being a superfood superstar (think high in antioxidants, magnesium and is an overall mood booster), I decided adding a little maca powder woulnd't hurt anyone. If for nothing else, maca is packed with iron and vitamin C, something that we can all always use more of.
I started with mixing a bowl up of all my chococlate ingredients. Pop the bowl in the microwave if it isn't blending easily. When ready, pour into your cup mold. You'll want to do less than half full, as you'll be filling it up with the filling and more chocolate later. I kind of tilt the mold around so that each side gets covered in chocolate. When it looks fairly even, pop it into the freezer. Now its time to make your PB filling. First melt together your peanut butter (or any other nut butter) and maple syrup in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Once blended, mix in your almond meal. I like to use almond meal because its also nutty in flavor and I find it tastes best with any nut butter filling. It will look grainy - thats good! Take your mold out of the freezer and using a 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon put peanut butter mixture in each cup. I like a little more filling and will also push it down a bit. Leave a little room around the edges if you can for the remaining chocolate to fill in. When you're done the filling, pour over the remaining chococlate and place back in the freezer. I give it a couple hours before eating, and will store in the freezer in a tupperware.
homemade PB cups (df/gf/refined sugar free)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes (not including time to freeze)
Ingredients
Chocolate:
1 teaspoon maca powder
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
Filling:
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 teaspoons almond meal
Directions
Take all of the ingredients for the chocolate and mix in a small bowl with a fork. If needed, pop in the microwave for 15 seconds.
Pour a little in each mold - once filled completely rotate the mold around to cover the sides of the mold. Place into the freezer while you prepare the filling. You'll want to make sure you have about half the chocolate left to cover once you're done.
Next, put peanut butter and maple syrup in bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds and mix thoroughly. Add in almond meal and mix. It will look kind of grainy.
Take the chocolate mold out of the freezer, and place 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of the peanut butter mix in each one. I tend to do more. Press down but leave a little gap around the sides.
Lastly, cover with remaining chococlate and put back into the freezer.
After a couple hours - you can remove from mold and either enjoy or store for later in a tupperware container in the fridge or freezer.
Enjoy!
xx
Rita