Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

wellnessandboxerwa

13 hours ago

7 min read

Chocolate and peanut butter classics made from scratch with real ingredients

📚 Book Club

About five years ago, my friend Clarice started a monthly book club, and it has easily become one of my favorite gatherings. We read a fantastic variety of books, which is honestly my absolute favorite part (besides the food and the company, of course 😜). It has pushed me to dive into genres I never would have picked up on my own!

We gather on the first Thursday of every month, rotating hosts each time so everyone gets a turn. The host for the month chooses the book and provides a wonderful spread of food, while everyone else brings along their own favorite beverage or libation. Sometimes, our gatherings turn into a full-on dinner club! Everyone serves fantastic food, the company is always incredible, and yes ~ believe it or not ~ we do actually talk about the book! 🍷🧀

I have to admit, though, I didn't always love that book club fell on a Thursday night when I was teaching. That was a school night 😧!!! My bedtime was usually around 9:30 PM because my alarm went off at 5:30 AM, and I had to be at school by 7:10 AM.

One thing about being a teacher is that the absolute second your workday starts, you have to be on! There is no easing into your morning when a room or gymnasium full of students is waiting for you. Because of that tight schedule, I was usually the very first person to slip out of book club early, and I’m pretty sure I spent half the night yawning into my napkin! 🥱

Now that I am officially retired, attending book club is so much more enjoyable. I can actually relax, stay for the late-night conversations, and enjoy the company without stressing about the morning alarm.

Even though I wasn’t hosting this month, I wanted to whip up a festive seasonal treat to share with the group. I started making homemade chocolate peanut butter cups last year, trying them out first on my coworkers who absolutely loved them. Then, I made them for Thanksgiving, and they were a total hit once again. For the chocolate part, I simply melted Nestle chocolate chips with some coconut oil. But this season, I wanted to try something a little different.

I originally wanted to challenge myself to make real chocolate completely from scratch using pure cacao butter, raw cacao powder, and maple syrup as the unrefined sweetener. Well, here is my honest confession: although the result was delicious chocolate, the process was incredibly tedious. I didn't feel the effort was worth the end result, so I decided to try a different method. This time I used 100% pure Ghirardelli cacao baking bars and a powdered unrefined sugar. It worked so much better and gave me that same pure, clean chocolate control.

I wanted to include a white chocolate version as well. Since I don't have a specific scratch-made recipe for white chocolate, I simply used melted white chocolate chips instead! I used the exact same autumn-shaped silicone molds and stuffed them all with that clean, simple filling of natural peanut butter and pure maple syrup.

Since our host always provides all the food, whether it is appetizers or a full dinner, or both, I packed these sweets into cute little brown paper boxes I found on Amazon. They made the perfect little takeaway party favors for everyone to enjoy at home!

🛒 The Ingredient Breakdown

Choosing the right ingredients is the key to making these homemade treats taste like they came straight from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Here is a breakdown of what you will need to get that perfect texture and rich flavor:

100% Unsweetened Cacao Bars: Using premium baking bars means the chocolate factory has already done the heavy grinding for you. You get a flawless, rich dark chocolate base that melts beautifully.
Powdered Maple Sugar or Ground Coconut Sugar: Because sugar cannot dissolve in pure chocolate fat, using a powdered sugar is the key to a silky smooth texture. Running granulated coconut sugar through a clean coffee grinder for fifteen seconds turns it into a perfect microscopic dust!
Creamy All Natural Peanut Butter: The star of the center filling that gives these cups their rich flavor and a slightly gooey center.
Pure Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste: This adds a warm, gourmet depth to the peanut butter filling and enhances the rich chocolate aroma in the dark chocolate base.
Fine Sea Salt: A crucial addition that balances the deep cacao flavor and sharpens the peanut flavor to tie the whole treat together.

Here's the recipe ~ I hope you love it 🩷

Peanut Butter Cups in Autumn Shapes 🍁

prep time: 15 min. setting time: 45 min. yield: 12-15 molds (depending on mold size)

🖨️ Print Recipe

🛒 The Clean Ingredients

8 ounces 100% Ghirardelli unsweetened cacao bars (exactly two full bars), chopped into small pieces
6 to 8 Tablespoons powdered maple sugar OR fresh-ground coconut sugar (adjust to your preferred sweetness)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or vanilla paste)
A good pinch of fine sea salt

The Creamy Peanut Butter Filling

1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 to 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (adjust to your preferred sweetness)
A splash of pure vanilla extract
A tiny pinch of fine sea salt

🥣 Easy Step-by-Step Instructions

Prep the Sugar: Pour granulated coconut sugar into a clean coffee grinder. Blend for fifteen seconds until it turns into a fine, microscopic dust.
Melt the Chocolate: Use one of two methods:
- Microwave: Place chopped cacao pieces in a microwave safe bowl. Heat at fifty percent power in thirty second intervals, stirring between bursts until melted.
- Double Boiler: Place chopped pieces in a heat safe glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water on low heat. Stir frequently until melted.
Sweeten the Chocolate: Remove dark chocolate from the heat. Immediately add your powdered sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to the warm liquid. Whisk vigorously for thirty seconds until silky smooth. (If the mixture gets too thick, see the emergency tips below).
Layer the Bottoms: Spoon melted chocolate into the bottom of your silicone molds, filling each about one-third full. Use the back of a small spoon to coat the bottom and slightly up the sides. Freeze for five to ten minutes to set.
Mix the Filling: Warm your peanut butter for ten seconds if it is cold. Stir the peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and sea salt together until smooth. Drop a small dollop into the center of each hardened chocolate base.
Cap and Tap: Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the peanut butter centers to fill the molds. Tap the molds gently against the counter a few times to release air bubbles.
Set to Firm: Place the filled molds into the refrigerator or freezer for 30 to 45 minutes until completely solid.
Unmold and Store: Pop the chocolates out of the flexible molds. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, or pack them into your takeaway boxes to gift!

🩷 Sue's Kitchen Tips:

The Thick Chocolate Rescue: Because 100% cacao baking bars contain zero added sugar, adding dry powdered sugar can sometimes absorb the liquid fat and make your chocolate too thick to pour. If this happens, simply whisk in one teaspoon of a neutral fat like Botticelli olive oil or melted coconut oil. It will immediately loosen the mixture back into a smooth, glossy glaze without altering the deep chocolate flavor!
The Powdered Sugar Buffer: When making your dark chocolate base, always add your vanilla extract at the exact same time as your powdered sugar off the heat. The dry powder acts as a natural cushion, absorbing the trace liquid moisture so your pure chocolate fat stays glossy and pourable without seizing.
The Spill-Proof Secret: Silicone molds are incredibly flexible, which makes popping the chocolates out easy, but it also makes moving them while full of liquid chocolate a total nightmare! Always place your silicone molds onto a sturdy metal baking sheet before you start pouring your liquid chocolate.
Keep Water Out: When using a double boiler, make sure absolutely no water or steam gets inside your glass bowl. Even a single tiny drop of water will cause your melted chocolate base to seize, turning it dry, grainy, and clumped.

🐾 Tango's Kitchen Tips:

Peanut Butter Patrol: My mom always buys natural peanut butter. If you don't, please, please make sure you double-check the ingredient label on the peanut butter jar to make sure it contains absolutely ZERO Xylitol or birch sugar, which is a sweetener that makes dogs very sick! Luckily, pure peanuts are completely supervisor-approved, and I am always happy to clean off the peanut butter spoon when she is finished! 🐶🥄

✨ Bonus: The Quick White Chocolate Variation

If you want to create a beautiful, two-tone holiday platter, you can easily make a white chocolate variation alongside this recipe! Simply melt down an 11 ounce bag of high quality white chocolate chips on low heat (or in short microwave bursts at fifty percent power), stirring constantly. Because white chocolate is delicate and can easily overheat into a thick frosting like texture, keep a close eye on it. If it gets a little too thick, simply whisk in one to two teaspoons of olive oil or melted coconut oil to thin it back out, then layer it with the exact same peanut butter filling!

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Wellness & Boxer Wags! 🐾

🛒 Shop This Recipe: My Kitchen Favorites

To help you get the exact same smooth and festive results in your own kitchen, here are the links to the specific tools and ingredients I used for this batch! You can check out my full, extended list of kitchen essentials anytime over on my Shop My Favorites page.

Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Cacao Baking Bars: You can find these on Amazon in bulk at a cheaper price than the grocery story. I purchased them at my local grocery story. They were on sale for $4.99 a bar (regularly $5.99 a bar).
Powdered Maple Sugar: this is already crushed into a fine dust so it blends beautifully without any gritty texture.
Coconut Sugar this sweetener option will need to be pulverized into a fine powder.
Silicone Autumn Baking Molds: The leaves, pumpkins, and acorns that make these treats look like they came from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
4x4x2 Auto-Popup Small Cookie Boxes with Window, Brown, 60 Pack: The perfect, charming little takeaway boxes to send your guests home with a special homemade surprise.
Fall Leaves Stickers: This was an impulse purchase 😜. I just wanted a little touch of fall on each box 🍁🍁🍁