Oct 28, 2018

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups

Yield: 6 peanut butter cups

Vegan, Paleo, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Refined Sugar-free

Aerial view of chocolate pumpkin peanut butter cups sprinkled with sea salt, with one cut in half to show the pumpkin center, next to a bowl of flaky sea salt.

There’s something about these peanut butter cups that makes them the perfect fall treat. Perhaps it’s the well-balanced sweetness that comes from JOYÀ's Chocolate, or the rich savoury flavour of peanut butter. Or maybe it’s just because peanut butter cups were the childhood favourite Halloween candy (obviously!).

We decided to go ahead and make peanut butter cups even more festive. This includes tweaking some ingredients to turn it from a candy into a healthy two-bite indulgence! These cups are packed with the perfect blend of peanut butter and pumpkin to get you into the Halloween spirit. And if you’re feeling zesty, we highly encourage the option to add some pumpkin spice.

Ingredients

  • 200 g (7 oz) JOYÀ Dark Chocolate (or other 70-80% dark or bittersweet chocolate bar or chips), roughly chopped*
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup (68 g) natural peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup (65 g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
  • small pinch fine sea salt
  • Optional: up to 1 tablespoon raw honey, to taste**
  • Optional: 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend, to taste, if you’re feeling especially festive
  • Optional: 1-2 tablespoons coconut flour, as needed (to firm up filling so that it can be shaped and flattened)
  • Optional: Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

*Use chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar or another appropriate sweetener to keep the recipe paleo-friendly. 

**Use maple or agave syrup to keep the recipe vegan

Instructions

  1. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil over a double boiler, stirring continuously as it begins to melt. 
  2. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate mixture into each muffin liner. Holding the tray level (horizontally), tap the tray lightly on a table or counter to help spread the chocolate evenly. Place the muffin tray in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden the chocolate slightly.
  3. While the muffin tray is in the freezer, mix the peanut butter, pumpkin puree and salt in a bowl. Option to add the raw honey if you prefer it sweeter and pumpkin spice blend, to taste. If the mixture is quite soft, add coconut flour, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, to firm the mixture slightly so that it can be more easily shaped and layered in the cup. (Tip: let mixture sit in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up and allow the coconut flour to absorb the excess moisture.)
  4. Remove the muffin tin from the freezer. Measuring 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter/pumpkin mixture for each cup, quickly roll mixture into a ball and flatten it between your palms just slightly so that when you place it on the chocolate base, it doesn’t touch the sides of the muffin liner. (Tip: this will allow the top layer of chocolate to pour over the filling and surround the sides of the cups!) 
  5. If the melted chocolate has firmed up, return it to the double boiler until it is once again a pourable consistency. Pour 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate into each muffin cup over the peanut butter/pumpkin mixture. Once all the cups are filled, holding the tray level (horizontally), tap the tray lightly on a table or counter to smoothen out the tops and help the chocolate settle. 
  6. If sprinkling the tops of the peanut butter cups with flaked sea salt, place the tray back in the freezer for 3 minutes, remove and sprinkle each cup with a small pinch of the salt. (Tip: If you sprinkle the salt on top while the chocolate is still warm, the salt will melt and sink.) Return the tray to the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes 
  7. If you’re not sprinkling with salt, skip the previous step and place the tray in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15-20 minutes.
  8. Transfer pumpkin peanut butter cups to an airtight container and store in the fridge.