I will be forever grateful to whoever was the first person to combine chocolate and peanut butter.   The classic pairing that found its way into my mouth by way of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups when I was a child, still has a special place in my heart.  When our family first immigrated to Canada I remember tasting peanut butter and almost gagged.  I wasn’t used to the texture, and taste, because it wasn’t popular in Hong Kong at all. Over time Mom got me to eat it in PBJ sandwiches, but the combo of chocolate and peanut butter made it much more palatable.

Having a Peanut Butter (PB) cup always brings me back to my happy place; savouring one and listening to my Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road cassette tape and not caring that other kids were playing with their friends, while my friend was my piano.  Our family moved a lot so making friends was always a challenge for me since I was usually the only non-white kid in the class.  Are you playing a tiny violin now for me?  No need, because now I have friends, and not just my piano, and I get to eat home-made-good-for-you PB cups, YAY for me!!

It seems that peanut butter has fallen out of favour, since so many people have developed allergies to it.  So, for those of you who are allergic or are partial to almond butter, by all means, replace peanut butter with almond butter, or any other nut butter that you have on hand. How can I indulge in this treat but do away with the sugar and up the health quotient?  Make it with superfoods of course, and in my recipe they are:

Coconut oil – Gives healthy fat burning benefits.
Dark Chocolate – Contains antioxidants and magnesium which can help with lowering blood pressure.
Maca – Increases energy, helps the body handle stress and contains antioxidants.
Peanuts – Contains protein, vitamin E and resveratrol (also in red wine).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups makes 10 mini cups

•     2/3 c. dark chocolate chips
•     ¼ c. peanut butter (or almond butter)
•     1 T. coconut oil
•     2/3 t. maca
•     *Maldon sea salt

Directions:

• Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
• While chocolate chips are melting, stir the rest of the ingredients together, except for the sea salt.  Set the filling aside.
• Coat silicone 10 mini muffin cups with a layer of melted chocolate, make sure the chocolate goes up the sides about 2/3 of the way. You should only be using half of the chocolate. Then put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Then fill each cup with the filling.  Freeze for 10 minutes.
• Then with a small spoon, put a dollop of chocolate over the filling and smooth it out.  Then sprinkle a little Maldon sea salt on top.
• Put back in the freezer to set.  These should be stored in there until they are ready to be eaten.

*If you don’t have Maldon sea salt, then put a pinch of regular sea salt in the filling, or you can leave it out altogether.
For more benefits of the superfoods in this recipe look them up in our superfoods list.

Eat healthy, live great! -{Kake}