Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

 Posted by on October 10, 2011  Savor  Add comments
Oct 102011
 

image source

This is one of my all-time favorite vegan desserts – so easy and quick to make and it doesn’t require baking. I’ve made this at least a half a dozen times since I discovered this recipe in “The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet.” – one of very first cookbooks that I purchased when I decided to go vegan back in 2009.

When I first tried this recipe I made the mistake of using maple syrup instead of maple sugar. Though the peanut butter cups were very moist and very sticky, they were still very, very delicious. I also used vegan carob chips instead of vegan chocolate chips – which is very healthy and light.

The second time I made this dessert I used organic maple sugar. I also decided to switch up the recipe a bit and topped half the batch of peanut butter cups with organic strawberry preserves and the other half with walnuts. The sweetness of the strawberry preserves complemented the carob and peanut butter. I’ve made this version a couple times and really liked it.

My third version of this dessert I decided to trade the vegan carob chips for the vegan chocolate chips and stuck with topping half with strawberry preserves and half walnuts topping. I love this version the best and have been making the peanut butter cups this way ever since.

So if you’re considering going vegan and want to try out a few recipes, try these tasty treats. You’ll love them!

Alicia Silverstone’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup(s) of Earth Balance butter
  • 3/4 cup(s) of crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)
  • 3/4 cup(s) of graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
  • 1/4 cup(s) of maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
  • 1 cup(s) of grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips
  • 1/4 cup(s) of soy, rice, or nut milk
  • 1/4 cup(s) of chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts
Steps
  1. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. (If You Care makes unbleached liners made from recycled paper.)
  2. Set aside.
  3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
  4. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.
  5. Remove the mixture from the heat.
  6. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
  7. Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.
  8. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
  9. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
  10. Top with chopped nuts.
  11. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.
  12. They are great soft, but even better a little firmer!

Recipe via “The Kind Diet” by Alicia Silverstone