So its been a bit of a long time no see situation here but life happens and as much as I love cooking and posting recipes sometimes I’m reminded that this is a hobby and unfortunately it gets a little put on the backburner so I’m sorry for the radio silence! I’m very happy to be home for a while and feel like I have some time to share the things I’ve been working on!
Quin (my husband) and I are in the process of wanting to lose a little weight so I’ve been trying to come up with some treats and meals that are still so flavorful and fun to make, while also being simple and healthy. This recipe I’ve adapted a bit but we have been keeping a batch of these in our freezer for the last few months! Its the perfect treat at the end of the day that I don’t feel guilty about at all.
What makes this Healthy-ish?
The big kicker is these are sweetened with dates! Dates are underrated in my opinion and I try and use them as much as I possibly can. The entire base of the peanut butter filling is a date paste and I love to eat the paste on some apples just plain. so good. But to start I like to soak these dates for about 10 minutes in hot water and then throw it all in a food processor and blend it up until its pretty smooth!
My other addition to these to make them healthy is some protein powder. Its only one serving for the entire batch but I think its a little peace of mind for me to throw that in and know that I’m getting the last few of grams of protein for the day.
How to make
As I mentioned above the start is to make the base of these. Soak the dates unless they are like brand new and still moist. I use about 2 cups of dates and put them in a food processor and pulse until its a paste. It takes a little work to get it going, have a small spatula on hand to scrape down and maybe a few tablespoons of hot water.
Once the paste is formed add 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 serving of vanilla protein powder, 1/4 cup of graham cracker powder (or coconut flour). Pulse all of these together and set aside.
I like to use dark chocolate but you can use whatever kind of you like and get some baking or melting wafers. In a microwave save bowl, microwave in 30 seconds intervals until melted.
I found these candy cups on amazon and they are the perfect size for this recipe! Place a little scoop of melted chocolate and use the spoon to move it around and up the sides to have a thin coat on the bottom. Place all cups on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Once the chocolate is set its time to add the filling and top with more chocolate. I take about 1-1.5 teaspoons of filling and make a disk that will fit in the cup. Place it in and cover with more melted chocolate. Shake it a little to sit settles evenly and put back in the freezer once all cups are filled.
Now its time to enjoy them! They will last a few weeks in the fridge or freezer and although they don’t need to be stored in the fridge I think its better that way!
Healthy(ish) Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups of dates
- 1 cup Peanut butter
- 1 serving Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers or coconut flour
- 2 cups melting chocolate (I prefer dark)
Directions
- Step 1 In a food processor add 2 cups of dates and pulse until a smooth paste forms *if dates are not soft, you will want to soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes before.
- Step 2 Add peanut butter, protein powder and graham crackers to the date mixture in the food processor and pulse until all is combined together. Set aside.
- Step 3 Melt chocolate. I do this in the microwave in 30 second increments stirring inbetween until all is melted and smooth.
- Step 4 Take peanut butter cup liners or small cupcake liners and place a small amount of melted chocolate and use a spoon to coat the liner evenly. I like to go up the sides a bit here. Place all liners on a baking sheet and put into freezer or 10 minutes or until set.
- Step 5 Once set, take the date filling and use 1-1.5 teaspoon to spoon it out. Place in the cup and push down so its level. Cover with melted chocolate. I like to shake them a bit until all is even and level. Repeat until all 24 cups are filled. Place back into freezer until set! Enjoy!
- Step 6 *I like to store these in the freezer or fridge and they last a few weeks like this but it is not necessary.
