These. are. delicious. Even saying it is an understatement. I picked up Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet last weekend. It’s a great read, with lots of tips and info about trying to go vegan, or simply adding a few vegan items to your diet. It also includes recipes as well. I also got Heidi Swanson, of 101 cookbooks, latest book Supernatural Everyday and it’s also so good! I wanted to try and make everything, every picture looks so delicious.
These are vegan, if made with proper butter, and are a way healthier version of the yummy, but bad for you, Reese’s PB cups. I am a total peanut butter freak. Definitely have it every morning on my oatmeal, so naturally these were delicious.
I would only change a few things about them, for one, I might not even use butter at all, or scale it way back with only a tbs or so, instead of 1/2 cup! And, she says to pour the chocolate on top of the peanut butter right away and then chill, but I found that my peanut butter was too warm and runny, and the chocolate sank to the middle. Hence the inside out PB cups. But, of course they are still so so so good!!
My changes for next time: Less butter, and I would refrigerate the peanut butter layer for a bit before I added the chocolate to appear more like a reese’s peanut butter cup. I also used natural smooth PB and not the crunchy, so maybe that made a difference? Either way, it tastes de-licious!!
Definitely make these for a sweet treat this weekend!!
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance butter substitute (I would probably use a Tablespoon next time.. )
- 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted) (I used natural, unsweetened, unsalted and smooth)
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares
- 1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener ( probably don’t even need added sugar either, their pretty sweet with the chocolate )
- 1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips ( I used organic carob )
- 1/4 cup soy or rice or nut milk ( I only had regular skim milk )
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or almonds or peanuts
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 Tbsp. per cup, among the muffin cups.
*I would refrigerate them at this point, and add the chocolate layer afterward*
Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Top with chopped nuts.
Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.
Seriously. So. Good.
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