These Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are packed full of oats, coconut, and peanut butter, sweetened naturally with a little maple syrup, and topped off with a crunchy layer of dark chocolate. These peanut butter energy bites will satisfy your chocolate cravings! Ready in 20 minutes or less!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
Got twenty minutes? If you start right now, you will have one of these Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups in your mouth in 20 minutes. Even better: that twenty minutes includes kitchen clean-up time!
With no refined sugar, these delicious little peanut butter energy bites will satisfy all your chocolate cravings. Just pulse in a food processor, roll into balls, press into mini muffin cups, and top with chocolate. So easy and so tasty!
These little bits are packed full of good old oats, coconut, coconut oil, and peanut butter. They're sweetened naturally with a little maple syrup, and they're topped off with a crunchy layer of dark chocolate. These tiny peanut butter cups will provide you with a quick energy boost.
Kids love them, and they will not last long at an adult party.
It's hard to think of many food combinations that are better than chocolate and peanut butter. These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are certainly an indulgence, but they are gluten-free (if you use gluten-free oats), dairy-free, and refined-sugar free.
Can you believe that? How can something that looks that tempting be good for you?
🛒 Ingredients
You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. Here are a few notes that may be helpful.
coconut: You'll need finely shredded, unsweetened coconut.
oats: rolled oats or quick oats. You'll be grinding these in a food processor or blender along with the coconut.
maple syrup: Use this natural sweetener to keep this recipe vegan. You can substitute honey if you like.
cinnamon: Just a tiny bit adds a delicious hint of flavour.
vanilla extract: pure
peanut butter: Use natural creamy peanut butter, not the chunky style for best results. Feel free to use your favourite nut butter, like almond butter or cashew butter!
coconut oil: Since coconut oil is solid at room temperature, it helps the base of these peanut butter cups to stick together and to set. You'll also add a tiny bit to the melted dark chocolate.
chocolate: Use your choice of chocolate chunks or chocolate chips. Choose from regular or dairy-free chocolate chips or even sugar-free chocolate chips.
garnish: Top your little chocolate peanut butter cups with a sprinkle of chopped nuts, peanuts, coconut, or flaky sea salt, all optional of course.
🥄 Instructions
- Line a mini muffin tin with 24 parchment paper mini muffin liners. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients, except the chocolate, to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse or process until the doubh is well mixed and beginning to clump together.
- Form little balls about ¾ inch in diameter then press them into the lined mini muffin tins. Chill the tray while you melt the chocolate.
- Melt ¾ of the chocolate over, not in simmering water. Remove from the heat before all the chocolate is completely melted and stir in the remaining chocolate. Stir in a little coconut oil.
- Remove the peanut butter cups from the fridge. Pour the melted chocolate over the top of each cup.
- Garnish with finely chopped peanuts, flaky sea salt, or coconut. That's it!
- Hide them in the fridge to set while you clean up the evidence. So irresistable!
- Only 20 minutes. These are so easy to make!
🥶 Storage and freezing instructions
Store these peanut butter energy bites in the fridge. Make them ahead of time and store them in the freezer for holiday parties or unexpected company. They'll last for several months.
🗒 More healthy recipes for chocolate snacks
Chocolate bark, like this Salted Dark Chocolate Bark with Pumpkin Seeds, Salted Chocolate-Orange Almond Bark or this oh-so-good Cranberry Pistachio Chocolate Bark is also incredibly delicious and it's super easy to make!
Grain-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Balls
Trail Mix Chocolate Nut Clusters
Chocolate Cherry Almond Energy Bites
When you make these chocolate peanut butter cups, please leave a comment and a rating below. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a recipe!
📖 Recipe Card
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut finely shredded, unsweetened
- ¾ cup rolled oats, gluten-free, if necessary
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ⅛ cup melted coconut oil
Topping
- 6 oz dark chocolate
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil, melted
- nuts, finely chopped or coconut, or flaky sea salt like Fleur de Sel for garnish
Instructions
- Line 24 mini muffin tins with paper or reusable liners.
- Put the first 7 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well mixed and starting to clump together. You may have to scrape the sides of the processor once or twice.
- Make small (approximately ¾ Inch diameter) balls of dough and press firmly into the mini muffin cups, filling about ¾ full. Leave room for the chocolate topping.
- Melt ¾ of the chocolate over, not in simmering water. Remove from the heat before all the chocolate is completely melted and stir in the remaining chocolate. Stir in a little coconut oil.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the top of each peanut butter cup. Gently slide the pan back and forth on the counter to evenly distribute the chocolate.
- Immediately garnish with toppings of your choice. Finely chopped salted peanuts, or flaky sea salt are both delicious.
- Refrigerate until set.
Carolyn Aspenson
When you say oatflakes do you mean old fashioned oats or something else? Thanks!
Flavour & Savour
Hi Carolyn,
Old fashioned oats are the kind I usually use but quick oats would work too. One would just be a little more chewy than the other. Thanks for asking!