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Chocolate and peanut butter in cute candy cups mimicking my favorite: Reese’s Cups. What’s not to love? Oh, did I mention that they’re sugar free, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, on plan for Trim Healthy Mamas…and yummy?
Easter is right up there with Christmas on my list of most meaningful holidays. I love Easter because it represents Jesus Christ’s triumph over sin and eternal death. Somehow the world has polluted Easter, turning it into a commercialistic holiday full of bunnies, big hats, brightly-colored eggs, and beaucoup de bonbons. While I’m a fan of staying away from most of these fripperies for the sake of focusing on what is truly meaningful about the day, I don’t mind some cheap candy now and then. (Hint: wait until after the holiday to buy it. It just makes so much more sense.) Since I’m a big fan of Reese’s Cups, I thought it might not be a bad idea to have a healthy alternative, and since all kinds of Reese’s products show up around Easter, I thought now would be a good time to share the recipe.
Since so many of my lovely readers have food allergies to deal with, I’ve been trying to be conscious of those allergies in my recipes. I don’t think I’ll ever be a strictly allergy-friendly blogger, but I would like to provide more recipes that can be enjoyed by more people. I’ve come to the realization that I use a lot of dairy in my recipes, so lately I’ve been trying to cut back on that (or at least provide alternatives in the recipe Notes sections). These particular candies happen to be dairy free! If you want to see an index of all my recipes that are dairy free or easily adapted to be dairy free, check out this page.
Yes, I realize that it’s a bit odd to talk about allergy-friendly recipes in a blog post containing a recipe based around one of the most common allergens: the peanut. If you have a peanut allergy, my first suggestion would be to use a sunflower seed butter, but since I’ve never actually tried sunbutter, I have no idea if it’s any good or not! Nut allergy people, do you like sunbutter? Would you try it in these cups? If you do decide to try it, please let me know how it turns out! A coconut butter version might be good too; in fact, it’s on my list of ideas for the future!
Need some other candy ideas?
- Raspberry Crèmes
- Choconut Birds’ Nests
- S’mores Chocolate Bites
- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Fudge
- Mock PayDay Fat Bombs
- Brianafinger Truffle Fudge
- Easy Chocolate Cake Truffles
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission to help defray the costs of running this blog (at no extra charge to you). Thanks for your help!
You may also enjoy:
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Starting THM
-
my recipe index
-
my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
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all my peanut butter recipes
-
all my candy recipes
-
all my dairy-free recipes
You can pin this recipe here:
- 1 c. natural peanut butter, well-stirred and creamy (I use Smucker's brand from Walmart)*
- ¼ c. refined coconut oil (softened)
- 1 T. THM Super Sweet Blend
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/16 tsp. salt
- 3 T. oat fiber (use gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 3.5-oz. bar 85% dark chocolate**
- ¾ c. refined coconut oil
- 3½ tsp. THM Gentle Sweet (or more, to taste)
- Mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, sweetener, vanilla, and salt together with a hand mixer. Add the oat fiber one tablespoon at a time until the mixture returns to a typical natural peanut butter thickness. I used 3 T. oat fiber, but my natural peanut butter was from a new jar that had just been stirred so it wasn't super thick like some natural peanut butters can get if they're not stirred correctly. The end result should be easily spooned into candy liners; if anything, err on the thin side so the peanut butter mixture won't be too dry once refrigerated. Taste and add more sweetener if desired.
- Make the chocolate by melting the chocolate bar, coconut oil, and sweetener together in a microwave. Stir at 20-second intervals so the chocolate doesn't burn. (Alternately, you could melt the chocolate in a double boiler.) Taste and add more sweetener if necessary; I like dark chocolate.
- Divide half the chocolate mixture among 24 mini cupcake tin liners, then freeze to harden. When the chocolate is firm, divide the peanut butter mixture among the liners. Top with the remaining chocolate, then put the candies in the freezer to firm up. (If you have chocolate left over, freeze it on its own and enjoy.) You can store the candies in the freezer or refrigerator; I prefer the fridge for a more traditional peanut butter cup texture.
**I used Lindt brand. If you have allergies, check out Pascha brand.
Suggested products:
- THM Super Sweet Blend
- THM Gentle Sweet
- Oat Fiber
- THM Oat Fiber (gluten-free)
- Pascha allergy-friendly 85% chocolate bars (Amazon)
Hi, Can you tell me approx how many calories in pb cups if make 24?
I’m sorry – I don’t have the nutrition calculated for this recipe yet.
Yum!! A favorite st my housr. I want yo make these but don’t have thm products. What do I substitute? I have products bought from Wal-Mart or kroger. Thanks. My type 1 diabetic will love these!!
The sweeteners you can just replace with your favorite sweetener, to taste. 🙂 Amounts will vary depending on how concentrated your sweetener is. The oat fiber I don’t know a great substitute for. You could try defatted peanut flour or almond flour, but they will probably be grittier. Collagen or protein powder could be an option too. You’ll just have to play around with it to find something that works, and adjust ratios as needed if the mixture is too loose or too dry.
I use sunflower butter. I prefer Trader Joe’s brand…for the flavor, the way the consistency of oil stays in the tub so it doesn’t dry out, and the sugar free version is affordable, as compared to Sunbutter.
I was a pb-every day-kind of gal…then 10 years ago, we learned about my son’s peanut butter allergy😢.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. After devouring them quickly, i decided i should consider the serving size and when it should be eaten with thm 🤦😂.
Although it’s an S, the carbs do add up. I think it’s about 2 carbs per cup…that’s factoring in the chocolate bar, sunflower butter, and oat flour. So, I was probably eating too many at one time 🤦.
How do you use these awesome treats? I was doing like 3 for an S snack. I’m just wondering because I need parameters to function. 😂
Thanks for all of your delicious recipes. ❤
Heidi
Thanks for sharing that about the sunflower butter! I use 2-3 of these as a snack (with added protein) or dessert in an S setting. The recipe actually uses oat fiber, not oat flour; oat fiber has no net carbs, whereas oat flour is an E ingredient that would add extra carbs. 🙂 I don’t usually focus on the macros but keep my S and E ingredients separate and eat until full but not stuffed. These candies are fairly calorie dense so I try not to overdo them and make sure I’m getting in plenty of E meals which are naturally lower in calories than S meals are. This helps balance my diet and calorie intake and I don’t have to worry about counting the numbers as long as I just eat in moderation and don’t overdo heavy desserts on a regular basis. I hope that makes sense!
anything to replace oat fiber (allergic to oats)
I know some people use psyllium husks in place of oat fiber, but I haven’t experimented with that myself. The oat fiber is a really fine, dry flour that helps firm up the center of these peanut butter cups and brings them closer to the traditional Reese’s Cup texture. You could try just leaving out the oat fiber – or maybe collagen would work, since it’s a very fine “flour” of sorts without much taste.
I used psyllium husk powder recently and it seemed like a fairly good substitute. Without either, it didn’t firm up quite the same. Of course, they’re delicious either way!
Thanks so much for the feedback! That’s good to know!
I know this comment is a little old, but just an FYI, peanut flour (aka defatted peanut butter) works great to firm up the peanut filling and enhances the peanut butter flavor. 😊 You may have to use a little more though to get it to the right consistency.
Brianna, First, I love the new pic of you and new hubby! Next, I plan to scour your site today to make my kiddos good for you Reformation Day candy:) I’ll hand out the other stuff….
Aw, thank you, Lori!
Can I make this with a Thickened version of THM Peanut Junkie Butter?
I’ve never done that, but it would be worth a try! I was going more for the slightly powdery consistency of a Reese’s peanut butter cup.
These are the best! Thanks for all you do Briana!
Thank YOU for trying them, Janyse!
Hi Brianna!
Up to how many PB cups can I have in one serving?
I suggest sticking to 2-3 per serving.
Can I use THM chocolate chips instead of the dark chocolate bar?
I’ve never had those, but I’m sure that would be fine. You may not need to add as much sweetener.
Did this work? I was wondering the same!
I only have defatted PB flour right now, what’s the way to sub this in?
You can try rehydrating it with water and adding a touch of sweetener and salt to turn it into a natural peanut butter to use in this recipe in place of the peanut butter called for (still adding the additional ingredients called for in the recipe), but I would personally just purchase some natural peanut butter to use for the best texture. 🙂
Hi Brianna,
I really want to make these for my moms group tonight. I have Lilly’s chocolate chips could I just melt those instead of making the chocolate or would you still add the coconut oil?
Hmm…I’m not sure on that, Rosa! I haven’t tried that myself. I know I’d leave some (or all) of the sweetener out, but I don’t know what the texture of Lily’s chips are when melted, then solidified again. I’d personally probably try using some coconut oil, but not as much (since Lily’s isn’t as dark as 85%), and remember to increase the amount of chocolate chips to make up for the coconut oil you leave out.
Delicious! I think I will use less coconut oil, as it didn’t seem to need much.
Would it be possible to use regular butter instead of the coconut oil?
I used to make a ganache type chocolate similar to this, where I melted chocolate chips and a bit of butter together (maybe 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and a tablespoon of butter).
It’s worth a try! I like the metabolism-boosting properties of coconut oil, but the butter would probably make a softer chocolate. Maybe use part coconut oil, part butter?
Briana,these peanut butter cups are AMAZING! I whipped some up this afternoon & all I can say is WOW! My husband is working really late tonight so I actually made them for him as a surprise! He loves Reece’s & is going to be soooo surprised & happy when he gets home! Girl,you rock! I haven’t made anything of yours that I did not like!
I’m so glad you like them, Jenny! Hopefully the verdict from your husband is good too!
WINNER WINNER PEANUT BUTTER CUPS FOR DINNER!!! Ok well maybe not for dinner but it rhymed! Briana these are amazing! My hubby & I both love PB cups so I make the THM Treeces very often BUT last night I decided to finally give these a try. AMAZING! I don’t know why I waited so long to try them! I wish you could have seen my hubby’s face when he popped one in his mouth! My kiddos (14, 15, 17) are coming home from church camp tomorrow so I’ll be making a couple more batches tonight. ?
Aw, you made my day with that comment! I’m so glad y’all enjoy them!
Has anyone calculated the calories content? Thanks SO much for the recipe~! These are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you like them, Jennifer! I haven’t calculated the calories, but maybe someone else has. An app like MyFitnessPal could work. 🙂
I made these last week. They were a HUGE hit! I’m making them again right now! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Can I use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of dark chocolate? If so , how much can I use in the recipe? Thanks for your help!
I wouldn’t recommend that; the chocolate will be a lot darker. Also, you would need to add some oil (butter or coconut oil) along with the cocoa powder to replicate the chocolate that comes in bar form.
I don’t have oat fiber. Could I use the baking blend instead?
You’ll probably notice more texture if using a baking blend, but you’re welcome to try it. 🙂
I just made these with the baking blend and they were GREAT!! And, I was super lazy and just threw some THM chocolate chips on top instead of making the chocolate. Delicious:) I’m enjoying all your recipes!
How strong is the coconut taste? I’ve been hesitant to try any candies with coconut oil because I gag like a child eating veggies when it’s too strong ?
Use refined coconut oil; there’s no coconut flavor!
Bought your cook book recently and have used it every day ? .. your recipes are amazing !! .. I can’t wait for your next one … thank you so much ?
Looks SO yummy! Can’t wait to try it and it looks super easy too! Thanks!!
Is this recipe in your cookbook”?
No, Necessary Food only includes recipes posted through July 2016. 🙂 Recipes posted since then will be in the next one.
I see, I pinned this recipe I am definitely going to try these! I am glad to hear you are going to have another cookbook. I just bought your current cookbook. 🙂
Thank you, Briana! I.have been looking forward to this recipe since your teaser in that fabulous chocolate raspberry cup recipe. Can’t wait to try these.
Might I substitute almond butter in this recipe?
I don’t see why not! You may need to adjust the amount used depending on how thick or thin it is, though.
Briana! You have got to try Kroger’s generic natural peanut butter. It’s amazing! It has the smooth texture of the sugary peanut butters without the sugar. Perfect for sandwiches and desserts 🙂
I’d love to! Unfortunately we don’t have Kroger’s where I live!
Briana, my very favorite candy! I cannot wait to try it. Thank you!!!!!