Nothing gets more classic than Reeses peanut butter cups. I remember as a child for Halloween I only cared about a handful of candies; Kit Kats, Almond Joys, and Reeses. Nothing else mattered in my opinion.
While these are still my top three candies to this day, I (try) to stray away from them. Until I tried a veganized version of the Reeses peanut butter cup that is. This peanut butter cup recipe uses healthy and simple ingredients like dark chocolate, coconut oil, natural peanut butter, and maple syrup. All the flavor of a Reeses is in this recipe minus all the processed crap. When you are craving a sweet, try making these homemade peanut butter cups for a healthier substitute. They keep well in the freezer making it super easy to always keep on hand 😉
The best part about making your own dessert recipes is you can control how they taste. You can monitor the amount of sugar that goes into a recipe and how healthy your ingredients are. While there are definitely healthier peanut butter cups on the market (Justin’s peanut butter cups are my favorite), making your own allows you to use the ingredients you like. You can swap peanut butter for almond butter, or crunchy peanut butter for a unique taste. Substitute dark chocolate for milk chocolate for a more authentic Reeses flavor. Mix shredded coconut in the chocolate for a personalized touch (highly recommend this recipe hack!)

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter no salt, oil, sugar added
- 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil slightly melted
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Tools:
- Mini cupcake tin
- Mini cupcake liners
- Double boiler or two pots one slightly larger than the other
Instructions
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Put chocolate chips in a double boiler or double pots over medium heat on stove top.* (see notes)
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Using a rubber spatula, stir until chocolate chips are completely melted
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Put liners in mini cupcake tin and pour 1 teaspoon melted chocolate in each liner. Tap sides of tin lightly to even out chocolate
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Place in freezer to set
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Put remaining ingredients in small mixing bowl and stir well. If peanut butter is stiff, microwave for 15 seconds. Peanut butter should be pourable but not too liquidy
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Remove tins from freezer and add 2 teaspoons peanut butter mixture in each liner
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Add 1 teaspoon of chocolate on top, covering the peanut butter
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Tap sides of tin to even out chocolate and place in freezer to set (10-15 minutes)
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Store in fridge or freezer
Recipe Notes
If you do not have a double boiler, you can use two pots. Fill a pot with 1 inch of water and put a slightly smaller pot in the larger pot. This is a method to prevent the chocolate from burning
I use Guittard chocolate chips for this recipe.
What’s your favorite candy you’d like to see a vegan version of? Let me know in the comments below. If you give this homemade peanut butter cup recipe a try, tag me on Instagram using #mindfulavocado!
Related: Chocolate peanut butter pretzel granola bars
Yummy! I love peanut butter cups. Have never made them myself, though! Yours look so good! 😉
Thanks Melanie! 🙂
Gosh, anything with chocolate and peanut butter I’m all over! These look so good (and healthier) 🙂
I agree 🙂 Thanks, Amber!