Desserts
Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Peanut Butter Cups
5 ingredients. Gluten Free, Vegan, & Dairy free for those who need it. Plus they're Magnesium, antioxidant & iron-rich!
The health benefits of quality dark chocolate & nuts are impressive...but OF COURSE that's not why I made them!
I was craving a reason to use my new reusable, silicon muffin cups (get your hands on a set by clicking the link at the very bottom!) and because my blood type is peanut butter & chocolate ;)
Super easy, and ready for you in the freezer to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea, or for an easy pre-made dessert to impress guests with your mad ninja chocolatier skills.
Yield: Makes about 12. I HIGHLY suggest doubling this recipe. Freezes amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb (220g) Dark Chocolate (I always use Callebaut Chocolate, found in 1lb blocks in the Save-On-Foods bulk section) chopped into 1-2" chunks
- 1/2 Cup, approximately, Natural Peanut Butter, firmed up in freezer for an hour or so, divided into heaping teaspoon sized disks. See below.
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 Cup Ground Almonds/Almond Meal
- Optional: 1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- Flaked Sea Salt, for garnish
Directions:
- Place measured portion of natural peanut butter in freezer for an hour or so. It will allow it to firm slightly. When firm, scoop & form heaping teaspoons into small disks.
- Keep PB disks on a parchment lined place in the freezer for up to a day, or while you do next steps. The firmer the disks are, the easier it will be to transfer into the middle of each PB cup.
- Place reusable silicon muffin cups in a single layer, on a baking sheet. Set aside. Or if you have the appropriate silicon/candy mold, use that.
- Place chocolate chunks in a completely dry, medium-sized, microwave-safe mixing bowl. BEWARE! Any water that touches melting chocolate causes chocolate to SEIZE!
- Heat chocolate in microwave in 30-45 second intervals, stirring each time, repeating until chocolate is almost completely melted. Watch it carefully- it needs to melt, not burn!
- Add coconut oil, and return bowl to microwave for a final 30-45 seconds to melt it. Stir mixture until everything is completely melted & combined. It should be smooth & shiny! If chunks still present, repeat microwaving in short intervals.
- Add in vanilla, ground almonds, and stir to combine.
- Using a small measuring cup to scoop out portions of the melted chocolate mixture, pour about 1 Tbsp chocolate mixture in bottom of each silicon muffin cup/mold.
- Get PB disks from freezer. Place 1 disk into each mold, on top of the chocolate. Alternatively, if you didn't make the disks, just place 1 teaspoon-sized dollop in each mold, you hot mess, you.
- Pour another 2 Tbsp melted chocolate mixture into each mold, or until top of peanut butter disks are just covered.
- Place a small pinch of flaked sea salt on top of each.
- Freeze for 30 minutes, or until firm. Test one. Its ready when the chocolate snaps, and gives way to the Pb center...drool.
- Take chocolates off of the tray, and place into an airtight container. Keep them stored in the freezer.
- Brag about how you are now a master chocolatier.
Snap a pic and tag me! Tell me how it went!
As always, thanks for the love.
-Jess
Flourless Dark Chocolate Almond Torte
My most requested birthday dessert. Just to die for.
Yield: Makes 1 standard sized cake pan.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 cup Butter, chopped
- 4 Eggs, yolks & whites separated
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar, divided in 2
- 1 cup Almond Meal (finely ground almonds)*
- ¼ tsp Salt
- Flaked Salt for garnishing
*Low FODMAP notes:
Almond meal is low FODMAP up to ¼ cup, which a
slice (about 1/10th of the whole cake, which is all I
need in a sitting because of its richness) would be
well under.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and grease a springform cake pan. Place a layer of foil along the bottom rim to prevent leaks.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, in 20-30 second increments, melt butter and dark chocolate, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
- Combine ½ cup sugar with egg yolks in a large bowl. Whisk for a minute or two.
- Combine the other ½ cup sugar with the egg whites in a metal mixing bowl. Beat with a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Now we put everything together: Add the almonds and dark chocolate/butter mixture to the large bowl (with the sugar/yolk mixture). Then fold in the sugar/egg white mixture until batter is fully combined.
- Pour batter into the springform cake pan and bake for 30-35 mins. Don’t overbake! It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs. It puffs up, then collapses. This is normal (and makes a delightful little crust along the rim)!
