Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free + Vegan)

By Rachel Conners @bakeritablog

These homemade Peanut Butter Cups are a healthier version of my favorite candy, made with only four ingredients! They are made with a refined sugar-free + vegan homemade chocolate and sprinkled with flaky sea salt.

You may have noticed that recently I’ve been super into making way healthier but still totally delicious versions of my favorite, traditionally unhealthy treats. First, I whipped up these copycat homemade Twix Bars that were made with a super delicious vegan caramel and crispy coconut flour shortbread.

A version of one of my favorite candies made with only six ingredients, and without any refined sugars or gluten? Yes, please! Those first bars have inspired a whole slew of follow-ups. 

After my excitement over the Twix Bar success, I channeled that energy towards one of my favorite Girl Scout Cookies: Samoa Bars. I just posted these, but a couple of you have already shared your love of these with me and sent me pics of them in your kitchen (that’s my favorite thing ever, BTW!).

This time, the vegan caramel is taken up a notch with toasted coconut and the bars are cut and then individually dunked and drizzled with dark chocolate. Oh heck YES!

So I couldn’t stop there – I’m determined to make my favorite candy bars (and yours – leave requests in the comments!!) all guilt-free too. Next up: copycat homemade peanut butter cups. These are only FOUR ingredients, so you have no excuses not to make them. They’re also done with just about 10 minutes of active prep time. Maybe 5 if you’re quick.

The base of this recipe is my favorite recipe for homemade chocolate. It comes together in about 20 seconds by whisking together melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup. That’s all. That mixture is poured into mini muffin liners or a peanut butter cup mold if you’ve got one and then topped with peanut butter and topped off with more of the homemade chocolate.

I added a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, because I do that to pretty much everything. If you’re using unsalted peanut butter, I’d definitely recommend adding the sea salt. If your PB is salted already, you can go either way – I just love the bite of salt and bit of crunch it adds!

I have these stored in a little Tupperware in my fridge and I’m honestly surprised that they’re still there – my roommate and I have been enjoying lots of them as a nighttime chocolate fix. Thankfully, I can just make more when I’m out since they are so EASY! You’ve got to love that. If you’re a PB cup nut like I am, you’ll be obsessed with this recipe. Enjoy!

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free + Vegan)   Save Print Prep time 20 mins Total time 20 mins   Author: Rachel Conners Serves: about 24 cups Ingredients
  • ½ cup coconut oil, melted
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup, to taste
  • About ⅓ cup peanut butter
  • Flaky sea salt (optional)
Directions
  1. Line a mini muffin tin with small cupcake liners. Alternatively, you can also use a peanut butter cup mold, which is what I used.
  2. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and 3 tablespoons maple syrup. Taste it, and add more maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
  3. Pour a small amount of the chocolate mixture into the bottom of each liner or mold cavity, until the bottom is thinly covered. Don't use more than half the chocolate mixture for this. Place the liners in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to harden.
  4. Once the bottom layer of chocolate is hard, place about ½ teaspoon of peanut butter over the chocolate. Pour enough of the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter to cover it completely (if at any point the remaining chocolate gets too thick, warm it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to remelt). Repeat until all are covered. If desired, sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt. Return to the refrigerator to harden completely.
  5. Store at cool room temperature, or in the refrigerator if you live in a warm climate.
Notes Honey can be substituted for the maple syrup in equal amounts. 3.5.3208

There's more where that came from!

  • Homemade Twix Bars (GF, Paleo + Vegan)
  • Samoa Bars (Gluten Free, Paleo + Vegan)
  • Paleo Chocolate Chunks
  • No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart (GF & Vegan)
  • Paleo Cranberry Crumb Bars
  • Chocolate Covered Strawberry Brownies (GF + Paleo)