Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
By: Laura Bray
Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - 8:41am

Ingredients




Ingredients:
a large batch of homemade chocolate (see recipe below - homemade chocolate makes the recipe raw and less processed, but you can also melt down dark chocolate bars for a quicker method)
a batch of “caramel” sauce (see recipe below)
Almond Butter Filling Ingredients:
1 cup natural, smooth, unsalted almond butter
4 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp. fine grain salt
Toppings:
sea salt flakes for topping (I use Maldon's flaked sea salt)

Preparation

1 First, line your muffins tins and make your homemade chocolate. 2 Homemade chocolate recipe: 3 The ratio for homemade chocolate is 3:1:1 (coconut oil or cocoa butter* (melted): coconut oil: maple syrup) 4 To make a large batch I would start by mixing together 1 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup coconut oil or cocoa butter (melted), 1/3 cup or less maple syrup. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of vanilla extract. If you find you need more chocolate for the almond butter cups just make another batch using the correct ratios, and store leftovers in the fridge. 5 *cocoa butter hardens a bit better 6 **For a quicker route, just melt about a pound of dark chocolate in a double boiler setup so that it liquifies and stirs easily. 7 Now, make the caramel filling in a separate bowl. 8 To make the “caramel” filling: 9 Combine 1/4 cup smooth, unsalted almond butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, 1 tablespoon of arrowroot, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Set aside. 10 Next, Make the almond butter filling: 11 Combine the almond butter, arrowroot powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt until combined and set aside. 12 Assemble: 13 Spoon a little less than a tablespoon of chocolate into a regular sized muffin tin. Use a utensil to smother the chocolate so it covers the bottom entirely. Repeat until all tins have chocolate at the bottom. Spoon a small teaspoon of caramel sauce on top of each chocolate puddle. Then scoop out a heaping teaspoon of almond butter filling and roll into a ball. Press down on top of each chocolate/caramel puddle in the muffin tins. Repeat with all tins.  Spoon a little less than one tablespoon of chocolate mixture onto the top of each almond butter ball to cover it completely. You can use your finger to maneuver the chocolate -if it is messy, no worries (isn’t that the fun of it?)! Sprinkle a pinch of flaked sea salt on each almond butter cup and chill in the fridge until they are set. 14 *Store in the fridge. If you made coconut oil based chocolate, store in the fridge until RIGHT before you eat them for the best texture results!

About

Gluten Free, Vegan, Raw Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups made with all healthy ingredients and natural sweetener.