Almond butter cups are a delicious dessert with a wonderful contrast of crunchy yet smooth dark chocolate and rich, creamy almond butter filling. They are like perfection in a cup form. They’re vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), grain-free (gluten-free), soy-free, and refined sugar-free.
I have pretty strong willpower when it comes to food. However, sometimes I just can’t stop eating these almond butter cups. Somehow, chocolate and nut butter together are even more magnificent than they are when eaten solo. Do you know why?
According to Gregory Ziegler, a Penn State University professor, we can’t put those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups down because of a phenomenon called “dynamic sensory contrast.” Our taste buds simply love contrasting textures. The snappy chocolate and the smooth nut butter are essentially a texture power couple.
It doesn’t stop there, though.
“Chocolate and nuts also produce flavors with a unique pull to people,” Ziegler says. The rich, tantalizing taste of chocolate and the nutty taste of peanut butter provide the exact sensation our taste buds crave. The salt in the nuts also provides an attractive contrast to the sweet chocolate.
Now, I do understand why Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are so popular. However, whenever I tasted one, I thought, “The chocolate could be darker, and the peanut butter could be creamier.” So, here’s a healthy(-ish) twist on everyone’s favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – almond butter cups with dark chocolate and creamy almond butter filling.
Tips for Making Almond Butter Cups
Ingredients
You only need three ingredients to make these homemade almond butter cups:
- Chocolate: you can use either tempered chocolate made from scratch or store-bought. Whether you make the chocolate yourself or purchase it from the store, go with chocolate you enjoy eating. I love 70% dark chocolate because it gives the almond butter cups a deep, rich chocolate flavor, but 45% – 60% chocolate is typically used for peanut butter cups. Ultimately, the choice of chocolate depends on your taste preferences.
- Coconut oil: tempered chocolate is quite hard. A little bit of coconut oil softens it, so it’s not rock hard when you bite into it.
- Almond butter: natural creamy almond butter is best. The ideal consistency would be, well, creamy. If the almond butter is too drippy, it will be difficult to work with (and eat!); if it’s too stiff, it won’t yield the wonderful creamy contrast to the crunchy chocolate. So, I almost always use my homemade almond butter for this recipe. It’s quite drippy, but freeze it for a few minutes to make it easy to work with. If you prefer a firmer filling, you can mix the almond butter with 1-3 Tbsp. of almond flour, starting with the lesser amount, until you reach the desired consistency.
How to Make Almond Butter Cups
- Line a muffin tin. Fill a regular 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. You can also use a mini 36-cup muffin tin, but in that case, use only ⅓ of the amounts listed below (when dividing the chocolate and almond butter). If you don’t have a muffin tin, you can also place the muffin liners on a plate.
Set up a double boiler. Add a few inches of water to a medium saucepan and top it with a stainless-steel bowl slightly larger than the circumference of the saucepan. The bowl should create a seal with the bottom saucepan to trap the steam produced by the hot water. Ensure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water – this would cause the chocolate to get too hot. Bring the water to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Once the water is hot, turn the heat to the lowest setting. - Melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate and coconut oil to the stainless steel bowl set over the saucepan and melt the chocolate, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is completely smooth. While the chocolate is melting, place the almond butter in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
- Fill each cupcake liner with a small amount of chocolate. Add 1 Tbsp./15 ml of the melted chocolate into each paper cup. Once they’re all full, gently tap the muffin tin to flatten the chocolate and remove air bubbles. Alternatively, you could also spread the chocolate in the liners until it’s about halfway up the sides. The best way to do this is to pick up the muffin liner and move the chocolate around in the liner until it’s spread out evenly. Then freeze until the chocolate is completely hardened, for about 5 minutes. Reserve the remaining melted chocolate for the top layer of the almond butter cups.
- Add the almond butter. Drop 2-3 tsp./10-15 ml of the chilled almond butter into the middle of each muffin cup. Gently press the almond butter down to flatten it so each cup has a smooth top layer. Unless you spread the chocolate up the sides of the cupcake liners, try to keep the almond butter in the middle and not too close to the edge.
- Spoon more chocolate on top. Add about 1 ½ Tbsp./22 ml of melted chocolate on top of the almond butter, then gently tap the muffin tin to flatten the almond butter cups. The key is only to use a thin layer of chocolate while still covering the almond butter. If the chocolate is too thick, it’s harder to bite into.
- Freeze. Transfer the almond butter cups to the freezer and chill until the chocolate is firm to the touch, for about 10 minutes.
How to Store Homemade Almond Butter Cups
- Refrigerating: transfer the almond butter cups to an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 1 month.
- Freezing: transfer the almond butter cups to an airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Chocolate Recipes
I adore chocolate. Real dark chocolate, to be precise. Ideally, above 70%. If you also love chocolate, here are some of my favorite chocolate treats that use tempered dark chocolate:
- Chocolate bark: biting into a piece of chocolate bark with many different flavors and textures is incredibly satisfying. This chocolate bark features chocolate (of course!) that melts on your tongue, almonds and pumpkin seeds that provide crunch, and dried cranberries that add chewiness.
- Dark (tempered) chocolate: have you ever wondered how to make chocolate at home? Raw (= from unroasted cacao beans), tempered (= shiny, smooth, with a snap when you bite into it), dark (75%) chocolate entirely from scratch. If you’d like to make your own dark chocolate, try this 3-ingredient recipe.
If you try any of these recipes, please leave a comment and rate the recipe below. It always means a lot when you do.
Almond Butter Cups
Almond butter cups are a delicious dessert with a wonderful contrast of crunchy yet smooth dark chocolate and rich, creamy almond butter filling. They are like perfection in a cup form.
Servings: 12 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate , finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond butter , smooth
Instructions
- Line a muffin tin. Fill a regular 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. You can also use a mini 36-cup muffin tin, but in that case, use only ⅓ of the amounts listed below (when dividing the chocolate and almond butter). If you don't have a muffin tin, you can also just place the muffin liners on a plate.
- Set up a double boiler. Add a few inches of water to a medium saucepan and top it with a stainless-steel bowl slightly larger than the circumference of the saucepan. The bowl should create a seal with the bottom saucepan to trap the steam produced by the hot water. Ensure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water - this would cause the chocolate to get too hot. Bring the water to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Once the water is hot, turn the heat to the lowest setting.
- Melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate and coconut oil to the stainless steel bowl set over the saucepan and melt the chocolate, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is completely smooth. While the chocolate is melting, place the almond butter in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
- Fill each cupcake liner with a small amount of chocolate. Add 1 Tbsp./15 ml of the melted chocolate into each paper cup. Once they're all full, gently tap the muffin tin to flatten the chocolate and remove air bubbles. Alternatively, you could also spread the chocolate in the liners until it's about halfway up the sides. The best way to do this is to pick up the muffin liner and move the chocolate around in the liner until it's spread out evenly. Then freeze until the chocolate is completely hardened, for about 5 minutes. Reserve the remaining melted chocolate for the top layer of the almond butter cups.
- Add the almond butter. Drop 2-3 tsp./10-15 ml of the chilled almond butter into the middle of each muffin cup. Gently press the almond butter down to flatten it so each cup has a smooth top layer. Unless you spread the chocolate up the sides of the cupcake liners, try to keep the almond butter in the middle and not too close to the edge.
- Spoon more chocolate on top. Add about 1 ½ Tbsp./22 ml of melted chocolate on top of the almond butter, then gently tap the muffin tin to flatten the almond butter cups. The key is only to use a thin layer of chocolate while still covering the almond butter. If the chocolate is too thick, it's harder to bite into.
- Freeze. Transfer the almond butter cups to the freezer and chill until the chocolate is firm to the touch, for about 10 minutes.
- Store. Leftover almond butter cups keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. For longer-term storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
*Nutrition information is approximate and may contain errors. Please feel free to make your own calculations.
Nutrition Facts
Almond Butter Cups
Amount Per Serving (1 of 12)
Calories 261
Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 4g8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Hi Petra,
You are great, I love the way you cook, how many calories does this have, is it the same as eating the Reese cups,
Thanks and keep up the great work,
Angelina
Thank you so much, Angelina. I am so happy you’re enjoying the recipes ❤. To be honest, I am not sure. There are many online apps for counting calories if you’re interested. One of the most popular ones are SparkPeople, FatSecret, or Lose It! Please, let me know if you have any questions.
Can I replace the coconut sugar with honey?how much would I put? Also how about the coconut oil, what quantity?
Hi Ana – I wouldn’t use honey because it is a liquid sweetener (just like maple syrup or agave). You could, however, use any powdered sweetener you like. (It doesn’t have to be coconut sugar). That being said, you might get away with using honey if you put the chocolate into the freezer immediately after pouring the chocolate into the cupcake liners. If the chocolate hardens before the sweetener has time to sink, it will work. I just wouldn’t take the chances. The amount of coconut oil would be the same as the amount of cacao butter. Please, let me know if you have any other questions.
I just made the almond butter but there seems to be no oil in the mixture. I used soaked, blanched and dehydrated almonds. I didn’t roast them at all. Would the oil have come out if they had been roasted first? I have a thick almond butter but absolutely no oil in the mixture or maybe say a drop. It is after all a butter (which took me almost an hour in my medium strong food processor). Should I add my own oil (thinking grapeseed oil) and keep it in the fridge. Two weeks ago I made Hazelnut butter (with roasted nuts) and the oil is separating from the butter and has to be blended in. Or, should I just use the mixture as is or lightly roast the mixture to perhaps bring out the oils more?
I really, really want to make this recipe today as I was supposed to make it on Friday and didn’t find the time to do so. (You know the saying – time flies.)
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I made your flaxseed wraps on Friday but only used one and put the other unrolled servings in the fridge. Today I made another one. Friday’s was very good. My question is: The extras that were in the fridge do they have to be moistened further before rolling out and cooked?
Thank you so much.
Wish the measurement was in Us instead of metric…having trouble trying to figure out the us from the metric
Hi Linda – I just added the imperial measurements. I totally missed it. Thank you for catching that!
Hey Petra, I think it would be amazing if you could include metric measurements as well, for all of your European followers 🙂
Hi Teodora – thank you for your comment! I believe that every recipe now has both imperial and metric measurements. I just finished adding them in. There is a green text under each recipe that says “US customary – metric”. Just click on “metric” and the recipe should switch to metric measurements. Let me know if it’s not working for you 🙂
Wow, amazing! Thank you so much!
I made these yesterday and they turned out fantastic! I went to culinary school and tempering chocolate was something I failed at all the time haha, so I just used Belgian chocolate wafers (non-dairy). I also topped them off with flaked sea salt. Thank you Petra!
Haha – yes, chocolate tempering is definitely tricky! I failed so many times at it too!! What really helped was getting an infrared thermometer. I now use it all the time when I’m tempering chocolate and it’s a total game changer. I am glad you made it work even without tempering though 😀
would i be be to make these in regular muffin size liners? I don’t have mini pan or liners.
Hi Jody – yes, totally! The cups will just be a little bigger 🙂
Dear Petra
As all of your receipts this one is also great.I have already made carrot cake, bounty bars, lime cake and these cups which I adore. I haven’t made tempered chocolate but simply mixed all ingredients for chocolate and it haven’t melted at all outside of fridge. They were really great, but chocolate was too dark for my husband (he is real lover of milk chocolate). Could you please let me know how to make the chocolate with less cacao content so we can both enjoy these cups.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Lada – so happy you’re enjoying the recipes. Thank you so much for the feedback! I don’t currently have a recipe for milk chocolate, but I have heard from other people that this recipe works with the addition of coconut milk powder for milk chocolate. (You could either swap some of the coconut powder for coconut milk powder or add some coconut milk powder to the mix). Please, let me know how it turns out if you give it a try.
Dear Petra
Thank you for the tip. I was not able to find coconut milk powder here (Split, Croatia), so I mixed cream from canned cocnut milk and add it to chocolate mixture. I am very proud to tell that I got a winner. My husbamd likes it very much now.
All the best
Lada
Hi Lada – so happy to hear that! Thank you for the feedback!! ❤️ On a different note – I love Croatia! My parents have a place in Makarska, so I go there every summer 🙂
HI,
I’m trying to off sugar or any alternatives. What “natural” powder alternative you recommend that I can use to make these chocolate coating?
I’ve tried Lacuma powder but even a spoon of it makes barely any difference to bitterness .
Yea, lucuma has a very subtle sweetness, which would not overpower the bitterness of cacao. You could try monk fruit powder if you’re ok with that. Monk fruit is very sweet due to naturally-occurring antioxidants called mogrosides.
dear Petra
I was thinking of making these with blend of stevia and erythritol that as per manufacturer has the same sweetness as common sugar. I would like to use it in this recipe instead of coconut sugar. Can I exchange it in 1:1 ratio or you would recommend something else?
Lada
Hi Lada – if the sweetness is similar to that of sugar, I would just do 1:1 ratio.
Hi Petra!
I have discovered your blog recently, and i’m impressed about your recipes, about the way you explain, about your blog, and photos, and videos. You are amazing, so beautiful, full of light and peace! In my opinion, you deserve at least a Nobel Prize for sharing amasing recipes, that bring people joy and health!
You are an angel on Earth! God bless you forever!
w, thank you so much, Daniela!❤️ You are so kind! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes and my writing. It means a lot.