Last week, on the same day I planned on baking these cookies, the electrician showed up. Originally built in the 1950’s, our house had one of the craziest layouts he’d ever seen, including random wires leading to nowhere in the attic, so he shut down the power for the entire house while he reconfigured the electricity box.
The entire house. No microwave, no oven, no internet. It was a baking blogger’s worst nightmare!
So I laced up my running shoes and pounded out my favorite route through the nearby neighborhoods as a stress-relief session, yet I constantly thought about what I could create without any electricity.
Truffles… Energy bites… Umm… Uhh… Parfaits?
Parfaits!! (Yes, I sounded just as excited as Donkey from Shrek.) When I remembered the half-eaten bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups, I decided to base the flavor off of that and whipped up these…
Peanut Butter Cup Parfaits! (Isn’t that just a fun alliteration?) Smooth and creamy, light and fluffy, every bite of these sweet treats is full of peanut butter flavor. And with two different types of chocolate too, they’re one of the most irresistible things that has come out of my kitchen this month!
HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER PARFAITS
To make these healthier peanut butter parfaits incredibly simple, we’re making the “easy” form of pudding with Greek yogurt and fat-free, sugar-free instant pudding mix. Greek yogurt is already fairly thick, and the instant pudding mix helps it thicken even more to a perfect pudding-like consistency. (You can even use it as frosting!) Add in some creamy peanut butter and a little sweetener, whisk for a minute or two, and the pudding is ready to chill.
Chopped peanut butter cups and crumbled chocolate graham crackers create the middle layer and garnish on top. I diced the peanut butter cups fairly finely, so I only needed one per parfait.
Tip: Don’t have chocolate graham crackers? Substitute chocolate Teddy Grahams or Oreo cookies instead! Regardless of which you use, it’s best to crumble them just before assembling. This helps retain their crunchier texture, instead of allowing them to turn stale or soggy.
I served my pudding in these little parfait glasses. I found a set at Party City, but most party stores should have them. You can usually find them online too! You want something that holds right around 2 ounces. With anything larger, it’ll be harder to create the layers because the middle chocolate layer becomes too thin to see!
It was so hard to stop myself from eating the entire batch of these Peanut Butter Cup Parfaits… It was like sticking my spoon into a cloud of peanut butter — complete with sweet chocolate raindrops!
Pure bliss. And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your peanut butter cup parfaits!
Lightened-Up Peanut Butter Parfaits
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 serving (7g) fat-free, sugar-free vanilla instant pudding mix (about ¼ of one box)
- 2 tbsp (25g) Truvia (or adjusted to taste)
- 1 ½ tbsp (24g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 chocolate graham cracker (crumbled)
- 4 mini chocolate peanut butter cups (diced, such as Reese's)
Instructions
- To prepare the pudding, beat together the yogurt, instant pudding mix, Truvia, and peanut butter in a medium bowl using a hand-held mixer for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Chill for at least 2 hours. (If chilling longer, cover the top of the bowl with foil.)
- To assemble the parfaits, transfer the peanut butter pudding into a zip-topped bag, and cut off a piece of one corner. Pipe a layer of the pudding into 2-ounce serving glasses. Sprinkle the crushed graham crackers and diced peanut butter cups on top; then add another layer of pudding. Garnish with graham cracker crumbs and a few more diced peanut butter cups.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
I have no idea what I would do if I had no kitchen and no electricity. But it definitely wouldn’t be running, and that’s why you’re a better person than me. I’ll take a parfait though!!! 🙂
I’ll gladly give you a parfait Karen! 🙂 In all actuality, I cried first… And then went running. Because I didn’t want the construction guys to see my red face. But shh, don’t tell!
Seriously! I’d be sitting on my couch crying like a baby. Definitely not running. And when it was all said and done, I’d expect someone would have put this parfait in front of me!
I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’ll make you a parfait! 🙂 Although… Are Reese’s minis GF? For some reason, I thought their tiny ones weren’t. And I wouldn’t want to make you sick!
I love these parfaits! Peanut butter cups are one of my favorite candies and when mixed with a cool creamy pudding, delicious. I am dying to try these. Pinned!
Thanks Jen! PB cups are one of my favorite candies too. It’s so hard keeping them in the house though — my guy HATES PB!
OMG … I feel your pain sister. Our power has been going out nonstop lately … and get this … we live in a brand new house! Ugh! It definitely makes cooking, baking, blogging very difficult. These peanut butter cup parfaits though totally worth it! Pinning immediately! <3
A brand new house without power?? That’s the worst thing ever Justine!! I’m so sorry you have to go through that. I feel your pain, and I’m even more impressed with how gorgeous your recipes are and how often you post them!
Parfaits are on my list of my favorite things to shoot and eat! These would be gone in seconds!
You always make the most elegant parfaits Beth! Those NYE ones were totally gorgeous!
Hello Amy! This may be a silly question, but how much is 1 serving of the pudding mix powder?
Not a silly question at all Angie! Each box of instant pudding mix should be for 4 servings, so about 1/4 of the package. (If you have a kitchen scale {this is mine}, then you can go by weight too!)