Throughout my childhood, my brother and I always looked forward to Halloween every year. We went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with our best friends who lived across the street, each of us dressed up as something different: a ballerina, a Batman, a ghost, a princess… Even an M&M one year!
During our early years, we carried those iconic plastic buckets shaped like jack-o-lanterns to collect candy, but we later graduated to larger cloth bags made from festive fabric printed with witches and ghouls when our parents allowed us to stay out longer. That extra hour of trick-or-treating meant a lot more candy, and it wouldn’t fit in those plastic buckets!
Once we finished traipsing up and down driveways, we walked back to our houses lugging our loot. As soon as we entered the front door, we plopped down on the family room floor and inverted our bags, dumping the entire contents out onto the carpet.
We sorted the candy into three piles: ones to keep, ones to trade, and ones to give to Mom and Dad (aka the Almond Joys and Mounds bars… neither of us liked coconut back then!). I carefully hoarded all of my 3 Musketeers and Reese’s peanut butter cups; they were my all-time favorite treats!
With Halloween not too far away and every store prominently displaying oversized bags of candy, I’ve been tempted to buy a few ahead of time so I’m ready when the little kids come knocking… But knowing me, I’d pick out all of my favorites to eat in the upcoming weeks. Not good!
So instead, I made a batch of these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “Peanut Butter” Cups to enjoy! Yes, that’s right… Instead of peanut butter, they’re filled with egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough! And that makes them 1,000 times better than my childhood favorite Reese’s—at least, in my book!
Even better? They’re just 45 calories with no artificial ingredients, flour, or added sugar!
So let’s talk about how to make this healthy candy!
These “peanut butter” cups are fairly simple and straightforward to make… But it did take a bit more time than I originally anticipated. Once I got in the groove, time flew by—always a sign I’m in my happy place making sweet treats in the kitchen!
So you’ll start with a batch of my practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s the recipe I shared with you just before this one! Have you tried it yet? Made from oat flour (like this!), sweetened with my favorite vanilla stevia (this kind!), and full of mini chocolate chips (I’m obsessed with these!).
Instead of 16 spheres, you’ll make them smaller to yield 36 little bites. Remember to flatten each of those little bites! The flat tops and bottoms make it easier to surround them with the melted dark chocolate.
Once you’ve lined your mini muffin pans (I own these!) with paper liners, it’s time to melt your dark chocolate. I absolutely love both Ghirardelli and Lindt for these! Everyone in my family prefers the 70% range… But I typically go darker, all the way to 85%+. (My mom says that dark of chocolate tastes like “dirt!” ?)
Spoon a bit of your melted dark chocolate into one mini muffin cup, gently drop one of your flattened cookie dough bites on top, and spoon more melted dark chocolate over the filling. Make sure you spread it down the sides so the filling is completely surrounded! Then repeat with the remaining muffin cups and ingredients.
Once they’re all done, pop your trays in the fridge (or freezer!) until the chocolate has completely hardened. I prefer the freezer method because it only takes about 5-10 minutes, at most!
That looks like pure healthy candy bliss to me! ?? 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” cups and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough "Peanut Butter" Cups | | Print |
- 1 batch practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough bites
- 1 cup (244g) roughly chopped dark chocolate
- Place mini paper cupcake liners inside of 36 mini muffin cups. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
- To prepare the filling, make the practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough bites as written, but shape the cookie dough into 36 small spheres (not 16 as written!). Flatten each sphere until it’s just barely smaller than the mini muffin cup. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough. Once all of the cookie dough has been shaped, place a sheet of plastic wrap or a lightly moistened paper towel over the top of the cookie dough to prevent it from drying out.
- Place the dark chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Stir for 1 minute. Continue to heat for 10-second intervals, stirring for 1 minute between each, until the chocolate has completely melted.
- Dollop a small amount of melted chocolate into one mini muffin liner, enough to cover the bottom, and carefully set one of the flattened filling spheres on top. Spoon more melted chocolate on top, carefully spreading it so it drips over the sides of the filling and into every nook and cranny of those liners. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and pumpkin mixture.
- Once all 36 mini muffin cups have been filled, place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes (or the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes) or until the chocolate has hardened. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to eat.
Flattening the filling ensures the tops of your “peanut butter” cups are smooth and flat too, not rounded from the sphere poking up out of the chocolate!
Paper liners will better peel away from the peanut butter cups when they’re cold, straight from the refrigerator or freezer! If storing in the freezer, let them thaw on the counter for 5-10 minutes before eating.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low sugar, lower carb}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Cups
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
♡ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Energy Bites
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Truffles
♡ Healthy Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Protein Cookie Dough
Hi,
What if I cannot find the practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough bites? I don´t live in USA.
Thanks
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe! The practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough bites are actually homemade. If you click on the pink text (my links are pink!), then you’ll be taken to my recipe for the practically flourless chocolate chip cookie dough bites so you can make them yourself. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making them and these “peanut butter” cups!
I just made these tonight and they taste great! I actually used dark chocolate chips and they weren’t a problem! (And subbed Greek yogurt for oil/butter) Overall, they were quick, simple, and delicious! Highly recommend!
I’m so glad you loved these cookie dough cups, Mia! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I appreciate you sharing your recipe modifications too — I always love hearing what tweaks work!