During elementary school, my brother and I followed nearly the exact same routine every Halloween. After carving pumpkins late in the afternoon while sitting on newspapers completely covering the kitchen floor, we dashed upstairs to pull on our costumes before heading out the front door to meet our neighbors from across the street.
The four of us, plus at least one adult for supervision, walked up and down the neighborhood streets, our candy bags swinging from our arms as we chimed, “Trick-or-treat!” whenever somebody opened their front door. After an hour or so, when the adults decided we needed to head back home, we usually begged for a few more houses… Yet we always seemed to return with enough candy to send us straight to the dentist.
Back inside, my brother and I dumped the entire contents of our Halloween bags onto the living room carpet. I always sorted through mine by type: Kit Kats in one pile, M&Ms in another, Starburst in a third… Until I was completely surrounded by piles of meticulously organized candy.
Because I hated coconut and almonds back then, I always donated my Almond Joy and Mounds bars to my mom as soon as I finished sorting. Sometimes my brother and I bartered and traded—he loved the fruity candy more while I preferred the chocolate kind!—but we often ended up keeping the majority of what we received in our candy bags.
At that age, I always saved my favorites for last… Which meant the Reese’s peanut butter cups and Three Musketeer bars. Even now as an adult, I still love those two chocolaty candy flavors, so they’re the ones I often buy to pass out to my neighborhood kids on Halloween.
And this year, I actually planned ahead! Because I’m usually tempted to sneak a couple from the candy bowl, I made a batch of these Ultimate Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups to nibble on instead!
You just need 4 ingredients (including salt and water!) to make these healthy homemade peanut butter cups, and I personally think they taste way better than Reese’s—and not just because they have no artificial ingredients or added sugar! They’re actually bigger than the mini Reese’s peanut butter cups too, yet they’re just 39 calories!
So… Don’t judge me if I decide to sneak a second! ?
Let’s talk about how to make these ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups!
Like I previously mentioned, you just need 4 ingredients: peanut flour (I always use this one!), dark chocolate (I love this one and this one!), salt, and water. No powdered sugar, no granulated sugar, no added sugar of any form… And I’ve found that lets the peanut flavor of these healthy homemade peanut butter cups really shine!
Just a quick warning before we get started though! This is one of those recipes that’s really simple to make yet a little bit time consuming. I promise these ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups are worth it! Just turn on some music (or a baseball game, if you’re me) and enjoy the oh-so-delicious process!
You’ll start by making the filling. First, whisk together the peanut flour and salt. I prefer sprinkling in extra salt because I love that bright pop it adds. Yum yummity yum! Then you’ll stir in the water until the filling has a consistency of stiff cookie dough.
Before shaping the filling for these ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups, I’ve found it’s really helpful to rub a teensy bit of oil on your palms and fingers, just in case the filling tries to stick to them. Any neutral-tasting oil will work!
You’ll roll a tiny bit of the filling between your palms to make a sphere, and then you must flatten that filling sphere to make a disc. Do NOT leave it as a sphere! You want the tops of your ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups to be flat, right? So your filling needs to be flat too!
Tip: I keep a stack of mini muffin cup liners nearby while shaping the filling so I can eyeball how wide the peanut butter filling disc should be. I try to make it just a teensy tiny bit smaller than the diameter of the liner so it takes up as much horizontal space as possible!
Once you’ve lined 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners, it’s time to melt the chocolate! Although I typically melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, I make sure I do it on short intervals and stir for a really long time in between so I don’t overheat the chocolate.
If you keep the chocolate warm while assembling your ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups, the chocolate looks normal once your PB cups are at room temperature. If you let it sit on the counter and reheat it periodically as it cooled, your PB cups would look speckly instead.
So then I have another trick for you…
Keep your bowl of melted chocolate warm by (a) turning on an electric pancake griddle {that’s what my friend Dorothy uses!} or a metal panini press {I don’t have the former, so this is what I use!} and (b) placing a washcloth in between the bottom of your bowl and the electric griddle or metal top of the panini press.
If you use this set-up, your bowl of chocolate should stay nice and warm, and at the same consistent temperature, which makes assembling your ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups so much easier!
And now it’s time to do that! Working with 2 to 4 of your mini muffin liners at a time, add a small amount of melted chocolate into the bottom of each. Gently place one of your peanut butter filling discs (remember, discs—not spheres!) on top. Spoon a little more melted chocolate on top of each disc, and gently spread it down the sides of the filling to “seal” with the chocolate beneath. Keep going until you run out of filling!
At this point, you can either wait for an hour or more for your ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups to fully set… Or you can pop them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes… Or if you’re truly impatient, set them in the freezer for 5 minutes to make the chocolate quickly harden!
And then…
Enjoy your incredibly decadent—yet still healthy!!—homemade peanut butter cups! 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 ultimate healthy peanut butter cups!
| The Ultimate Healthy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups | | Print |
- ½ cup (60g) peanut flour (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (50mL) water
- ⅔ cup (145g) roughly chopped dark chocolate (see Notes!)
- Place mini cupcake liners inside of 24 mini muffin cups. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Stir in the water.
- Working with a small amount of the peanut butter mixture at a time, shape into a small sphere. Flatten the sphere until it’s a disc that’s just barely smaller than the mini muffin cup liner. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the filling mixture. (If the mixture sticks to your hands, see the Notes below!)
- 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. (I highly recommend keeping it warm while you assemble your peanut butter cups! See the Notes below!)
- 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 filling discs.
- Once all 24 mini muffin cups have been filled, place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (or the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes) or until the chocolate has hardened. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to eat.
I prefer my peanut butter filling on the salty side, so I usually increase the salt by an additional ¼ teaspoon!
Use regular bars of chocolate, not chocolate chips! Chocolate bars melt better and taste smoother than chocolate chips, which often contain a stabilizer to help them hold their shape. I love Ghirardelli and Lindt for this!
Flattening the filling into discs ensures the tops of your PB cups are smooth and flat too, not rounded from the sphere poking up out of the chocolate!
If the filling sticks to your palms and fingers, pour a little neutral-tasting oil (like canola) onto a paper towel, and rub that paper towel on your palms and fingers. The filling shouldn’t stick any more! (And remember to do that in between shaping each bit of filling!)
To keep your bowl of melted chocolate warm, (a) turn on an electric pancake griddle or a metal panini press {I don’t have the former, so this is what I use!} and (b) place a washcloth in between the bottom of your bowl and the electric griddle or metal top of the panini press. If you use this set-up, your bowl of chocolate should stay warm and at the same consistent temperature, which makes assembling your ultimate healthy dark chocolate peanut butter cups so much easier. (They’ll also look prettier! If you let the bowl of chocolate sit on your counter and periodically reheat it, your peanut butter cups will look speckled.)
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.
For more tips and information, please see my blog post above!
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low carb, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “Peanut Butter” Cups
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Espresso Peanut Butter Cups
♡ Healthy Dark Chocolate Funfetti Peanut Butter Cups
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms
♡ Healthy Blender Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Putting in a request for The Ultimate Healthy White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups 🙂 <3
Oooooh I hadn’t even thought of doing a white chocolate version!! Definitely noted, Liz!! 😉
Thanks for sending this email! I’ve been thinking of baking these, a perfect Halloween treat! As long as I remember, I can do them?
You’re so sweet Michelle!!! You know that I would absolutely LOVE to see a photo of your peanut butter cups if you make them!! ♡
Can you use powdered peanut butter instead of peanut flour?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kaitlin! I’ve actually covered this already in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these peanut butter cups if you try them!
These look delicious!! Have you ever tried replacing some of the peanut powder with protein powder? …these would be the best ‘protein bars’ ever!!
Thanks Jessica! I haven’t tried replacing any of the peanut flour with protein powder, mainly because every protein powder behaves so differently. If you wanted to try, I’d recommend using a plant-based one and looking over my Protein Powder FAQs here first! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you make these peanut butter cups!
Thank you! I think I have to give it a try with (some) protein powder – I will comment back with how they turn out!
It’s my pleasure! I’m so excited to hear how they turn out Jessica! 🙂
Is pb2 the same as the peanut flour?
Not quite! PB2 is peanut flour with added sugar, salt, and sometimes other ingredients. I actually go over PB2 in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these peanut butter cups Gina!
Thank you! Yes, I did miss this ?. These look super yum! Can’t wait to try!
You’re welcome Gina! It happens all the time. 😉 I’m so excited to hear how your peanut butter cups turn out!
These turned out amazing. I used PB2 as I didn’t have peanut flour, and it worked fine. They are too addictive and I can’t stop at just one!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these peanut butter cups Amira! Thanks for letting me know about PB2 — that’s really good to know! 🙂
Is there any way to substitute regular peanut butter in the recipe?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Bracha! I haven’t personally tried, so I’m not sure. If you do decide to try substituting regular peanut butter, it would need to replace the peanut flour, salt, and water. My main concern is that regular peanut butter would be too sticky to shape into discs, so you might need to add a bit of something like oat flour or almond flour to get a better consistency. If you decide to try that — or the recipe as written! — I’d love to hear what you think of these peanut butter cups! 🙂
Hi! Do you think these could be shaped and dipped like buckeyes? Thank you
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe Rebecca! I actually have a healthy buckeye recipe here. It uses fairly similar ingredients, but the peanut butter filling for my buckeyes recipe is much sweeter than this one and more like the taste of traditional buckeyes (aka the ones made with powdered sugar!). 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you end up trying either of my recipes!