It’s almost Easter, and truthfully, I don’t crave or want regular old Easter candy at all. In fact, you couldn’t pay me to eat it—because I have so many things I can make myself that taste better (to me) and don’t have all the junk and sugar in them!
Besides, I’m kind of craving cheese more than candy lately. But that’s a different story. A few years ago, I had my cholesterol checked and it was borderline high. I was annoyed—I am healthy. But between then and now, my understanding of nutrition and things like cholesterol has evolved some. I’m not a fat-phobe anymore (in fact, it’s my favorite macronutrient—50-70% of my diet, actually). My feelings about what constitutes a “clean” diet has changed. I used to really lean toward a vegetarian (but not totally) diet that focused on more and more veggies/fruits and less and less animal products. It’s not that I think veggies/fruit are not “clean” anymore, but I’ve found that my body needs a lot more than that to thrive (and having to eat so many nuts and things to stay full was not good for my skin…which I’ve learned recently through an elimination diet). I tell my contemporary nutrition students that I’m not here to tell anyone what is “right” or “wrong” to eat in regards to categories of foods, but I will stick my neck out a little and emphasize the importance of quality. For example: Factory farming vs. small local sustainable farming That’s the type of thing I want to debate…not whether you eat an animal or not. So when it comes to something like Easter candy, there’s no contest. I don’t eat the junky version, and I don’t think you should either. I make my own. It still resembles the junk food (although I’m getting further and further removed from trying to make exact copies of the “real” junk foods). But it’s made with quality ingredients! And I have to say–this treat is nutritious enough for me to eat it for breakfast. 
Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups (like Reece’s, only much better!)
Bottom Layer:
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
4 Tbsp smooth peanut butter (I used Once Again American Classic—my favorite!)
1/2 tsp vanilla stevia or 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)
Stir until smooth.
Set 10 mini muffin pan liners onto a tray or plate. Pour one tablespoon into each muffin cup liner without dribbling it down the inside (or you’ll get streaks in the final product!). Put it in the freezer on a flat surface.
Top Layer:
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
4 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup unprocessed cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla stevia or 1 Tbsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)
Note: If I’m making these for people who haven’t had stevia or don’t like it, I use grade B maple syrup in them too and just reduce the stevia amount (of course just taste test to see what the right amounts of sweetener are!). Stir until smooth. Remove the pan with the bottom layer from the freezer. Add 1 Tbsp of the chocolate mixture to each muffin cup liner. It will fill them all the way to the top! Put the tray back in the freezer for 15 minutes. Eat one! Then put the treats in a container in the fridge to store them. I think next time I might put the chocolate layer on the bottom—It’s a tiny bit more firm than the plain peanut butter layer.
News/Notes: I spent some time outside today, and it felt great—I’m feeling really grateful for the good weather. It always brightens things for me a bit. I’m busy gathering things to put into a giveaway here very soon, like I said I would when I reached 800 “Likes” on facebook. I want to make sure I share some of my most recent favorite things! This weekend I’ll have my favorite boy with me! I’m so excited—hopefully it will be nice out and we can ride bikes and play outside. The winter wasn’t too harsh this year, but it was still a long time to find things to do inside (and stay entertained) for an eight year-old! Of course, I also have a lot of work to do, but I think I have plenty of time to do it…and I’m planning to hit up a couple yoga classes tomorrow too (it will give my heel blisters a break too!). 
What do you have planned for the weekend? Do you find a good balance of work and play? What about healthy junk food? Do you distinguish between the quality of the foods you choose?
Yuum!! Looks delicious! Not much going on this weekend…tomorrow is my sister’s birthday and we’re celebrating…but that’s pretty much it!
Um I kind of need one of those right now please. Thank you. I really try to balance work and play, mostly play on the weekends 😉
It is going to be a rainy weekend, and my husband is going away, so it’ll just be the little guy and I, stuck in the house. These candies sound so good. I love peanut butter and chocolate, so any way to get that in a healthier form, the better.
I wonder how my nieces and nephews would react if I made these to put in their Easter baskets? They probably wouldn’t try them (maybe my nieces), but at least I’d feel good about what I’m giving them! I’m all out of peanut butter and haven’t bought any in a while. I think I was just waiting for this post (Well your last two posts;)) to go out and get some!
They actually DO look better than reese’s- I’m not a big fan of the cups because of the weird peanut butter inside the chocolate. I like reese’s pieces though, but I like how your two layers are separate. Very pretty, too!
Nice job with the 2 layers! I have made chocolate peanut butter cups like those, yum!
Ohh my goodness..as you might know, I am obsessed with PB cups..THESE look and sound so amazing. Plus the ingredients are great!
Ive been excited about these since you instagrammed them. Have so much fun with little man this weekend!
i am with you, lisa – this march weather has completely negated any typical winter blah’s – i feel so refreshed and energized! so glad to hear you have been out and about so much, and feel so positive, too!
have fun with m this weekend – i have a good mix of work and play, esp sunday when i will work, go shopping with mom, and go to a movie with a friend!
most of the time, i believe in quality, except i have to say a run-of-the-mill cereal hits the spot some days, and i think there is time and place for any type of chocolate treat!
enjoy yoga!!
So funny, because I stopped at the store after the gym and, among other things, bought my favorite treat, Paul Newman’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. So yum! And now I see your recipe, which I am eager to try!
I allow myself treats on Friday and over the weekend, in moderation. So that’s why the candy today and probably pizza tonight, with a glass of Cabernet. With pizza, I prefer the veggiei-topped slices. More filling and it helps me meet my veggie quota for the day. And if I buy chocolate, it’s the G&B organic 70% dark. But, so far, I won’t go out of my way to make sweets. I’ll eat them!
This recipe looks so good Lisa! I’m finally going to do some baking this weekend, because I haven’t in so long. I have no idea what I want to make but I sure do hope it turns out good!
Not much planned for the weekend. I want to try and finish organizing my kitchen out. I have a few more cabinets left! 🙂
I make a peanut butter fudge with my peanut flour that gives me the perfect sweet treat. I need to try your version now! Those look perfect. I hope you have a great weekend with the little man!
wow this looks sooo good! i have a big batch of cocoa butter at home, do u think i could sub it for the coconut oil? i wonder how it would taste.
I definitely distinguish between the quality of foods I choose. You cant really compare a Reeses peanut butter cup with this homemade recipe. I dont have a sweet tooth so when i choose to eat something sweet (and ok I probably have 1 piece or two of dark chocolate every day) its something that I truly like and often prepared myself. I am a big fan of your avocado pudding and peanut butter recipes! my favourites!
Oh wow, Lisa! You take healthy/delicious to a whole new level! Please, please, PLEASE write a book compiling all your amazing recipes!
That’s so nice of you to say, Faith. Actually I’m really looking forward to your book—so I know you’re going to post about it when it’s available! Then I’ll buy an extra and do a giveaway with it 🙂
WOW Lisa! This recipe is amazing. I may make it for an Easter party my family is having this year. Thank you so much!
They really are great—and whether or not they have a faint hint of coconut flavor will depend on what brand of coconut oil you use…. they’re so good, I’m making them again tomorrow! If you’ll have them sitting out for a bit, I would recommend keeping them in the freezer ahead of time!
On Mon 26/03/12 15:15 , “Disqus” sent:
Thanks for sharing..what a greay substitute for resses for my kids who i dobt let them touch resses from the store
I just made these and the chocolate layer came out like a crumbly dough, not a melted chocolate. Any ideas?
Hm, not sure. I’d probably add more melted coconut oil and see if that does the trick! Everything should blend together easily and be really smooth!
On Tue 18/02/14 18:23 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Hm, not sure. I’d probably add more melted coconut oil and see if that does the trick! Everything should blend together easily and be really smooth!
On Tue 18/02/14 18:23 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
how many cups does this make?
Hi Sophie, that depends on how big your wrappers are and how much you fill them—I’ve used all different mini-sized wrappers, and usually get somewhere between 8 and 10 (well, this also depends on how much of the batter I eat!).
On Mon 17/03/14 11:14 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
I would love to try these but my wife has a severe tree nut allergy. (Coconuts are tree nuts) Any other suggestion for oil that isn’t tree nut based? (Btw, peanuts are a legume, and she is not allergic to peanuts.)
If she can have the cocoa, how about cacao butter.
Hi Kenneth, That’s a great question! I had always thought coconuts were in the “drupe” family and not “nut” family, but I’m first to always respect an allergy! I don’t know for sure what would work—but you’d want to pick something that is solid in the fridge or freezer. I have an idea for this… I’ll try it today or tomorrow and then let you know!
On Mon 17/03/14 12:09 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Cocoa is fine, its chocolate. (Comes from a bean) Its Coconuts that my wife is allergic (as well as walnuts, pecans, brazil, most tree nuts, she has a low tolerance for almonds and in the case she has almonds in anything, she takes her allergy meds.)
Thank you! That would be great. She loves peanut butter cups and we buy Sunspire cups from our local Co-op.
you can get organic cacao butter for a reasonable price at vitacost I just got some for another recipe
can you use
Honey instead of Stevia
Yep! Maple syrup is usually my go-to, but honey works as well.
On Mon 17/03/14 20:02 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
Hi Kenneth, I came up with a new version of these with your wife’s coconut allergy in mind! Check them out… http://www.thrive-style.com/2014/03/extra-creamy-peanut-butter-cups/
On Mon 17/03/14 12:09 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
I absolutely agree that some occasional “junk food” is OK for special occasions if I use quality, healthy ingredients. I made a tart to celebrate family birthdays using dark chocolate and coconut cream for the filling and a crust of unsweetened coconut, a bit of almond flour, and coconut oil for the crust. Just a smidgen of stevia to sweeten it and my guests said it was “to die for.” I will definitely be trying the peanut butter cups, except with almond butter because I avoid peanuts.
How would these turn out with a natural PB that separates a bit??
It definitely works well with natural peanut butter–as long as it has been well-stirred and combined before you make them!
On Thu 27/03/14 12:59 , “Disqus” notifications@disqus.net sent:
I just made these – wow, such a great treat! I’m very impressed!
I sprinkled a tiny pinch of seasalt on the top of them. That’s good.
Thank you for a very useful and nice LC recipe 😉
/Sheila
Hi to everybody, here everyone is sharing such knowledge, so it’s
fastidious to see this site, and I used to visit this blog daily http://www.gourmet-paleo.com
Ok our got really thick to? Could it be the pb2? It was our 1st time using it….
Do you know, approximate, how many calories these come out to be?
Lisa, I made these today and they are just beautiful, but I am new to Stevia and this was my first experimental candy maxing adventure…My vanilla Stevia is in liquid form and when I used 1/2 tsp in the bottom and 1 tsp in the top layer they certainly are bitter tasting and I have recently read a lot about excess Stevia causing bitterness. Are these measurements for liquid Stevia drops? I still plan on using these and just throwing them into a protein smoothie so as not to waste them but they just are not that pleasant tasting on their own 🙂 Would you please clarify the measurements for the drops as I would like to girl this recipe another whirl? Thanks!
Lisa, If you were going to eat these for breakfast, would you eat one or two? Would that be the whole breakfast or part of it? I like the idea, just having questions on how this would replace a “regular” breakfast.
Wow, Reeces, though I like other brands of Peanut butter too. Best try different peanut butters with this recipe.
I just made these and they are amazing! I put the chocolate layer on the top and the bottom and used sunbutter instead of peanut butter because of my son’s food allergies. They are perfect for those candy bar cravings! Thank you!
I made this, but instead of making layered cups I mixed it all together and put it in a pyrex glass baking pan and tossed it in the freezer. It turned out perfect! The texture was just like a chocolate bar and it was sooo tasty!!