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Paleo Reese Peanut Butter Cups
Starting on a Paleo diet? Just looking for a healthy alternative for your favorite chocolate peanut butter candy? Whatever your reasoning, you are going to want to keep this recipe for Simple Peanut Butter Cups handy and make them often. The recipe is super quick and simple with the only problem being that they don’t last long!
These honestly taste just like the real deal if not better. With just a few simple ingredients and about 10 minutes, you’ll have a perfect paleo dessert!
Trying My Best to Follow the Paleo Diet
We have all been on diets that restrict some of our favorite foods. I mean, that is the point of a diet, right, to limit things that may not be nutritious to benefit your health? However, sacrificing things like ice cream or candy or cheeses is not always so easy.
Whenever I’m on a new diet, I instantly crave whatever it is that I can’t have. We all know that feeling- tell me I can’t have something and I just want it more! Once, I tried to live gluten free and all I could think about the entire time was bagel sandwiches and pizza- two things I typically don’t eat, but now that I couldn’t have them, I was obsessed. I know, I’m not alone in feeling this way!
However, my quest for a healthy lifestyle continues! Now, in a new effort to eat more wholesome foods, I have been following a Paleo diet. You know what that means, I have never missed candy so much!
If you are not familiar with the Paleo diet, it restricts you from eating any processed foods, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners and most dairy. Pretty much everything that goes into my absolute favorite treat of all time- Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Creating a Simple Paleo Dessert Recipe
This time, with this diet I am determined to make work! No cheating, no rule bending, just straight up Paleo foods. Besides, there are sooo many foods that I love that are diet acceptable– it should be no problem!
But I just can’t get over my need for Reese’s so what is a girl to do?!? Well, make up a recipe that follows the Paleo diet and tastes just like a Reese’s, that’s what! So that is just what I did!
Before I started thinking about my recipe, I set a few guidelines for my Paleo Reese’s peanut butter cups. A few were based strictly on Paleo guidelines while others were just me trying to be ‘extra’.
- Must be gluten free reeses peanut butter cups
- No dairy (Paleo guideline)
- Keto friendly
- Make in under 5 minutes (I love quick recipes!)
- Must be delicious
Guidelines set- I’m ready to cook!
Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Ingredients
While some people on Paleo diets allow themselves peanut butter, the more strict followers do not. Peanut butter can be overly processed especially the more main stream brands that add oils and sugars. To solve this problem I used almond butter in this recipe in place of peanut butter which is completely accepted by the Paleo community.
However, if you need that peanut butter, it will totally work in this recipe. Just look for a brand that is purely peanuts, nothing else added (you could even grind your own- that’s hardcore!).
To make the recipe a little bit more interesting, I added unsweetened shredded coconut to the filling. I know that this isn’t exactly like a Reese’s but it adds a super tasty tropical flavor and a little bit of texture that I really liked. It’s almost like an Almond Joy and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup had a baby!
Honey is the only sweetener in this recipe and actually tastes even better than I expected. Sweet enough to be a dessert and made by friendly bees instead of a machine- sounds perfect! We don’t need any refined sugars when we have all natural honey!
For the chocolate, I opted for an all natural dark chocolate. Make sure your chocolate has no added sugar (they manage to sneak sugar into everything these days!) and is also dairy free. You can find some milk chocolates made with coconut milk but nothing can beat the rich, decadent taste of pure dark chocolate.
Mixing the Ingredients
A quick 30 seconds in the microwave and the almond butter, coconut oil (which thins out the filling just a tiny bit while sticking to the Paleo guidelines) and honey combine to make a super tasty mix. I could probably just eat this with a spoon and skip the chocolate all together. Seriously, I almost did…
I scooped the filling into a mini muffin tin and then poured the melted dark chocolate over the top. I have also tried pouring a little chocolate in the bottom of the muffin tin, followed by the filling and more chocolate on the top, this works great too for a ‘Reese’s sandwich’ effect- can’t go wrong with more chocolate!
You can also use mini muffin paper liners to stick in the muffin tin to make these treats more transportable once they are done! This also means less clean up as your pan will be mess free.
So that is it. Recipe done. A few minutes in the freezer and your paleo peanut butter cups are ready to go! I have to say that the first one I ever ate seriously hit the spot. My craving for Reese’s was satisfied and I didn’t have to break my diet! I immediately made another batch.
Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Success!
Don’t worry if you are contemplating a Paleo diet and considering everything you can’t have while following a Paleo lifestyle. There are so many great things that you can have and this recipe is here to help you with your inevitable candy craving while completely sticking to the Paleo guidelines.
Once you taste one of these Paleo Reese’s cups, you are going to want at least 12 more! So make a double batch, make a triple batch and enjoy!
For more paleo ideas see our review of the Best Paleo Cookbooks here.
Paleo Peanut Butter Cups Recipe Prep
Before you get started here are the items you will need:
Yeah that’s really all you need! The hardest part about this recipe is having to wait an hour before eating. The wait may be difficult but it is oh so worth it.
Hope you Enjoy! = )
For more information about the Paleo diet, see our full review of the Paleo Hacks Cookbook.
- Paleo Reese’s Cup Ingredients
Simple Paleo Reese Cups
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 Peanut Butter Cups 1x
- Category: Paleo
Description
Made with smooth almond butter and rich dark chocolate, these delicious little treats are Paleo friendly and will satisfy any dessert cravings you may have.
Ingredients
- 1 cup smooth Almond Butter (or peanut butter if not strict Paleo)
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips (use Enjoy Life brand if strict Paleo)
Instructions
- Place almond butter, oil and honey in a small saucepan then heat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Stir in shredded coconut until evenly combined. Divide the mixture into each opening of a mini muffin tin (fills 12 openings).
- Place the chocolate chips in the glass bowl and place the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water, creating a double boiler. Stir the chocolate constantly over the hot water until it is completely melted. Pour melted chocolate on top of each muffin tin then place the tin in freezer for about an hour.
- Take muffin tin out of freezer. Carefully scrape a knife around the edges and the peanut butter cups will pop out fairly easy. Handle with care.
Notes
- These Reese’s Cups will keep in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to one month
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months but thaw before eating
- Substitute the honey for maple syrup for a different, sweet taste
- Skip the shredded coconut if desired
- If the chocolate is a little thick when you melt it, add a tablespoon of coconut oil to thin and make it easier to pour
- Hazelnut butter works great as well!
- Add up to 3 Tablespoons of protein powder to give these even more nutritional benefits.
Note: Simple Green Moms is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
my gosh these look so indulgent! I love how short and healthy that ingredient list is 🙂 Can’t wait to give these a try!
Thanks! I think you will LOVE them 😉
Do you know what the calorie content is on this recipe?
Hi…I’m not sure. I sometimes use an app called My Fitness Pal that lets you enter a recipe (or even link one) and it will give you calories, fats, proteins, carbs.
What a sweet treat! Looks delicious!
In progress at my house right now! I love the addition of coconut.
Hope you loved it as much as we do! 🙂
I will be making these soon! As a college student who loves to bake, this is the perfect recipe for me because it’s so simple and contains my favorite things! Would it be okay if I left out the shredded coconut?
Hanna, you will love it! and yes–totally ok to leave out the coconut 😉
I’m going to tell you, in order to make the enjoy life chocolate chip morsels melt, you have to heat them up then put coconut oil in it in order to melt the chocolate.
Thanks for the feedback! Hope you enjoyed =)
Do these need to be stored in the freezer?
You can but we actually prefer to store them in the fridge so they are a little softer! Enjoy =)
How do you think these would turn out using an 8×8 pan and slicing them into squares instead? I do not have a mini muffin tin, but would like to make these. Any ideas are welcome. Thank you!
I honestly think they would still come out good! You won’t be able to “slice” them cause they will be frozen, but I would definitely try it this way too! Let us know how it turns out!
Mine turned out too soft :0(
In freezer for over 30min then out on bench for about 20min
The peanut bottom was runny – any idea why?
Still very yummy :0)
★★★★
Maybe leave them in the freezer a little longer if they are going to sit out for a while… Glad you enjoyed them! =)
We are having g a girls night and will be making these tonight!
Can’t wait
Let us know how it went! YAY! 🙂
We have been following the Whole30 eating plan and to celebrate how well we have done we decided that your Paleo Reece’s would be our first treat! OMG it was amazing! So easy to make and not even naughty to eat, THANKS SO MUCH!
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That is fantastic! Kudos to you on sticking with the Whole30 =) and thanks for the feedback!!
I just made these with Almond Butter and they were SO freaking good. I used a 59% Cocao chocolate that I used.
I put them in the freezer for about 90 minutes, took them out impatiently pried them out and the almond butter was a bit loose. Then about 5 min later I got up to get a second and the Almond butter was runny.
Any suggestions?
I honestly think it makes a difference the brand of almond butter you use, there are some almond butters that have a different consistency than others – and maybe leave them in the freezer a little longer.
I made these with Sunbutter today and they turned out AWESOME! I love the addition of Coconut – the texture is great. I also used a whole 85% dark chocolate LIndt bar instead of the chips. Very good!
So happy to hear that!
Can these be made without the honey, or is the honey used to keep it all stuck together? I’m on the low carb high fat diet so I don’t want to add any extra sugar in it. Thanks!
you should be able to make them without honey, it just gives them a little extra flavor. enjoy! =)
I just made these and they are sooo yummy! I used a crunchy almond butter and topped them with a cocoa/honey ganache. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sooooo I just made these, but after reading about how the butter would “melt” because they would be sitting at room temp, I decided to experiment and add 2.5 tbsp of coconut flour. I hope this will help them hold better so they won’t melt. But I’m thinking I could end up adding as much as 5 tbsp of the coconut flour. I’m so excited to try these!!
★★★★
Awesome! Would love to hear how they turn out =)
Looks delicious! Where do you get your recipe layout? Is it a special plugin? It looks very nice!
Thank you! Yes it is a special plug in that we had programmed to fit our site.
mine turned out perfect. It is a pretty good treat to have every now and then thx
Awesome! So glad to hear that!!! 🙂
so Iade these the other day and they were AMAZING. You’re right they went fast, my 4 year old daughter loves them. Question : Do you freeze the butter mixture first before you put the chocolate on top or do you do both at the same time and then freeze? Some of my chocolate tops came off that’s why I’m asking but still taste so good. I love this reciepe cause it really is super simple. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️I don’t know how to rate reciepes but 5 stars for sure !!!!
Hi Victoria! We do both at the same time and then freeze. So glad you and your daughter loved them!! 🙂 🙂
Started the whole 30 and after the first week I’m down 10pounds. So excited and I’m finally getting my energy back. The first few days were tuff but I’m so excited to keep this journey going!! My daughter was craving something sweet so we made a batch of these. They were AMAZING!!! I’Just needed a little bit of somerhing as a treat, and these were perfect!! I:m ready for week 2.
Love this recipe!! #whole30
★★★★★
Hello there! Could you tell me what brand almond butter you use? Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Hello. We try to get ours from the farmers market, but really any brand would do! 🙂
Can you use semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate or is there too much sugar in those? I am not usually a dark choc fan but I love Reese Cups, just wondering if these taste like dark choc…
You can pretty much use whatever type of chocolate you like best! 🙂
Should the almond butter be unsweetened? This recipe looks great, but I don’t want to try it by using the wrong kind.
You could use either sweetened or unsweetened depending on your preference
Came across your amazing recipe! What a perfect cure for our “Paleo” sweet tooth!…..I realized I had forgotten the coconut aft
Tasted great with the coconut sprinkled between peanut butter mixture and chocolate….Thanks!
Awesome, glad you liked them!
Hiii I made the recipe and it was delicious but I couldn’t get my chocolate chips to pour on smooth and look like your any tricks?
Were they lumpy or they just wouldn’t pour well?
Do you know the nutritional info for these? I’m doing low carb and I’m guessing these are a little higher carb than I typically consume….but they would still be a more healthy indulgence than alot of choices. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★
I don’t know the complete nutritional info but the free app My Fitness Pal is a great tool to get nutritional values for macro nutrients. I use it all the time and its very easy.
Hai, I just made these and they are in the fridge now and I know I’m gonna love them! I don’t have almond butter so I made a little cashewbutter and put some roasted almond meal and a little regular and added some peanutbutter. Put a little maplesyryp in it and ofcourse the coconut because I love anything with coconut. Melted dark and less dark chocolate so it wouldn’t be that bitter.
Tasted a bit of the butter and God, I love it.
Great 4 o’çlock snack (or in the evening or any other time). Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
I was wondering if you could substitute cocoa powder instead of the chips and if so, how?? TY
I wouldn’t..I think the consistency would be off. Let me know if you try it though..I’d be curious. 🙂
I made these yesterday, omg they are such a treat! I used unsweetened dark chocolate to top it off and also sprinkled it with more unsweetened organic shredded coconut.I also used high quality organic honey, Pop them in freezer for an hour and they were perfect.I took them out this morning and keep them in fridge on a very top which is the coldest part. I couldn’t help it yesterday and ate 3 ? so good. I wonder how many calories is in one of those approximately?
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Damn, these reese cups look so delicious!! I can’t wait to try them myself, I bet everybody here will love it!
Made these today….yum! Do you know if they would make it thru the mail?
I’ve never tried, but you may have the best luck with UPS or Fedex.
Absolutely decadent – I didn’t have a mini muffin tin so I used a regular tin and made three giant servings.
I recommend popping them in the freezer while you temper the chocolate, just to make it easier to spread the chocolate on top in a clean layer!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed, Chloe!!!