Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups (+ a secret superfood ingredient!)

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups (+ a secret superfood ingredient!)

a stack of Homemade Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups on a tabletop

 

There was a time when I could probably have eaten my body weight in peanut butter cups.

My favorite way to indulge?

Straight out of the freezer. Oh my…heaven.

This is a richer, darker, and dare I say, healthier? A version of the infamous peanut butter cup.

Homemade nut butter cups are a better choice for several reasons:

  • You control the ingredients. Got a peanut allergy? Use another nut butter instead. Want less sugar? Use less or your favorite sugar alternative!
  • These utilize raw cacao butter — one of the richest, healthiest fats in the world. Raw cacao butter contains high amounts of beneficial fatty acids, with stearic acid and palmitic acid making up 24% to 37% of the total fat content of cacao butter.
  • Wildly Organic's soaked and dehydrated nut butters are lower in phytic acid than their unprepared counterparts, making them easier to digest. I use the Almond-Pecan Nut Butter, but any of Wildly Organic’s nut butters will work in this recipe!
  • These nut butter cups contain a secret adaptogen ingredient — maca!
  • If you source your ingredients from Wildly Organic, you know they’re of the highest quality.

Soaked & Dehydrated Nut Butter

Let’s talk soaked and dehydrated nut butter for a minute.

Nuts are the “fruit” of nut trees. They are meant to fall off the tree and grow into a new tree. So, they contain protective compounds (phytates or phytic acid) to protect them. This makes them less palatable to critters who might come along and eat them before they have the opportunity to grow into a new tree.

These phytates aren’t harmful to the nut, but they can be harmful to whoever eats them — namely by binding to the minerals in the nut and preventing the body from absorbing them. (Remember, the nut wants those minerals to fuel its return to life as a tree.) Phytic acid is also really hard to digest. It can cause symptoms such as bloating, gas, and stomachache when consumed.

Soaking nuts, and then dehydrating them, breaks down this phytic acid — making the minerals available to us AND making them easier for us to digest! If you notice digestive upset when you eat raw or store-bought nuts, I highly encourage you to give soaked and dehydrated nuts a try and see if you notice a difference!

Yes, it takes extra time and work to do this step…which may be why more people aren’t soaking and dehydrating their nuts.

Fortunately, Wildly Organic has done the work for us! They have taken raw, certified organic nuts, soaked them, dried them (at low temperatures), and ground them into exquisite, totally raw nut butter.

Think Almond-Pecan, Nut Medley (with almonds, pecans, walnuts, and cashews) and more!

This is NOT your average peanut butter, folks! (In fact, if peanut allergies are an issue for your family, you’ll be pleased to know that Wildly Organic is a totally peanut-free facility!)

Maca… The Secret Peruvian Superfood

Maca root has been used for thousands of years by the inhabitants of the Andes Mountains in Peru. It is considered one of the world’s foremost “superfoods”. 

Maca is known to help with hormone balance, energy levels, and may even boost the immune system.

Maca is considered to be an “adaptogen” — a substance that can help the body adapt to stress.

I added a little bit of maca to these homemade nut butter cups to increase nutrition and provide a way to consume maca for newbies who may need to adjust to its slightly nutty flavor.

I hope you’ll give these homemade nut butter cups with sprouted nuts, dark chocolate, and maca a try!

Do you love this healthier version of the peanut butter cup? Are you going to try these homemade nut butter cups?

Homemade Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Cups (with a secret superfood ingredient!)
This is a richer, darker, and dare I say, healthier? version of the infamous peanut butter cup made with easily digestible, soaked and dehydrated nut butter, dark chocolate, and a secret superfood ingredient!
    Servings22 mini cups
    Prep Time20 minutes
    Passive Time15 minutes, freezing
    Ingredients
    Sprouted Nut Butter Filling
    Dark Chocolate Coating
    Instructions
    For The Sprouted Nut Butter Filling
    1. In a small mixing bowl, combine nut butter, maple syrup (or coconut syrup), maca, and salt.
    2. Stir until mixed well. The mixture will have the consistency of cookie dough.
    3. Pinch off a 1-teaspoon size bit of the nut butter filling, roll into a ball in your palm, and place inside a silicon mini-muffin mold. Repeat until you have used all the "dough".
    4. Gently press on each nut butter "dough" ball to slightly flatten it.
    For The Dark Chocolate Coating
    1. Melt raw cacao butter over low heat or a bain-marie.
    2. Once melted, measure out the required amount: 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons.
    3. In a glass bowl, combine melted cacao butter, cacao powder, maple syrup (or coconut syrup), vanilla, and salt and whisk until smooth.
    4. Spoon melted dark chocolate over the nut butter filling, about 1 tablespoon per mold.
    5. Place in the freezer until solid.
    6. Remove from the freezer, pop nut butter cups out of the molds, and enjoy!
    7. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

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