I was really late to the peanut butter game because it just wasn't a thing in Ireland, which is where I was born and lived for a short time until my family emigrated to Canada and then later to the U.S. I could be mistaken but chocolate and peanut butter still don't seem to be a thing on the Emerald Isle and I'm pretty good at scoping out chocolate on each my trips (my last one was late 2017). I don't remember exactly when the good old Reese's Peanut Butter cup first graced my lips but I do know that I'm thankful for it because wow. Those things are dangerous. It turns out that peanut butter packs some great health benefits, as long as you look for a brand that has minimal ingredients and no hidden preservatives or filler oils. I actually have been a Vitamix owner for years and loooove that blender, but I only made peanut butter from dry roasted peanuts for the first time very recently. I had this idea in my head that it was going to be a madly messy process so I just didn't do it. I was wrong- it wasn't! It took me all of 3 minutes to go from a jar of dry roasted peanuts to a jar of creamy peanut butter and clean up was a snap! With Valentine's Day around the corner, these dark chocolate bites filled with coconut and peanut butter would make a nice homemade treat. They're rich, decadent and clean eating with no refined sugar or filler ingredients. Here's what you'll need: Ingredients (makes approximately 15-20 chocolates) -3/4 cup unsweetened coconut (flaked or shredded) -12 pitted dates -1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa -1/2 cup peanut butter -2 TBS maple syrup -1 x 10 oz package of dark chocolate chips (use a vegan dark chocolate if you want the entire recipe to be plant based) Directions Place the dates, peanut butter, baking cocoa and coconut into the bowl of a food processor and pulse/process until it begins to come into a crumbly mixture. Then slowly drizzle in the maple syrup while you run the food processor on low until the mixture begins to come together and clean from the sides of the bowl. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls approximately 1 TBS in size. Once all of the mixture is rolled, place the tray in the freezer to set for approximately 30 minutes (it's fine if you leave them in longer- you can break up the steps here). Start to melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler about 5 minutes before you plan to take the prepared mixture from the freezer. Roll each ball into the melted chocolate and return to the parchment paper lined cookie tray. Drizzle the extra melted chocolate across the tops and then return the tray to the freezer to set for 30-60 minutes. Store the finished chocolates in the fridge in an air tight container. Enjoy!
4 Comments
Devin
2/14/2020 10:38:01 am
Does the dark chocolate go into the food processor as well? The recipe says to put the chocolate in but I think maybe it’s supposed to be the coconut? These sound amazing, I don’t want to ruin it!
Reply
Colette
2/14/2020 10:55:27 am
Thank you so much for pointing this out...the chocolate that goes into the food processor is the unsweetened baking cocoa. I’m going to clarify this & update because I see how using the word chocolate when there are 2 types in the recipe (the cocoa & the dark chocolate chips) might cause confusion. I hope this clarifies & I appreciate the comment & I would love to hear how you like them afterwards. Thank you for checking this out!!!
Reply
Devin
2/16/2020 02:00:11 pm
Thanks for clarifying. I made a box of these as a Valentine’s Day gift for my husband and he loved them!!
Colette
2/17/2020 09:56:40 am
Hi Devin- I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for reaching out!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorNew England wife, mom & home baker. Faith, food, fitness, baking, cooking and constantly cleaning my kitchen. Archives
August 2021
Categories
All
|