A no-bake, foolproof recipe that’s hard to mess up. In part because you can never go wrong with one of the most iconic flavor combinations of all time, chocolate + PB, and because personally, I’ve used varying degrees of the ingredients below and there’s never been a batch that lasted more than 3 or 4 days, max!
There’s plenty of PB cup recipes out there, just as there are chocolate chip cookies, but the room for error is what makes this one so sublime. On top of the leeway, the ingredients are flexible and interchangeable in that you can use different chocolate chips and swap out the peanut butter for another nut butter or even a flavored one!
This homemade, healthy alternative to the processed candy is dairy-free friendly, gluten-free, and made with only 4 basic ingredients.
Healthier Reese’s Cups
Ingredients
- 240 g (1 C) chocolate chips*
- 2 TBSP oil: walnut, almond, coconut
- ½ C peanut butter or other nut butter
- 2 TBSP honey
- Optional: 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Line a mini or standard size muffin pan with cupcake liners (this recipe yields about 24 minis or 12 regulars) – if liners aren’t available, lightly coat the inside of each muffin tin with cooking spray or oil*
- Melt the chocolate and oil in the microwave, stirring every 20-30 seconds until completely melted, then mix the optional vanilla into the melted chocolate*
- Using half of the melted chocolate, evenly fill the bottom of each tin about ¼ of the way full or with roughly 1 tsp. of chocolate for minis and 2 tsp. for regular-sized cups
- Place the pan on a flat surface in the fridge or freezer so the melted chocolate can harden
- Once the chocolate is set, melt the peanut butter and honey in the microwave, stirring every 15-20 seconds until it’s runny and easy to pour
- Evenly disperse all of the peanut butter and honey (about ½ tsp. for minis and 1 tsp. for regular-sized cups) on top of the chocolate layer, then return the pan to the fridge or freezer for the PB to set
- Once firm, use the remainder of the melted chocolate for the top layer, then place in the fridge or freezer until the chocolate is fully set. From there, keep the cups in the fridge or freezer – they’ll get too soft if stored otherwise – and let them sit out at room temperature to soften for a few before serving or eating (unless you like the whole chocolate straight from the fridge or freezer, then by all means, eat them straight from there!)
Notes
- *Chocolate chips: for dairy-free cups, Enjoy Life is a wonderful allergen-friendly chocolate that tastes, melts, and bakes just like the real deal
- *1. It’s tremendously easier to remove the cups when liners are used, and silicone liners are recommended over paper ones as not only are they less wasteful, but they don’t run the risk of leaving behind pieces of paper on the hardened chocolate. Without liners, the cups could be tough to get out of the pan, so let them sit at room temperature for a couple minutes, tap the pan on the counter to loosen the cups, and they should be able to be removed. If not, let them sit a while longer and try again, flip the pan over and lightly knock the bottom of each tin, or grab the sides of the pan and gently twist in opposite directions (if your pan allows you to do so) to pop them out.
- *2. It can be difficult to gauge half of the chocolate when filling the muffin cups, so for picture-perfect, even layers, melt half of the chocolate and oil, follow the instructions accordingly, then after the peanut butter layer has properly set, melt the remaining chocolate and oil for the final layer
- To cut down on the sugar content, if needed: swap all or half of the chocolate with reduced sugar or sugar-free chocolate chips, such as Lily’s Baking Chips that are sweetened with stevia
How is PB and chocolate such a simple, yet indubitably popular combo? Because of something called dynamic sensory contrast. In other words, our taste buds love when foods contain contrasting textures and flavors. E.g. caramel and sea salt, the creamy filling of Oreos sandwiched between crunchy cookies, a sour coating on a sweet candy, sweet and savory, the temperature and viscosity of ice cream as it warms and melts in your mouth. Some of the most highly palatable foods utilize this phenomenon. In this case, the smooth, sweet sensation of the chocolate is intensified by the saltiness (and depending on the type used, even crunchiness) of the peanut butter. (And because of the Malliard reaction, it’s basically scientifically proven that chocolate and peanut butter were destined to be the unstoppable power couple that they are.)
For an even more sensory-pleasing explosion of textures and flavors, try taking these already blissful peanut butter cups up another notch with either of these variations: Maple Raspberry Reese’s and Surprise Reese’s.
If interested, the macronutrients are below. They are kept separate at the very end of each recipe blog so that this can remain a safe, positive space for all as not everyone wishes to see the nutritional information.
Macros per regular cup (makes 12): 16.9 C | 14.9 F | 3.7 P
Macros per mini cup (makes 24): 8.4 C | 7.5 F | 1.8 P
If other nut butters are used, the macros will vary slightly; for example, almond butter is a little higher in fat than peanut butter, so the fat macros would increase a touch.
The macros for recipes are also available on MyFitnessPal. Simply search the name of the recipe followed by “ – SUNutrition” (so for this recipe, search “Healthier Reese’s Cups – SUNutrition” and there are 2 recipes to choose from: 1 with 12 servings for the regular-sized cups and 1 with 24 for the mini cups).
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