One of my favourite things to do is take bits and pieces from recipes and put them together to make something on an ultimate level of tasty. The inspiration from this one came from an Instagram post that one of my friends sent me about vanilla cashew butter. I gave it a try and was blown away by this spread that tastes like top notch icing.

The gears in my mind started turning, trying to decide how this would best be served up. I was falling asleep one night and I jolted up; the words “Peanut Butter Cups” repeated in my mind. I knew that I had to give it a try.

Now, if you have ever purchased raw cashews (or any nut for that matter), you know that they are kind of expensive. I needed an occasion to make these bad boys for. Luckily at work it is my two year anniversary, my coworker just had a birthday and someone just had a baby. I think that is occasion enough, right?!

For work there is also quite a few food sensitivities to take into consideration and a boss who is always accusing me of trying to give him diabetes. Luckily, this recipe checks all the safe boxes so everyone should be able to indulge.

I was never very good at science, but Pinterest tells me that chocolate and coconut oil create the chocolate shell that we all love so much on ice cream. When it drops below zero it freezes super fast. This helps makes this recipe a pretty quick treat to pop out.

I did have enough cashew butter already prepped from before so that cut down the time too. It is not my creation so have included a link to where I found a great and easy recipe. I will say however that I did add a little coconut oil to make it that much smoother.

Give them a try and let me know how you enjoy them!
This recipe can be easily halved, doubled or even tripled.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Cacao Powder
• 1/2 cup Liquid Coconut Oil
• 1/3 cup Liquid Sweetener (I used maple syrup)
• 12 tsp Vanilla Cashew Butter (can be replaced with your favourite nut butter)

1. Whisk the first three ingredients in a bowl until you have a smooth chocolate sauce.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper cups
3. Spoon 1 tsp of the chocolate mixture into each cup. Spread along the bottom of the cup for a good foundation
4. Put in the freezer for a min. of 5 minutes to freeze.
5. Dollop 1 tsp of cashew butter, smoothing out but not pushing it up to the edges.
6. Pour remaining chocolate over the cups, covering the chocolate, keeping in mind that there are twelve to cover.
7. Put in fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes.

They are best kept in a cold place until ready to serve to ensure that the chocolate and butter don’t melt.

Bon appetit!