Peanut Butter Cups Free of Dairy, Sugar, and Gluten

I've been eating my skinny chocolate and puppy chow for months now.  The other day I tried something new and made peanut butter cups!  It's very similar to the original recipe which is gluten, dairy, and sugar free.  Just a difference in process really. 

Here's how you can make these super awesome yet simple treats. 

What you need:

• Natural peanut butter
• High quality coconut oil
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Stevia granulated sweetener
• Mini muffin paper cups
• Something to hold your paper cups like a mini muffin pan. 
• Enough room in your freezer for the pans!
• Large glass bowl that fits in your microwave

Distribute out your cups into your pan.  You'll need about 3 dozen depending on the size of your cups and how much you put in each one.  It's not an exact science here =) 

First Chocolate Layer:

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Put these ingredients Microwave for about 30 seconds and then stir until cocoa powder is completely mixed in.  Carefully pour a thin layer into each cup; just enough to cover the bottom.  Maybe a few milometers deep.  While it's still liquid you'll want to gently sprinkle stevia over each cup.  Just a tiny bit goes a long ways!  You'll be adding more on the top layer too so don't go overboard.  It's important you don't mix the stevia in the bowl with the oil and cocoa powder as it will all sink to the bottom so most of your cups will be very bitter and the last few will be crazy sweet.  Put these into the freezer for about a 20 to 30 minutes.  While those are freezing you can rinse the bowl to reuse it. 

Peanut Butter Layer:

• 1 c. natural peanut butter, unsweetened

Put in 1 cup of peanut butter into your bowl.  Microwave this for bout 30 seconds, mix, and you'll likely need to microwave it again.  Using a butter knife, mini spatula, or if you're really fancy... a piping bag...  drizzle in a nice layer of peanut butter.  Depending on how much you like peanut butter... add accordingly.  I love peanut butter so I put in about twice as much as I did chocolate.  Put these in the freezer for at least 30 minutes as the peanut butter takes longer to harden.  While those are freezing you can rinse the bowl to reuse it.

Final Chocolate Layer:  

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Make the same as the first layer; it's that simple!  Don't forget the stevia again while it's liquid.  Otherwise it just sits on top and falls off =P.  Now in another 30 minutes you have some awesome, homemade peanut butter cups.  

Don't let the name 'skinny chocolate' fool you.  Yeah it's all awesome, natural ingredients... but this stuff packs almost 300 calories per tablespoon!  Great for those of us struggling to put on or maintain a weight.  It's also an awesome energy source if you've changed your metabolism from burning carbs to burning fats.  It's hard not to eat them all in a day... you've been warned; enjoy! =)