I’m obsessed with these treats. My copycat vegan peanut butter cups are just as delicious as the real things if not more. I modelled them after the most famous peanut butter cups from Reese’s. Just like original you can prepare them in three different ways. You can make normal size peanut butter cups or king size cups where the filling and chocolate ratio is in favour of the filling. You can also make mini peanut butter cups and use them in vegan peanut butter cup ice cream.
Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients that make these yummy bites. I’m using 60 % dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for the coating (don’t use 70 % chocolate as it will overpower the filling). The interior of the cups is made with smooth peanut butter (preferably use Reese’s or JIF or any similar peanut butter) and lots of salt to get that characteristic saltiness that the original has. For the sweetener I’m using healthy medjool dates which I blend into a paste. Medjool dates also add much better taste to this recipe than other sweeteners. Powdered peanut butter is used to get the hard consistency that you can find in the original and enables you to work with a filling as you would with a dough.
These vegan peanut butter cups are a great homemade edible gift for the holidays or Valentine’s Day. They are a delightful combination of salty and sweet and they taste incredible.
Have you made this recipe? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your feedback.
More delicious copycat candy recipes:
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups (GF)
Amazing vegan peanut butter cups that taste just like the real thing if not better. With its salty peanut butter interior and chocolaty exterior these bites are super delicious and enjoyable. Make normal or king size cups if you prefer more peanut filling to chocolate. Make mini peanut butter cups to use them in vegan peanut butter cup ice cream.
Ingredients
Normal size peanut butter cups (makes 50 cups):
- 200 g medjool dates pitted
- 600 g smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- 75 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 350 g Lindt 60 %
King size peanut butter cups (makes 50 cups):
- 320 g medjool dates pitted
- 960 g smooth peanut butter
- 1 + 0.6 tsp salt
- 0.4 tsp vanilla powder
- 120 g (3/4 cup + 4 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 450 g Lindt 60 %
Mini size peanut butter cups (makes 125 cups):
- 200 g medjool dates pitted
- 600 g smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- 75 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 375 g Lindt 60 %
Instructions
- Remove pits from medjool dates and put them in a larger bowl. Pour boiling water over them and let them soak for 10 min.
- After 10 min take them out and discard the water. Mash them with the back of a fork (the more you will mash them, the less work your blender will have and you'll get a smoother paste).
- Put mashed medjool dates in the blender and mix on the lowest speed. Blend for a while until you get a smooth paste. It's fine if you still see some traces of medjool dates in the paste when it's done.
- Transfer the medjool date paste into a large bowl. Add peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Mix together.
- Add peanut butter powder to the mixture and mix. Mix until you get a filling that doesn't stick to your fingers and then some more.
- Divide the filling in 50 equal parts (I measure them in grams) if making normal or king size peanut butter cups or in 125 equal parts if making mini size peanut butter cups. Squash them and shape them into balls.
- Chop chocolate into smaller pieces and put it in a double boiler over medium heat to slowly melt.
- Take one cup mould and pour a little bit of chocolate onto the bottom. You will need about 4g of chocolate for the normal size cup, about 5g for the king size cup and 2g for the mini size cup. Take a teaspoon and coat the sides with chocolate. Go up to 1.5 cm height for the normal size cup, up to 2 cm for the king size cup and up to 1.6 cm for the mini size cup. Put the mould into the freezer for the chocolate to harden.
- Repeat the same process with the rest of moulds.
- Take the first mould out of the freezer. Take one ball of the filling, flatten it and put it in the chocolate hole. Tap gently with your fingers (pressing too hard can break the chocolate underneath) so that it fits perfectly into the moulded chocolate. Pour some additional chocolate on top. You will need about 3g for the normal size cup, 4g for the king size cup and 1g for the mini size cup. Rotate the mould so that melted chocolate goes around over the top area. This will make the top look very nice without you needing to touch it with a teaspoon. Then if it's needed correct the sides with a teaspoon and perhaps add a little bit of additional chocolate so that the chocolate covers the sides as well. Sometimes it's enough just to press the sides of the silicone mould against the wet chocolate. Return the mould into the freezer.
- Repeat the last step with the rest of the moulds. If at anytime in this process you notice that the chocolate got thicker, melt it again over double boiler.
- Take the first mould out of the freezer and take the peanut butter cup out of the mould. Be careful not to leave your fingerprints on the chocolate. Put the peanut butter cup on a plate lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat the same with the rest of the moulds in the freezer.
- If any of the peanut butter cups have chocolate that was coated too high on the sides, trim them with a knife.
- Store the plate with peanut butter cups in the refrigerator.
- Take peanut butter cups out of the refrigerator 10 min before eating them so they become softer and more enjoyable to eat.
Notes
*I need at least 200g of medjool dates so I’m able to make medjool date paste in my blender. If you are making a smaller batch of peanut butter cups (the recipe as written makes 50 normal size peanut butter cups or 50 king size peanut butter cups or 125 mini size peanut butter cups) you may perhaps still need to make a larger batch of medjool date paste and then use it less for this recipe. In this case be mindful that after soaking some water will remain in medjool dates and some will evaporate with blending. Take in the account overall weight after making medjool date paste vs initial weight of medjool dates. If you want to use what’s left of medjool date paste, check these recipes as an option: oat bran porridge with caramelised pear, vegan apple crumble, Ethiopian peanut tea, vegan lassi 3 ways, vegan beetroot latte, vegan matcha latte, vegan turmeric latte, homemade nut milks.
*The sizes of the original cups vs my homemade cups are not completely identical. The original normal size peanut butter cup measures 4 cm at the bottom, 5 cm at the top and has 1.1 cm of height. My homemade normal size peanut butter cup measures 4 cm at the bottom, 5 cm at the top and has 1.5 cm of height. Original king size peanut butter cup measures 4.1 cm at the bottom, 5.3 cm at the top and has 2 cm of height. My homemade king size peanut butter cup measures 4 cm at the bottom, 5.2 cm at the top and has 2 cm of height. The original Ben & Jerry’s mini size peanut butter cup measures 2.4 cm at the bottom, 3 cm at the top and has 1.1 cm of height. My homemade mini size peanut butter cup measures 2.2 cm at the bottom, 3.2 cm at the top and has 1.6 cm of height. Choose moulds that will be approximate these measures. I used these moulds for normal and king size peanut butter cups and these moulds for mini peanut butter cups.
*The saltiness for the filling was tested using Reese’s and JIF peanut butter. If using another peanut butter brand you may perhaps need to adjust the saltiness to get the same result. The taste can also be altered if you use a peanut butter that is made with only peanuts.
*When coating the moulds and the top of the filling with melted chocolate try to put it as little as possible so that there is a thin layer of chocolate. Otherwise the chocolate can overpower the taste of the filling.
*Powdered peanut butter are roasted peanuts that have been pressed to remove most of the fat and ground into powder.
*Use mini peanut butter cups in vegan peanut butter cup ice cream.
*The easiest way to clean the chocolate that has dried on the dishes is to pour boiling water over it.
*Prep time calculated for making 50 normal size cups. If making lesser quantity of cups, they can be done faster.
*Nutrition facts calculated for normal size cup.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 peanut butter cupCalories: 128kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 4gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 106mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7g
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