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. I’m using 60 % dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for the coating. The interior of the cups is made with smooth peanut butter and lots of salt to get that characteristic saltiness that the original has. For the sweetener I’m using medjool dates which I blend into a paste. Powdered peanut butter is used to get the hard consistency that you can find in the original.
You can prepare these little bites in three different ways. You can make normal size or king size peanut butter cups where the filling and chocolate ratio is in favour of the filling. You can also make mini peanut butter cups to use them in vegan peanut butter cup ice cream.
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
- 68 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 550-650 g Lindt 60 %
King size peanut butter cups (makes 50 cups):
- 300 g medjool dates pitted
- 950 g smooth peanut butter
- 1 + 0.6 tsp salt
- 0.4 tsp vanilla powder
- 108 g (3/4 cup + 4 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 650-750 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
- 68 g (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) powdered peanut butter
- 500 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 the blender will have and the smoother paste you will get).
- Put mashed medjool dates in a blender and mix on the lowest speed. Blend for a while until you get a smooth paste.
- Transfer the medjool date paste in a large bowl. Add peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Mix together.
- Add to the mixture peanut butter powder 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 if making normal or king size peanut butter cups (I measure it in grams) or in 125 equal parts if making mini size peanut butter cups. Shape them into balls.
- Melt chocolate over double boiler.
- Take one cup mould and pour a little bit of chocolate on the bottom. You will need about 5-6g of chocolate for the normal size cup, about 7-8g 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 1.5 cm for the mini size cup. Put the mould into a 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 for the filling, flatten it and put it in the chocolate hole. Tap gently with your fingers so that it fits perfectly into the moulded chocolate. Pour some additional chocolate on top. You will need about 6-7g for the normal or for the king size cup and 2g for the mini size cup. Spread it around with a teaspoon so that the sides and top are covered completely. Return the mould in the freezer.
- Repeat the last step with the rest of the moulds.
- Take the first mould out of the freezer and take the peanut butter cup out of the mould. Put it on a plate lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat the same with the rest of moulds in the freezer.
- If any peanut butter cup has chocolate that was coated too high on the sides, trim it 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 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 cm at the bottom, 5 cm at the top and has 1.8 cm of height. My homemade king size peanut butter cup measures 4 cm at the bottom, 5.5 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 2.1 cm at the bottom, 3.2 cm at the top and has 1.5 cm of height. Choose moulds that will be approximate these measures.
*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.
*Use mini peanut butter cups in vegan peanut butter cup ice cream.
*Nutrition facts calculated for normal size cup.
Nutrition
Serving: 1peanut butter cupCalories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 111mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7g
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