Rebecca's Real Food Peanut Butter Cups
The thing I missed most while trying to eat real food was peanut butter cups. I love both the Theo brand and the Justin's brand, but, because I'm hypoglycemic, they make my head swim. I found a recipe on Oh She Glows (http://ohsheglows.com/2013/12/16/peanut-better-balls/) to make peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate, but they still made me dizzy. I started playing with the recipe, and now I think I've perfected it. The finished product is a peanut butter cup with a dense, comforting filling in a low-glycemic chocolate. It's a fast and easy thing to make, and I can grab one any time I need a quick snack.
I used a 16-oz jar of Cadia's no-sugar-added peanut butter, but I'll bet it'd be even better with the fresh-ground peanut butter from the machine at the back of the store. Then I added 3 tablespoons of Cadia Grade B maple syrup, 1/3 cup of Nutiva's coconut flour and one single-serving packet of Garden of Life's Vanilla Raw Protein. I'd be willing to try the Vanilla Vega One or Garden of Life's new Protein + Greens some time as well. (If I tried the fresh-ground peanut butter, I'd add the protein powder and maple syrup first, and then add the coconut flour a little at a time in case I needed more or less.) I stir it until it's too thick to stir, and then I knead it with my hands until it's not too sticky anymore. I make little patties of peanut butter filling slightly smaller than the inside of my silicone mini-muffin tray.
In a double boiler, I melt a whole bag of Lily's Stevia-Sweetened Dark Chocolate chips with two tablespoons of Nutiva Cold-Pressed Organic Coconut Oil. I ran out of chocolate, so you might want to either halve the filling recipe or snag two bags of chocolate chips. You have to temper the chocolate by melting only about 2/3 of the chocolate before removing it from the heat source and stirring it until it's all silky-smooth.
There may be an easier way to do this, but I put about 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate inside each silicone mini-muffin cup and tilt and turn it until it's coated. I have made these in large, paper cupcake liners too, and just put the chocolate about 1/2 inch up the sides. Then I plop one peanut butter patty into each cup and top with more chocolate. I like to tap them or tilt them until the chocolate on top is level.
Then all you have to do is stick them in the fridge or freezer until they firm up. I keep them in the fridge, and eat them for breakfast.
Yep: Candy for breakfast. Protein, healthy fat, and antioxidants: I'm going to call them health food.
Just for fun, I made the nerdy version too. I used a Doctor Who Dalek and Tardis Ice Mold to make peanut butter-filled Daleks and Tardises, and they were delicious.
