Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Monday Bloggie Friends! How are you today? How was your weekend? Mine was great! Let me count the ways. Some of the cool things included getting together with fellow blogger Madeline,like I mentioned I would be. Here’s a few pics from our coffee outing.

Skylar with me today and 2 year olds generally last about 3.478 minutes in coffee shops. Skylar lasted over an hour which was great, but Madeline was awesome with her and humored Skylar by drawing and playing along with Skylar’s “artwork”.

She even let Skylar try on her cool yellow shades.

Next time, it will be just the Adult Girls for maybe some shopping time, too. Yay! Girl time recharges my batteries, big time. Madeline is an ultimate sweetheart, totally patient, and I love getting together my new local BFF! Hugs, Sweetie!

During the rest of the weekend, I whipped up a few creative vegan chocolate treats, and taught yoga, which still has me grinning from ear to ear! Tell me about how your weekend unfolded and what kinda trouble you got into stayed out of.

But it’s a new week and time to start fresh, so here’s a few things I made this weekend…

Butterfinger Oats
1/3 c dry oats, 2/3 c water (could use almond milk but I didn’t have any open), and then added cinnamon, brown sugar, butterscotch chips, and a smashed mini-Butterfinger (we’re slowly making our way through the excess Halloween candy I purchased. At this rate we should have it done by Halloween 2010.)

For one of our din-dins I took some of the never-ending bounty of potatoes that I bought on my TJ’s Grocery Haul and cut up some red potatoes + yukon golds, mini-carrots, doused with EVOO, S & P, 1 Tsp Ground Ginger(ginger is a great tenderizer and flavor booster)

In a microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate and spoon a thin chocolate layer into paper muffin liners (two). Allow chocolate to cool in the liners. While it is cooling, prepare the peanut butter and nutritional yeast mixture by stirring to combine it in a small bowl. If you don’t have nutritional yeast, omit it. It simply gives a slightly salty, cheezy, “gritty” and more authentic texture to the filling (similar to the Reese’s filling) but is not essential. Spoon the mixture on top of the cooled chocolate base layer. Melt additional chocolate and spoon melted chocolate over the top to completely cover the peanut butter. Allow cups to set up fully before eating, at least 5 to 10 minutes in the freezer if you are in a hurry.

[/print_this]

First, melt your chocolate (Raw Foodies, use whatever ratios of raw cocoa powder, agave, & coconut oil suits you to keep it raw). I use the 45 seconds in the microwave trick and melted about 1/4 c worth, which is 1 Baker’s Chocolate Full-Sized Square. (You’ll melt the other square later).

Then, take paper muffin liners and Pour the Melted Chocolate in, just coating the bottom of the liners.

Mix up the Filling
2 Tbsp PB + 1/2 Tsp Nooch
Optional: Dash of Salt, Dash of Agave, Dash of Vanilla Extract. This is to your taste and highly subjective, so do as you wish friends, but I think my version is quite Reese’s-like.

If you’re having a hard time getting your nooch well-incorporated into your PB, zap in the micro for 15 seconds.

I love how the nooch actually gives the PB that barely there, ever-so-slight chunky factor like the filling in Reese’s Cupsis.

I normally would just make teeth marks, but I used a knife to show you the inner workings of my Vegan PB Cups.

Kinda Highly Addictive. But the fun stuff usually is. Feel free to make a larger batch. There are lots of pics, but the whole thing took less than 10 minutes of active cooking time. You just have to let them firm up, and I bet that could happen in 15 minutes in the freezer. So, you’re less than a half hour away from homemade vegan PB Cups!! What are you waiting for?

They are rich, smooth, and even more satisfying because you made them yourself. And, you can feel awesome knowing there are no yucky ingredients in them. And did I mention the pretty rippled edges. Love those.

I have to first say I made your peanut butter coconut oil protein bars tonight and they were delicious! Now to answer your questions……to say something or not say something to the butts…..I have often said to someone who I see littering ( which I can’t stand) “I think you dropped something” it takes them off guard instead of coming off grumpy. For the other question, I have often seen parents grab or yell at a child in public and I too find it a terrible way to treat a child. I have not found the right thing to say without sounding like I’m in there business so I just stop and stare because basically they are attracting attention to themselves. I did this once and before you know it there were other people doing the same. Keep up the great posts.
Heather