Peanut Butter Cups (no powdered sugar)

stack of 5 peanut butter cups on a marble plate, one hand lifting off the first cup.

Author: Katie

These 2-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups are lower in sugar and fat than most regular store-bought peanut butter cups. They are naturally gluten-free and can easily be made vegan by using a dairy-free chocolate of choice.

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5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Set Time: 1

Total Time: 1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American-Inspired

Servings: 6 cups

Ingredients

Chocolate Layers

9 oz dark chocolate of choice *chocolate bar, chocolate chips, see notes

Peanut Filling

3 tablespoon natural peanut butter smooth or crunchy, seet notes
¼ cup peanuts *optional

You can find detailed step-by step-photos above the recipe card.

Instructions

1st Chocolate Layer

Start by melting the chocolate. Place a wide skillet or big bowl, covered with about 1 inch (2,5 cm) of water on the stovetop.
Add your chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl and put the bowl directly in the water.
Bring the water to a simmer and let the chocolate melt while stirring every now and then.
Other than that, you could also melt your chocolate in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl or in the oven using an oven-saft bowl.
In the meantime, place 6 paper or silicone muffin liners into a muffin tin.
Add about 1 ½ tablespoons of melted chocolate to the bottom of each paper liner.
Place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes for the chocolate to set.

Peanut Butter Layer

Optional: If you're including the whole peanuts, add them to the peanut butter and give it a good stir.
Once the chocolate layer has set, put a generous teaspoon of peanut butter onto the chocolate layer of each muffin tin (make sure to leave some edges).

2nd Chocolate Layer

Cover each dollop of peanut butter with the remaining melted chocolate.
Place the cups in the fridge for about 45 min to 1 hour or until chocolate has set. (It will be quicker in the freezer).

Notes

Make sure not to splash water into the chocolate! This changes the texture of the chocolate!
Dark Chocolate: I prefer using dark chocolate that contains about 70% cocoa. Any higher percentage than that and the chocolate is not that sweet anymore.
Peanut Butter: For best results, use natural peanut butter that contains 100% peanuts and nothing else (except for a pinch of salt that's fine). . You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter, depending on your personal preference.
Peanuts (optional): For some extra crunchy peanut layer, I recommend adding a couple of peanuts. It's optional though and depends on your personal preferences.
Make them sweeter: These peanut butter cups are lightly sweetened from the dark chocolate only. If you prefer a sweeter version, add 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the peanut butter and stir well.
To store: Store leftover peanut butter cups in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. I do not recommend storing them at room temperature.
To freeze: Store in a freezer-friendly container for up to 1 month. Let thaw for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates.

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