These Almond Butter Cups are a healthy treat that you won’t be able to stop eating! Made with just 6 ingredients including natural almond butter and dark chocolate, these are great for lunch boxes or holiday treats.
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No, this is not everyone’s favorite peanut butter cup. It’s their new favorite almond butter cup!
Peanut butter cups are classic (I’m looking at you, Reese’s), but I’ve changed it up slightly by using almond butter (you could still totally use peanut butter), dark chocolate, and sea salt.
This recipe is a little bit healthier than candy you’d buy in the store because I’m swapping most of the sugar for raw honey. There is still a little powdered sugar in there to help the almond butter hold it’s shape, but it’s significantly less than in most almond butter cups.
These are one of my favorite treats to have around at Christmas time, but they’re also great to keep on hand if you want a healthier bite size treat, or pop them in your kid’s lunchbox for a fun surprise.
Almond butter cup ingredients
- Chocolate
- Almond butter
- Honey
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
How to make almond butter cups
- Line 24-30 mini muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- Melt ⅔ of the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate a little at a time until completely melted, placing over the double boiler again if necessary.
- Spoon a small amount of chocolate in the bottom of each muffin liner, spreading it about halfway up the sides.
- In a medium bowl, mix almond butter, honey, powdered sugar, vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt until smooth.
- Scoop out about a teaspoon of filling and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a ball. Place the balls in the center of each chocolate covered paper liner.
- Spoon enough chocolate over the top of each almond butter ball to completely cover it and create a smooth top. Place a small pinch of sea salt on top of each one and place in the refrigerator to set. Allow them to come to room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
Top tips and questions
Can I leave out the powdered sugar?
If you prefer a naturally sweetened treat, you can leave out the powdered sugar. Keep in mind, your almond butter may not roll without it, so you would need to spoon it into the paper liners. They will come out a little messier than if you added the sugar.
Why won’t my almond butter roll?
As mentioned above, your almond butter may not roll because you didn’t add enough sugar. However, if you’re using an almond butter that contains extra oils you may need to add more sugar to get it to roll also.
All brands of almond butter produce a slightly different result, and if you’re using one that already has added sugars it may roll on its own without adding any more. I like the Good & Gather almond butter from Target that requires stirring.
What kind of chocolate should I use for almond butter cups?
I like to use dark chocolate, such as a 60-70% cacao, but feel free to use your favorite chocolate including milk chocolate or white chocolate!
I prefer using chocolate baking bars to avoid the stabilizers in chocolate chips, but chocolate chips will also work in this recipe.
Is 12 ounces enough chocolate for this recipe?
I found 12 ounces to be just enough chocolate to make 28 almond butter cups. Depending on how accurately you fill your cups, you may come out with more or less.
If you prefer not to be super careful about how much chocolate you’re adding to each cup, you may want to melt an additional 2 ounces of chocolate to make sure you have enough.
What is the best dessert salt?
Yes, I have a favorite dessert salt, and I highly recommend you try it! I love Mediterranean sea salt on my desserts, especially chocolate. However, any sea salt, Maldon, or fleur de sel would be great in this recipe.
How to temper chocolate
Tempered chocolate is chocolate prepared by heating and cooling it in a specific way that stabilizes it for use in candy making. It has a smooth, glossy finish.
I’m technically not tempering the chocolate here, but am melting it in a safer way to avoid burning it. If you want to temper your chocolate, try this tutorial on how to temper chocolate.
How to store almond butter cups
Store these in the refrigerator while they set, then keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature. If keeping them at room temperature, enjoy within a few days.
These will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
Tips for customizing almond butter cups
- Swap the almond butter for peanut butter or your other favorite nut butter
- Use your favorite baking chocolate such as milk chocolate
- Add a dash of cinnamon or cardamom to the almond butter mixture
- Use all honey and leave out the powdered sugar
More chocolate recipes
- Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Cups
- Pumpkin Seed Butter Cups
- Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cups
- Chocolate Honey Bombs
- Spicy Pistachio and Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Single Serving Brownie
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Vegan Mug Brownie
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Almond Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dark chocolate, (60-72% cacao), chopped
- 1 cup natural creamy almond butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Line 24-30 mini muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- Melt ⅔ of the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate a little at a time until completely melted, placing over the double boiler again if necessary.
- Spoon a small amount of chocolate in the bottom of each muffin liner, spreading it about halfway up the sides.
- In a medium bowl, mix almond butter, honey, powdered sugar, vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt until smooth.
- Scoop out about a teaspoon of filling and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a ball. Place the balls in the center of each chocolate covered paper liner.
- Spoon enough chocolate over the top of each almond butter ball to completely cover it and create a smooth top. Place a small pinch of sea salt on top of each one and place in the refrigerator to set.
- Once set store the cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow them to come to room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
Dina says
they look like delicious healthy treats!
Katie (The Muffin Myth) says
These look great! I’ve been making my own chocolate lately, dark, honey sweetened, and I think this would be the perfect thing to do with them. I haven’t been tempering it, so that link is tremendously helpful. Looking forward to almond or peanut butter cups all the way from scratch!
Kirsten says
Just stumbled across your blog and its beautiful!!!! Your real food cooking is great!!!!
Lindsay Moe says
Thank you so much!
Tracie says
Yummy! These came out great. I don’t like peanut butter so I bought almond butter but didn’t like it either. Mixing it with sugar and covering it in chocolate helped though!
Lindsay Moe says
I’m glad you liked them!
Just Ina says
I am drooling – at first look i thought it was peanut butter, but almond butter—-I have not been able to find a store for this – give me hints in what direction to go if you can. thank you.
Lindsay Moe says
Peanut butter would definitely work here if that’s what’s easiest for you! I find almond butter in my normal grocery store. It’s easiest to find in the natural and organic aisle, right next to the peanut butter and other condiments.