Easy Honey Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Low Sugar)
You can have a healthier candy with this recipe for honey sweetened chocolate peanut butter cups! The filling is made with honey and you can choose to make your own honey chocolate for topping or use a packaged chocolate – your choice.
✩ What readers are saying…
“These were amazing!! Thank you SO much! I made them for valentine’s day for my family and they were a perfect substitution for the orginal, sugar-filled, nutrient-poor reese’s cups. These were delicious and I feel good about feeding them to my family!” -Christina
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Chocolate peanut butter cups sweetened only with honey? I know what you may be thinking, “Did she really have to mess with peanut butter cups?”
The thing with using less sugar is that you gradually don’t like the super-sweet things you once did and the basic milk-chocolate peanut butter cup just tastes blah to me now!
I’ve had some store bought dark chocolate, lower sugar peanut butter cups that I’ve really liked. And I’ve made no-bake peanut butter balls that are sweetened with honey which are very good.
So of course I tried them and it was surprisingly easy. I made them both with from-scratch chocolate sweetened with honey and from simply melting dark chocolate.
And guess what? Both versions are really good!
They are not cloyingly sweet like the milk-chocolate store version, for sure, letting both the chocolate and peanut butter flavors really shine through.
While I may not make chocolate from scratch every time I want to make these (it’s optional- you can also simply melt chocolate), I know I will NEVER go back to making the classic peanut butter filling with all the powdered sugar.
This honey sweetened filling is good – truly – and I will use it from now on, not only for this, but also for any peanut butter balls I make.
Honey Sweetened Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups Recipe
Ingredients
- Natural peanut butter (only peanuts and salt)
- Honey
- Coconut flour
- Vanilla
- Dark chocolate chips/chunks to melt OR make your own chocolate with Cocoa butter wafers, cocoa powder, honey or maple syrup and salt
Supplies
How do you make peanut butter cups from scratch?
The steps to make these healthy peanut butter cups are pretty straightforward:
- Make the peanut butter filling, shape into balls, and then flatten a bit before refrigerating for a few hours to set.
- After making the chocolate or melting a good dark chocolate, add chocolate enough to cover the bottoms of small paper candy cups and refrigerate them for a few minutes (this is to make sure that the peanut butter filling doesn’t sink to the bottom of the warm chocolate).
- Bring the cups out, add the filling and then spoon more chocolate on top before replacing in the fridge to harden completely.
I added a few peanut halves to decorate the top of these candy cups, which of course is optional – and not traditional at all. I was making them for holiday treats and wanted them to look a little more interesting.
Plus, adding the nuts is also a way to tell people at a glance what they contain, just in case there’s a peanut allergy in anyone’s family who receives them.
Can I make this candy with another nut butter?
Yes, you can make these with any nut butter, or even a seed butter like sunflower to avoid nut butter completely. When you make your own candy, you can tailor it to your family’s tastes!
How long do homemade peanut butter cups last?
- On the Counter: Store at room temperature for a day (or before they soften too much).
- Refrigerated: When stored in the fridge, they are best eaten within a month.
- Freeze: These candies can also be frozen for longer storage – use within three months.
I’d love to know what you think of these by leaving a rating and review!!
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Easy Honey Sweetened Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Equipment
- paper candy baking cups
- mini muffin pan tin
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Filling
Optional Homemade Chocolate Coating*
Optional Dark Chocolate Coating*
- 1½ cups (9oz.) dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
Instructions
- Filling:
- Mix peanut butter, honey, coconut flour, and vanilla until completely combined.
- Shape into 1/2-teaspoon sized balls and flatten slightly into discs. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for an hour or two.
- Meanwhile, line 34 mini muffin pans with paper liners.**
- Chocolate Coating:
- Option #1- Homemade Chocolate: Set a glass bowl in a saucepan with water in the bottom that doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl (or a double boiler).
- Add the cocoa butter wafers to the bowl and heat the water to simmering over medium-high heat, melting the cocoa butter completely.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder gradually until completely smooth.
- Add honey, vanilla, and salt, whisking again until smooth.
- Option #2- Melt Chocolate: Place chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave-safe bowl along with the coconut oil or butter. Melt until smooth, stirring often.
- Assemble Cups:
- Using a teaspoon, add enough chocolate to the bottom of each candy liner to cover it; refrigerate just until starting to set, about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from fridge and place a cold peanut butter disc in the center of each cup. Use a teaspoon to add more chocolate to cover all the discs completely.
- Refrigerate until hardened. Remove from trays and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Low Sugar Chocolates
- Dark Chocolate Coconut Clusters – Low Sugar & Just 3 Ingredients
- Easy Chocolate Crispy Peanut Butter Balls (Honey Sweetened, Dairy Free)
- Quick Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles Recipe
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These were amazing!! Thank you SO much! I made them for valentine’s day for my family and they were a perfect substitution for the orginal, sugar-filled, nutrient-poor reese’s cups. These were delicious and I feel good about feeding them to my family! Thank you!
Aww, that’s so great to know, Christina – it makes me happy to picture you loving on your family through these. 🙂
Hi Jami,
These look great. Does the coconut flour give them the taste of coconut? Can almond flour be substituted for the coconut flour? We love coconut but I’d like to make them for my office and just discovered my boss doesn’t care for coconut!
I didn’t think so at all, Chris, since it’s not much (just enough to help hold the dough together more), though you can certainly try almond flour. It won’t be quite as fine, though, but should work to make a firmer dough.
Thanks, Jami.
I’ll give them a try. As always, enjoy your posts and recipes. Going to make your wheat rolls for tomorrow.
Hoping you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year filled with much love, happiness, health and faith.
Thank you, Chris!! Blessed new year to you, too. 🙂
These look great – and like something my almost 3 year old can help with! Thanks!