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Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Cups


Do you know how hard it is to find just a straight up dark chocolate bar that's just chocolate and a little natural sugar? It seems so simple, right? It's not. Even at Whole Foods I find myself slamming bars of chocolate back onto the shelves after I read the labels.... soy lethicin, emulsifers, milk, alkali.... no! I just want REAL dark chocolate (>70%) and full of flavanols (the good stuff in cocoa that helps lower blood pressure, and improve vascular + cognitive function)! So in addition to making my own coffee creamer (yea, I do that), I have decided to take on my after-dinner treat (that I dream about all day) and replace my 2-3 squares of a dark chocolate bar with variations of dark chocolate 'cups' - and now i'm obsessed! This time I went with Salted Caramel Peanut Butter layered with Dark Chocolate and nearly cried when I tried the finished product - these...are...a... GAME CHANGER!

SERVING SIZE: 24

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

1 Bag Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate Chips*

1/2 cup All Natural Salted Caramel**

3/4 cup All Natural Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Grassfed Butter

Mini Cup Cake papers

RECIPE:

If you don't own a double boiler (I don't!) than you will need to improvise and use a couple pots and glass/metal bowls to do the job. The bowl will need to be glass or metal and not plastic and it should fit snugly into the pot like this:

You'll want to have two of these going at the same time, one for the chocolate and the other for the caramel/peanut butter. If you don't have the equipment to do two at a time you can make one before the other and just wash the bowl in between.

Start by bringing a few inches of water to a simmer (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water- we don't want the chocolate to burn so we're using the hot steam to gently and evenly melt the chocolate.

For the Chocolate Chips - put the butter in the bowl on top of the simmering water and pour the chocolate chips over top. Use a rubber spatula to move the chips around until they melt completely and the texture is smooth.

For the Caramel - Peanut Butter - pour the peanut butter and caramel in the double boiler and use a rubber spatula to combine until they melt together and the consistency is smooth.

When both the chocolate and peanut butter are ready, get ready to build the cups. Place the mini cupcake papers into the cupcake tin and use a spoon to fill the papers up 1/4 of the way up with chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to seize up the chocolate to a stickiness so you can layer the peanut butter on top without it combining with the melted chocolate. Layer an equal sized layer on top of the chocolate. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes and finish with the last layer of chocolate. I like to freeze mine because I love cold chocolate as dessert but you can also keep these refrigerated as well. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours before eating and freeze for about 1-2 hours before eating.

Like I said before...... game... changer! Enjoy!

*For the Chocolate Chips, I like the "Enjoy Life" brand of Real Chocolate Chips - they are Wheat, Casein, Lupin, Soy, Nut and Dairy free!

** For an all natural salted caramel without all of the added/modified ingredients - I like Coops Salted Caramel from Whole Foods


Kristen's Cooking Tips

#1 

Use sharp knives! Slicing, chopping, mincing- sharp knives cut prep time in half and are WAY safer than fighting with dull blades that barely get through the skin of a tomato. At the very least, get a knife sharpener and run the blade across it before any prep. 

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#2

Taste EVERYTHING as you go! Cooking is about using instinct and creating flavors- you'll never learn to cook if you don't develop instincts... taste the food at every stage and follow the flavor development, adding more salt, more acid, more cream- whatever your taste buds are reaching for. 

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#3

Mis en Place: it's french for everything in it's place. Before you start a dish, gather all of your ingredients and prep everything you need in advance. Minced garlic? mince it first and set aside. Chopped herbs? Chop away and be ready when you need them. So many people I talk to say cooking is stressful, there is "too much going on"- it's all about time management. Cooking should be relaxing and fun! Think about your favorite cooking show... notice how they always have everything they need right there? Read the whole recipe through and zoom out- while this is cooking, make this; while this is chilling, cook this. Know how to breakdown the steps and prepare your ingredients so you're not stuck with burning garlic while you're chopping cilantro. Go in with a clear mind and know you're about to fuel your body and nourish your soul with your own two hands...and a few sharp knives ;)

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