I just realized that I’ve turned on my oven maybe once in the past week. What a glorious thing.
What could be worthy of turning on the oven during a heat wave, you might ask? Two words: sweet potatoes! Yes, even in the summer, heat wave be damned, I need my sweet potato fix.
This is my favourite way to eat sweet potatoes lately: Dice the sweet potato (leave the skin on), roast until tender, and then toss the cooked potato with coconut oil, sea salt, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Finally – and here’s the best part – a generous spoonful of hemp seeds sprinkled on for good measure. The hemp seeds stick to the coconut oil, coating every delicious bite of sweet potato. I seriously drool when I think about it!
But this post isn’t about roasting things like a crazy person when it’s 40C with humidity, it’s about not roasting things! Aside from my precious sweet potatoes, I’ve been relying heavily on raw foods to make up much of my diet. Raw Pad Thai, Detox Tabbouleh, hummus and veggie wraps, fruit galore, and a huge smoothie every single morning, just to name a few. Summer rules and winter drools. Period.
Speaking of drooling. These raw almond butter cups! Oh my goodness. Eric declared them one of his favourite treats and this is coming from a non-almond butter fan. I’m not buying it, Eric. I have a peanut butter cup recipe on the blog already (oh, and peanut butter cups in a jar, let’s not forget), but I wanted to make something with the batch of raw almond butter I made recently.
For the almond base, I initially tried a combo of almond butter, coconut oil, and sweetener, which was super tasty, but the cups melted and were pretty greasy. In an effort to make the base more substantial, I reduced the almond butter and added in almond meal and a touch of oat flour. It was the perfect solution. Not only did it hold up better, but it tasted like cookie dough! What’s not to love about that? noooooothing.
I used a mini silicone muffin holder since they are so flexible and I just popped the cups out after freezing. Easy! You can certainly use a regular muffin tin lined with paper liners though. For the thick chocolate coating, I made my own chocolate using cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sweetener. Feel free to simply use melted dark chocolate if that floats your boat! I added some sliced almonds on top before freezing which added a nice crunch.
As you can see the chocolate topping started to melt during my photo shoot because it was a gazillion degrees, so I recommend enjoying these straight from the freezer for best results. Either way, I wasn’t complaining too much!
Raw Almond Butter Cups
Yield
1 dozen cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
45
Total time
Like the peanut butter cup candy, but so much tastier and better for you! These raw almond butter cups are the perfect solution to any sweet craving. I used a mini silicone muffin tray since they are so flexible and I just popped the cups out after freezing. You can certainly use a regular muffin tin lined with paper liners too. For the thick chocolate coating, I made my own chocolate using cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sweetener. Feel free to simply use melted dark chocolate if that's what you have on hand. Be sure to keep these chilled until just before serving and store them in the freezer for best results. I personally love them straight from the freezer.
Note: Use certified gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten-free. NEW: See below for a nut-free version!
Ingredients
For the base
- 3/4 cup raw almonds, ground into a meal
- 1/4 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour
- 2 tablespoons raw almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 1.5 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed if necessary
- 1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or agave nectar)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste
For the topping
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or 2 tbsp agave nectar)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste
Directions
- Add almonds and oats into a high-speed blender and blend on high until a flour forms. Dump into a large bowl and break up any clumps with your fingers.
- Add the nut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup (or agave), cinnamon, vanilla, and salt into the bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. The dough should be fairly sticky like cookie dough.
- Line a mini (or regular) muffin tin with paper liners or use a silicone muffin holder. Portion the dough into each muffin cup and press down until even and smooth.
- To make the chocolate sauce: Whisk together the coconut oil, sweetener, cocoa powder, and salt until no clumps remain. Spoon the sauce over top each of the cups, distributing evenly. Garnish cups with sliced almonds if desired.
- Place in the freezer in a flat area for 30-45 minutes, until firm. Pop out the cups & enjoy immediately! These are best consumed straight from the freezer.
Tip:
If looking for an oat-free option, you might be able to substitute the 1/4 cup of oats for more almond meal. My guess is that you’d need to add another 1/3-1/2 cup almonds to avoid the dough becoming too sticky. Please report back!
For a nut-free version, sub the almond meal for an equal amount of rolled oats (so use 1 cup total rolled oats). Sub the almond butter for sunflower seed butter. Works great!
These look incredible! I can’t wait to try them as a snack or maybe even crumble on ice cream or put on a bowl of hot oatmeal! Yum!
Angela
I am new to vegan cooking but have found all your recipes to be the best! Thank you! The almond butter cups are DELICIOUS!!! easy to make, they satisfied everyone in my family-thanks!
Thank you Maggie! I’m so happy to hear that.
I made these last weekend for poker night with my husband and friends and they never saw the light of day!!! We devoured these!! Thank you for sharing a simple but absolutely delightful treat! They are on the menu, again, this weekend for another game night! I might hide a few in the back for me….a midnight indulgence when everyone goes home! ;-)
I’m all about no bake things this week– especially cookies and salads. :)
I love the twist on the peanut butter cup! The layering effect is gorgeous. And I am right there with you…sweet potatoes all year round are a must, and nothing brings out the flavor like roasting!
They look ridiculously good! And so satisfying with the density, the chewy factor, the coconut oil, and chocolate. You outdid yourself. And I love the bitemark photos! Right up my alley!
Oh my gosh… actually drooling as I sit at my desk. Not an attractive look but I must make these stat!
Yum, these look fantastic!
Thanks ladies – enjoy!
Angela – I’ve looked at your recipes and it seems that the ones that appeal to me are using coconut oil. My doctor told me that was the worst possible oil to use. Can you please try to recommend a substitution that is healthier? I’ve never seen or used coconut oil. What would happen if one substituted canola? Would it work?
Lauren
Hi Lauren,
Coconut oil is usually a very healthy fat to add to one’s diet. It’s made up of medium chain fatty acids which help stimulate metabolism and it’s also antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. It also has lauric acid which helps to support proper thyroid function. Be sure to select virgin coconut oil if you do buy some. Obviously, listen to your doctor’s recommendations as s/he knows your unique health requirements best, but feel free to look into it more if desired. Because coconut oil firms up when chilled, there is not a sub in most no-bake desserts. In baked desserts, however, you can usually sub another oil without issue. Hope this helps!
A great sub for coconut oil is cacao butter – MELTED. It is richer, creamier and has a little more body to it. I use it in all of my mousse and cheesecakes now.
A great sub for coconut oil is cacao butter – MELTED. When it solidified, it is richer, creamier and has a little more body to it. I use it in all of my mousse and cheesecakes now.
Ah yes, that’s a GREAT idea!! Thanks for the tip.
While coconut oil is a healthy oil to use, all oil is refined and a processed food. Try replacing it with coconut butter (should firm up when frozen in the same manner). Coconut butter is made from blending dried coconut and is a whole food. You can buy it premade or make it yourself.
Coconut oil is made up of long chain fatty acids and medium chain fatty acids. A few years ago the medium chain fatty acid from coconut oil was extracted and a study resulted to see how it affected a person’s metabolism. The group taking the medium chain fatty acid lost more weight than the control group. When this was reported, people read the results and mistakenly concluded that coconut oil helps you lose weight. Only 5% of the fatty acids in coconut oil are medium chain fatty acids. The remainder are saturated fats which are known to increase LDL.
Hi Lauren,
Angela is a very sweet and considerate person, but since this is not my blog, I can afford to be a little “rude” :-) Your doctor told you that coconut oil is the worst possible oil to use?! You should change doctors. :)
Canola oil IS the worst possible oil to use (made from genetically modified rape seed).
On the funny side, at the beginning of the century, the farmers tried to fatten the cows with coconut oil. Not only they did not get fatter, but they started losing weight! The farmers switched to corn…and it went all downhill from there.
For all the reasons that Angela wrote below, and more, coconut oil is amazing. Fortunately, we have more than one source nowadays to get informed so you can decide for yourself.
Coconut oil is controversial, so I can see where her doctor would advise against it. It is 92% saturated fat. While the building blocks of this fat are better than those in other saturated fats, like butter, because it is plant based, it is still something that needs to be limited in consumption (because all saturated fats should be limited in consumption).
My favorite alternative to any fat is olive oil. However, for baking, olive oil can sometimes add an unwanted flavor. Depending on the recipe, you can sub mashed banana, avocado, or applesauce.
Coconut oil is controversial ONLY because we were made to believe that all saturated fats are bad. They forgot (intentionally) to tell us that there are different types of saturated fatty acids. As Angela mentioned, coconut oil is made of medium chain fatty acids. Not only do they cause no harm, they are actually good for you. Cooking with coconut oil is way healthier than with any other oil as coconut oil does NOT oxidize when heated. When cooking with regular vegetable oils you instantly get a load of free radicals.
Personally I use coconut oil for everything, including various cosmetics purposes.
“Coconut oil is about 90% saturated fat, which is a higher percentage than butter (about 64% saturated fat), beef fat (40%), or even lard (also 40%). Too much saturated fat in the diet is unhealthy because it raises “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of heart disease”-From Harvard University Health site. Everything in moderate.
Your doctor is not correct, Coconut is very healthy, do some research before you believe everything your doctor says. I am on the health profession and use coconut oil daily we recommend to patients as well.
I meant to say in the health profession, not on it I’m sorry.
I use Earth Balance Butter (it’s vegan) instead of coconut oil, and it works great for me!
That’s a much better idea than the cakes i baked for my birthday – and the perfect size for an after dinner treat – now can I tempt the husband away from his beloved peanut butter?
Just wow!
In agreement with you on the raw foods this week, more time to spend in the sun!
x
I think I will be trying these this weekend! Our kitchen is in the middle of a renovation so I really have nothing but my fridge and my Vitamix to keep me going (I lied, I also have my Keurig)…. Also, just wanted to tell you that you are my foodie blogger soul mate – I love all your recipes! I follow lots of bloggers on facebook but you are the only one I get notifications for – hoping my compliment will pump you up for a great weekend!
Erin- you are so sweet! Thank you for the smile :) I’m feelin’ the love!!! Enjoy the recipe and good luck with renovations…I’m sure it will be all worth it in the end.
Looks delicious, and I am all for treats that don’t involve the oven! Although our AC is pretty good, so I definitely am still roasting vegetables from time to time.
These butter cups sound absolutely amazing! I’m pinning them and can’t wait to try them out!
Hi – love your blog & recipes. If using pre-ground almond meal, and oat bran (is it OK to use oat bran?) will the amounts remain the same? e.g. 3/4c almond meal.
They should be roughly the same, if the dough seems too sticky, just add a touch more. I haven’t worked with oat bran before, but feel free to experiment!
Oh wow – these look awesome! I have been on an almond butter fix lately so I know I would love these. They wouldn’t last too long in our house!
I can’t wait to try these..I will just have to make a deal to not eat the entire batch at once!!
Oh. My. Goodness. Where is the drool bucket??
Oh wow Angela, you spoil us so! These look even better than classic pb/ab cups. I bet the oat addition makes that base extra tasty.
Those look amazing! What would you suggest if I don’t want to use coconut oil? I’ve stayed away from all oils for the past year.
Thanks,
EatingRainbows
Hmm, I don’t know of a sub off hand – the coconut oil helps solidify the base and topping. I’ll let you know if I think of anything!
I would use coconut butter. I don’t use any oils either, only whole foods. I purée dried coconut into coconut butter and it’s delicious! I use that in my recipes instead of oils.
These sound seriously amazing!! I never would have guess that the ingredient list would be rather simplistic, too! That is a win-win.
Gosh I have not turn the oven on either; it is about 113 and the humidity has been at 37 percent, I can barley breath in this weather is unbearable. I see you got your creativity back in the kitchen cannot wait to try these cups.