One bite. A thin nut butter layer with a chocolate coating collapses into your mouth. This little piece of candy made me wonder “how on earth do they get the nut butter in the middle?” Well, it’s rather quite simple. There’s this slender, scrumptious layer of chocolate that gets poured into the mold. The nut butter mixture follows. You have to get that mixture centered and flattened just right so it’s not peeking through the chocolate top like a flower emerging through the dirt one spring morning.

Forget the processed brands. Make your own nut butter cups with this smooth, like nut butter, recipe! The cacao and maca powders are energizing. I made it with maca powder and Sacha Inchi protein powder and I’ll have to say I like the Sacha Inchi protein powder more. It has a nutty taste to it. The maca is almost too sweet for me. Cacao powder is good for opening the heart chakra and enhancing creativity, which is found in the second chakra! Savor each bite and express a little gratitude for the nourishment you’re ingesting.

Serves: 12 standard muffin cup-sized candies

Hands-on time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy free, soy free

Ingredients

Raw chocolate

1 cup melted coconut oil

¾ cup raw cacao powder

⅓ cup raw honey

1 Tablespoon  Sacha Inchi or maca powder (I get mine from Imlak’esh Organics. Use RIDGE10 for 10 percent off)

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Extra sea salt for garnish

Nut butter filling

½ cup almond butter (or any nut butter: cashew, pecan, hazelnut, etc.)

1 Tablespoon raw honey (or maple syrup or agave)

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

2-3 Tablespoons Sacha Inchi protein powder or maca powder

¼ tsp. Moon Juice Adaptogens

Sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Melt coconut oil in a double boiler (or glass bowl over a pot of simmering water).
2. Add honey and whisk to combine.
3. Remove from heat. Add cacao, maca powder/Sacha Inchi protein powder, and sea salt.
4. In silicone or paper muffin cups, spoon enough liquid chocolate to cover the bottom of the pan (about ⅓ of the mixture)
5. Refrigerate or freeze until solid, about 15 minutes.
6. Make the nut butter filling by combining all of the ingredients until a “dough” is formed. Add more maca/Sacha Inchi protein powder if it is too gooey.
7. Spoon nut dough into ½ tablespoon amounts. Roll into balls and flatten between palms just under the size of the height of the cups. Place on top of each solid chocolate.
8. Cover the nut butter with the remaining chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt if you’d like.
9. Refrigerate for at least one hour, or until solid. If you try to remove one of the uniforms and chocolate comes off, refrigerate until chocolate is completely solid.
10. Enjoy!