Almond Butter Cups-Vegan

   I recently made a quick trip to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my 98 year old grandmother. While I was there we went to a vegetarian restaurant called GreenBar&Kitchen . My daughter and I shared the Avocado Toast,( Avocado, sprouts, cashew-truffle dressing, pink peppercorns, on flax & millet toast) and the Roasted Bowl (Brown rice, quinoa, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic aioli & Santa Fe dressing). Both delicious and totally gluten free, and did I say vegetarian? 

   I'm always interested in trying alternative desserts and comparing them to mine so when I looked in the dessert case and saw a dessert that looked like my Almond Butter Cups, I knew that was what I needed to try. So, that's just what I did. I picked the Raw Cashew Butter Cup. It was delicious and very sweet. It had a layer of chocolate on the bottom then a layer of cashew butter then a top layer of chocolate. It kind of looked like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but with cashew butter and about the same size. 

   The Almond Butter Cup recipe was adapted from Megan's (Detoxinista) No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Bars.. This recipe is vegan and does not require cooking. It has a total of six ingredients and it's made in 3 easy steps. 

Here you go!!

Almond Butter Cups

Layer 1, Chocolate Cookie Crust:

• 1 1/2 cup almond meal or flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbls melted coconut oil
• pinch sea salt

Layer 2, Almond Butter Filling:

• 1 cup creamy almond butter(salted or unsalted depending on how salty you like the filling)
• 6 Tbls pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbls melted coconut oil
• pinch sea salt

Layer 3, Chocolate Ganache topping:

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 6 Tbls pure maple syrup

Instructions

1. Line mini cupcake pan with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together all the Layer 1 ingredients until a soft dough is formed.
3. Scoop a small amount of the dough into each cupcake paper and press to bottom.
4. Set pan in freezer while you make Layer 2.
5. Rinse out the bowl you prepared the crust in and combine Layer 2 ingredients.
6. Combine Layer 2 ingredients saving the salt to last. 
7. Add salt to your taste.
8. Remove the pan from the freezer and scoop a small amount of almond butter mixture in to the cupcake papers and smooth out.
9. Place back in freezer and prepare Layer 3 in the same bowl that has been rinsed out following Layer 2.
10. Combine cocoa and melted coconut oil and slowly add maple syrup until ganache is shiny.
11. Remove the pan from freezer again and spoon a small amount of the ganache over the almond butter layer. Smooth out ganache in each cup as you go. 
12.  Place the pan back in the freezer and let set for about 15 minutes.
13. This recipe makes 48 mini cups.
14. This can also be prepared in a 13X9 parchment lined glass dish and cut into small squares. Follow the same instructions.
15. These can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer. I can't tell you how long they will stay good since they don't keep very long. They get eaten up. Yep all eaten up.

This is one of the most decadent chocolate recipes I make. It's easy! It's delicious! It's chocolate! It's worth making for your family.Need I say more?