Who doesn’t love peanut butter cups?  Toss in some flaked coconut and it takes me to another place.  Remember Mounds bars?  These taste like that, but with peanut butter.  Today I am making mini, fun size ones – it’s better for portion control, too!

Let’s talk chocolate.  I like to use dark chocolate as it cuts back on the sugar and the higher cocoa content is great for your blood flow and heart health.  For this recipe, I use 63% percent cocoa chocolate chips – you could use higher if you want to amp up the antioxidants, but be prepared for a more bitter tasting chocolate.

It’s super simple to melt chocolate and toss in whatever you want.  Be careful: chocolate is temperamental.  It will cease (or become hard and lumpy) if you heat it too long or get any moisture – a.k.a. water, in it.  So take special care with your chocolate when melting it.

I have to be honest, I don’t use coconut very often.  I had flaked coconut in my fridge so I decided to use it since it goes so well with chocolate.   I use it sparingly to add flavor to dishes. Plus, coconut adds a hearty mouthfeel due to its robust fat content.  (Yes, it is a saturated fat and the American Heart Association advises us to not over due it with this type of fat.)   Sprinkle a bit of coconut into each mini muffin compartment . . .

I use a non-stick mini muffin tin, so you don’t even have to spray or grease the pan.  Once you have your beds of coconut laid out, just dollop each with melted chocolate half way to leave space for the peanut butter and more chocolate on top.  (Yipee!)

Who doesn't love peanut butter cups? Try my Fun Size Peanut Butter Cups #recipe #peanutbuttercups #peanutbutter #darkchocolate #coconut Click To Tweet

Homemade Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups 

Makes 12 mini cups

Ingredients

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons natural peanut butter

Directions

Pour chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.  Put in the microwave for 1 minute on med-high temperature.  Remove the bowl, stir and put back in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Remove and stir until smooth.

Place 1 teaspoon of coconut into each of the 12 non-stick muffin compartments.  Pour in melted chocolate filling each compartment just half-way.

Dollop 1/8 teaspoon of peanut butter on top of each one.  Pour the remaining chocolate to fill each one to the top.

Place the muffin tin in the freezer for 2 – 3 hours.  Remove from freezer, pop each one onto a small plate or bowl.  Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, if desired.