Homemade Almond Butter Cups for Valentines Day!

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things, does not belong..."

Thank you to my 12 year old daughter Lily, for taking this picture and emailing it to me. It shows how the first batch we made, we accidentally made upside-down.

I must not have had enough sleep last night!

I just got this very cool silicone mold for making mini hearts, and the first thing I thought to make was Almond Butter Cups (think a healthier, 100% homemade version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups). I wanted to use them to top the cupcakes I was making for a friend's birthday party, and they ended up being so good that we were gobbling them up, so only half of the cupcakes got decorated with them!

Here is how I did it:
I used the homemade almond butter that I had already made a few days earlier - I simply put this in the Vitaprep Vitamix (dry container) and blended (keep in mind you need to taste it because I made this up, not measuring exactly...

 Almond Butter part:
1 Cup Raw Almonds
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon of Coconut Sugar
pinch of salt

For the Chocolate part, I experimented by using a super dark Cocoa Powder, but you could also use raw cocoa powder (which  I am going to try next time for a change of pace). I melted about 2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil and Coconut Manna, then mixed in some Agave Nectar, and the Cocoa Powder - as well as Vanilla Extract. I never can understand why Vanilla makes Chocolate taste like Chocolate, but it does, so you cannot omit it.  I kept mixing with a wisk for a couple of minutes until it was all combined, then I tasted it, and added more agave or chocolate powder as needed until it tasted good and was fairly thick. Then I tasted it again and again. Because it was yummy. Next time I will actually measure it when I make it so this will make more sense!

Chocolate part:
Coconut Oil (3 Tablespoons?)
Coconut Manna (1 Tablespoon?)
Agave Nectar (3 Tablespoons?)
Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon?)
Dark Chocolate Powder

When I made the heart in the center of the picture (aka the one that is correct! -  I poured the chocolate in the mold first, filling it halfway, then put it in the freezer for a little while until it cooled, setting up nicely, and then I packed the almond butter in on top (which conveniently becomes the bottom, when you flip these out after refrigerating or freezing them for a bit first.)

These Almond Butter Cups are delicious and can be kept in the freezer for some time. Or keep in the fridge, but do not leave out on the counter or they will get all smooshy and lose their cute shape after a few hours.  Enjoy!