Peppermint Coconut Butter Cups

WOW. Let’s just breeze over the fact that it’s been over TWO MONTHS since I posted. Long story short, a crammed a bunch of major life events into two months and was basically traveling for the entirely of them. All my food blog props were in a box in my friend’s garage and I definitely didn’t pick up my camera during that time. So here we are!

December is the month for all things peppermint, gingerbread, hot cocoa, smart wool socks, and being a little late to your meeting because you didn’t plan extra time to scrape ice off your windshield. I’m living that no off street parking life in Minneapolis and just praying we don’t have a snow emergency any time soon because I already can’t find a spot to park. I have a lot of other exciting things happening this month, too. My little brother is graduating from college, my sister is defending her PhD thesis, and I’m officially the least impressive sibling with my chemical engineering degree. But, seriously.

I’ve been getting back into my routine at my brand new spankin’ apartment over the course of the last month. It’s definitely NOT new, but it’s new to me. It’s one of those cozy Minneapolis brown stone apartments with hardwood floors, water pipes that hammer all night, and a teeny kitchen. I’m obsessed. I have a few things I still need to get like a carpet and a piece of art for the huge boring space in front of my couch but for the most part it’s all done. I got the couch of my dreams from West Elm and my first queen mattress ever.

Now that I’ve filled you in on the important things like my couch, it’s time to move onto this coconut butter cups. Since I’m obsessed with peppermint, it only made sense that they made an appearance in my first post for December. I made my coconut butter at home using a food processor via Minimalist Baker. I am fairly certain I almost overheated my little food processor in doing so, so make sure if you go the homemade route you have the proper equipment to do so. Otherwise, you can find it at heath food stores or online. I ended up leaving out any vanilla or flavoring from the bulk batch so that I could customize the coconut butter based on the recipe I was using it in. I also added some to a blended cashew coffee drink and it was delicious.

The most labor intensive part it of this recipe definitely making the coconut butter so if you’re short on time (or patience) I would just buy some. Most importantly, DO NOT skimp on the chocolate. This recipe requires 6 oz of high quality chocolate, so get the good stuff. That does not mean Hersey’s people. I used a 50/50 blend of Chocolove Rich Dark Chocolate and Strong Dark Chocolate.

This recipe is simple, easy, delicious, and only four ingredients. They are perfect for your next holiday part or a sweet treat to keep in the freezer for when your kids go to bed.

 

PEPPERMINT COCONUT BUTTER CUPS

Author: Dana Zychowski

Active Time: 20 minutes, does not include time to make coconut butter

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 9 cups

Recipe Type: Dessert

 

Ingredients:

• 4 TBSP coconut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or real vanilla extract
• 2 crushed candy canes, plus more for garnish (optional)
• 6.4 oz dark chocolate

 

Directions:

Line a muffin tin with 9 parchment liners and set aside. Chop the chocolate into medium sized chunks and melt half of it using the water bath method. You can melt it in the microwave if you would like, but be sure to heat the chocolate in 30 second increments, whisking in between heating. You also want to remove the chocolate from heat when there are still a few chunks left and then whisk continuously to finish melting. If you’ve ever burnt chocolate then you know why.

Distribute the chocolate evenly into the 9 muffin liners and spread with the back of your spoon. Give the muffin tin a few taps on the counter to settle the mixture before placing it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the crushed candy cane pieces, vanilla paste, and coconut butter together. Remove the cups from the freezer and spoon the coconut butter mixture into each of the liners. Pat down lightly with your fingers.

Melt the remaining chocolate and spoon over each of the cups, using the back of your spoon to cover and coconut butter. Give the tin a few good taps again before sprinkling additional candy cane pieces over the tops. Place in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to solidify the chocolate before removing the parchment liners. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks and allow to soften slightly at room temperature before serving. Enjoy!