Do you remember a couple months ago when I made Mini Vanilla-Almond Cupcakes and gushed about Lisa’s blog?  (The cupcakes were healthy enough to be breakfast – really, how could I not be smitten?)

Well, this treat is another of Lisa’s creations.  When I swooned over her recipe for Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups a while back and noticed that she mentioned they were healthy enough for breakfast, I knew it would not be long before they graced my kitchen.

I only made a couple changes to Lisa’s original recipe:  (1) I used powdered stevia (in packets) because that’s what I had on hand, and (2) I added a walnut half to the top of each candy (mostly for the crunch factor, but also because it looks pretty).  If you have liquid stevia on hand you can follow Lisa’s recipe; if you want to play around with a sweetener other than stevia, here is a guideline on how sweet 1 packet of stevia is:  the amount of stevia in 1 packet measures 1/2 teaspoon, which is about as sweet as 2 to 3 teaspoons of regular sugar.

Lisa had mentioned in her post that she likes using Tropical Traditions coconut oil to make these treats, so I was pretty excited when Tropical Traditions recently contacted me asking if I wanted to try this product.  I’ve been using coconut oil for a few years now but this is the first time I’ve tried Tropical Traditions and I have to say, it’s a fantastic product.  In my opinion, its pure, rich coconut flavor is second to none.  Plus I love how they really take pride in their product…on their website it says “[Our coconut oil] is made by families who are coconut farmers using old-fashioned traditional methods that have been used in the Philippines for hundreds of years.”

If you’re wondering what you can use coconut oil in, I use it to make everything from fried eggs, to pan-seared fish, to sautéed veggies.  I also like to play around with it in my baked goods (like muffins), and a little drizzle on a bowl of oatmeal or frozen yogurt is heaven.  It’s an incredibly versatile product.  If you want to try it for yourself, scroll down the bottom of this post for the giveaway!

Healthy-Enough-For-Breakfast Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Adapted slightly from Lisa’s recipe for Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups on Thrive Style)

Yields 10 chocolate peanut butter cups

Bottom Layer:

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (I used Tropical Traditions Organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil)

4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 packets stevia

Line a mini muffin tray with 10 paper liners.  Stir all ingredients together until smooth and divide between the 10 mini muffin wells (each should be about half full).  (Try not to dribble on the sides since it will give your candy a streaked look.)  Put the tray in the freezer on a flat surface and freeze until solid (about 15 minutes, give or take a little while depending how cold your freezer is).

Top Layer:

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

4 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 packet stevia

10 walnut halves (optional)

Stir all ingredients together (except walnut halves) until smooth and divide on top of the set chocolate mixture.  Transfer back to the freezer and freeze until partially solid (about 5 minutes), then lightly press 1 walnut half into the top of each candy (if using the walnut halves).  Return to the freezer and freeze until solid.

Store the treats in the fridge in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper.

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Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

* * * * *

You do not need to have a blog to enter this giveaway!  To participate, subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter and leave a comment here letting me know.  If you want to earn additional entries, you can do any of the following (please leave a separate comment for each so I can count them as separate entries):

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of candy (healthy or not!).
2. Share this giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment here.
3. “Like” Tropical Traditions on Facebook and leave a comment here.
4. Share this giveaway on Twitter and leave a comment here.
5. Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter and leave a comment here.
6. Pin something from this post on Pinterest and leave a comment here.
7. Follow Tropical Traditions on Pinterest and leave a comment here.

This giveaway ends Saturday, July 21st at 9PM EST; after that the winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.  Good luck to all!

Disclaimer:  I received the coconut oil that I used in this recipe for free from Tropical Traditions, and they are also providing the coconut oil for this giveaway.  I was under no obligation to review this product, and as always, opinions stated are my own.

Tags: Chocolate, Coconut Oil, Easy Homemade Candy, Healthy Desserts, Healthy Version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Indulgent Breakfasts, Peanut Butter Cups, Recipes, Tropical Traditions

This entry was posted on Friday, July 6th, 2012 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Giveaways, Product Reviews, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.