Peanut butter jelly cups

One of the things I love about food blogging is having access to an amazing community of like minded people who are constantly sharing their creative, innovative and delicious recipes. My inner food geek gets so excited when I stumble upon a recipe that I have never heard of before, and I immediately start planning to recreate it at home, thinking of ways I might tweak it to make it my own.

I recently discovered how to make jelly out of blueberries. I was let in on this little secret by Nicola over at Homegrown Kitchen who made some delicious sounding Blueberry Jelly Tip Iceblocks using pureed blueberries which when frozen turned into jelly.

As soon as I heard this I started to think of delicious blueberry jelly creations and immediately I thought to combine it with my favorite flavour combination – peanut butter and chocolate, a la peanut butter and jelly.

My first go wasn’t quite right – I thought I’d see if I could do a completely sugar-free version using just the blueberries to sweeten them. Unfortunately, the flavour wasn’t quite there, so I used that batch as chopped up mix-ins to my morning smoothie (which I definitely recommend trying – think a healthy Cold Stone ice cream). But my second attempt got it pretty much spot on – they are still not overly sweet, so feel free to add in a little extra sweetener if you wish.

These little bites are not only delicious, but they are actually quite healthy – packed full of antioxidants from the berries, cacao and peanuts. I imagine they would also be quite adaptable, although I haven’t started experimenting yet – if you do and come up with any good flavour combinations, feel free to share in the comments below.

Peanut butter jelly cups

Peanut base
2/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
1 Tbsp coconut butter
3 medjool dates
Pinch of sea salt (optional)

Blueberry jelly
1.5 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries
2 tsp raw honey

Chocolate top
1/2 cup coconut butter
1 Tbsp raw honey
2 Tbsp raw cacao

To make the base, add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until combined and resembling breadcrumbs. Divide evenly among 20 small molds and press down firmly. Place in the freezer whilst you make the jelly layer.

To make the jelly, add all ingredients to the food processor and mix until smooth. Distribute evenly among the molds on top of the peanut base. Place in the freezer whilst you make the chocolate layer.

To make the chocolate top, add all ingredients to a small saucepan over low heat. Stir to incorporate until just melted and combined. Place a teaspoon or two on top of the jelly and set in the freezer at least twenty minutes.

Remove from the freezer and allow to sit at room temperature a few minutes before serving.

Makes 20