Coconut Butter Cups With Date Filling

In place of raw chocolate-covered cups I'd been making, I thought I'd try to create a recipe using a coconut butter shell. I love how fast they are to make, & the fact that there is no added sweetener, & they still taste this great.

Similar to eating dates covered in coconut butter, only better and has almost a chocolate- like mouth feel. Even if you don't like dates on their own, you may like them in the filling as it's great on it's own, especially after being chilled.  

Ingredients:

Artisana Raw Coconut Butter, melted, as needed

1 cup dates, packed (a scant cup also works) 
1 Tbsp raw almond butter - (or other seed/nut butter)
1 Tbsp raw coconut butter
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste *optional

Filling:

In a blender (or food processor), add 1/4 cup water, then the dates and blend to a thick paste. Add in 1 tablespoon coconut butter, and 1 tablespoon almond butter & sea salt.

You may want to use heaping tablespoons, taste as you add. Store in a glass jar & refrigerate, or freeze to chill. (best to use after it's chilled, but will also work right away).

Variation: Add the seeds from a vanilla bean for delicious vanilla coconut cups. Also try dividing the mixture and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, &/or ginger to spice things up.  

Note: If you don't have a blender or food processor, the filling can be made by mashing ingredients together on a plate with a fork.

To Assemble Cups:

Fill mini muffin liners with a small layer of coconut butter (1/4 inch), stick in the freezer for a few minutes until solid. Scoop 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon of filling into the center of cups, and smooth it out. MAKE SURE to leave space around the edges! Refreeze for another minute if the bottom layer start to melt.

Then fill in the top, and the edges with another layer of coconut butter, and freeze until the top hardens. They are now ready to eat. If you leave in the freezer until really solid, you can let thaw for a few moments before biting into them, but I like the hard shell.






I hope you enjoy eating these as much as I do, & don't forget to share :)

  



If you eat raw chocolate; give the cacao bliss version a try.