Secret Recipe Club

Happy Monday y'all!

It's totally time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal. Score! This month I was lucky to have received Danielle's blog, Delicious Existence. Now, Danielle is a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach and a Lifestyle Motivator who has a passion for living a balanced lifestyle and coaching others to do the same! Danielle also embraces a clean style of eating, so processed foods are out the question. Instead, she sticks to raw foods, mainly fruit, veggies, and seeds. I was so excited to finally read about a foodie who follows a raw diet. Even though I am not on a raw diet, I have eaten raw meals on several occasions, and I absolutely loved it. I fully plan on creating raw meals in the future, when I have all the tools to do it. For now, I will just stalk Danielle's blog for delicious raw, vegan, and vegetarian recipes.

 Obviously, the number one recipe that spoke to me were Danielle's Vegan Peanut Butter Cups. We all know how I love anything with the word "peanut" or "butter" in it, and together, well...you know what happens. Now, I didn't have nutritional yeast on hand, so, I had to tweak the original recipe a little bit. However, they are still vegan, and, gluten-free might I add, so celiacs can rejoice! Oh, oh...and I quadrupled the recipe because my mini-muffin pan is on the fritz! Also, because a jar of strawberry preserves was staring me down in the refrigerator, I had to add that into the mix. Can you blame me? 

Paint the insides of large muffin liners with melted chocolate...you can use a pastry brush for this.

Oh, then after all the freezing and such, add a layer of the peanut butter mixture.

Oh, oh! Then a layer of the strawberry preserves.

BAM! Vegan Chocolate PB and J cups.

Please hold for one moment, as I am still in a sugar coma.

Big thanks to Danielle for the recipe!

Vegan PB and J Cups (GF):

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz. packages) of semi-sweet Bakers Chocolate
2 t. peanut oil
2 c. smooth peanut butter (don't get a peanut butter that you have to stir, makes for a drippy mess!)
1 t. confectioners sugar
1 t. agave nectar
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1 jar of strawberry preserves (I used Bonne Maman), at room temperature


Instructions:
1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate according to package instructions (I melted it in three 30-second intervals, and 2 10-second intervals).  Add the peanut oil in to thin the chocolate out. Set aside.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush each paper liner with melted chocolate, making sure to cover the entire liner, bottom and sides. Place in the freezer to firm the chocolate, for 15-20 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix the peanut butter, confectioners sugar, agave, and vanilla together. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to cool for about 12 minutes.
5. Once both the chocolate and the peanut butter are done cooling, spoon 2 heaping teaspoons of peanut butter into the chocolate covered liners. Freeze again for about 10 minutes.
6. Now, spoon 2 heaping teaspoons of strawberry jam over the peanut butter layer.
7. Cover the jam with the remaining chocolate.
8. Freeze the finished cups for about 30 minutes.
9. Take them out of the refrigerator and carefully peel the liners off of the cups.
10. Serve at room temperature, or store the refrigerator or freezer.

Makes about 12 large peanut butter cups (or 24 mini-cups).

MANGIA!!!