Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs
I used to get excited about Easter candy growing up. Those pretty pastel wrappers, and getting to enjoy things I didn't the rest of the year like Robin's Eggs malted milk balls, raspberry cream eggs, and Reese's peanut butter eggs. I wasn't a big fan of those big jelly beans though, they had a weird flavor. So now as an adult I like to try to recreate my favorite Easter candies in healthier veganized versions. Not only that, I just find making my own treats to be fun and relaxing. Also, it is the perfect thing to do right now if you are being cooped up from the coronavirus quarantines. I am not completely cooped up, since I still have to go to work (I work in a grocery store), but since I can't do some of the other things I like to do I have a little extra time to make treats like these!
I have made them before, but I didn't have the recipe on my website. I am finally getting it up there! It took a few experiments to make these the right texture. The first try I thought I would try to thicken the peanut butter to make it shape-able with peanuts I whizzed up in the blender. But that didn't work too well, they were still pretty gooey. The ingredient that worked perfect was peanut flour (or peanut powder as it is sometimes labeled)! In traditional peanut butter egg recipes, they use powdered sugar, but since I try to stay away from refined sugars I wanted something else that would thicken it up the same way. The peanut butter flour works the same, and I just add a touch of maple syrup for sweetener.
You could even leave out the maple syrup if you wanted them a little less sweet, since the chocolate is sweet. I do that sometimes. It is kind of fun shaping them into eggs, like a kid playing with play dough. Or at least that is how I always feel when I do this sort of thing. You give them a little chill in the freezer and they are just the right consistency to dip into chocolate!
I admit it is a little tedious dipping them into the chocolate, but there are only 10 so it isn't as tough as say dipping 50 truffles! It is worth your effort though! These are sooo good! I enjoy these even more than the ones I grew up eating with the fake ingredients! I am debating whether or not I want to share or keep them for my own personal indulgence.
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs
Makes about 10
Ingredients:
- 1 cup smooth organic peanut butter
- 1/2 cup peanut flour (or as needed*)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups vegan dark chocolate chips, or chopped vegan dark chocolate
Instructions:
- In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, peanut flour, maple syrup, and sea salt until smooth and well combined. You want it to be the consistency of dough, if it is still too soft (since peanut butter may vary in how liquid it is), add a little more peanut flour.
- Shape into eggs, and place on a parchment lined tray. Place in the freezer to chill for 1-2 hours.
- Meanwhile, when you are ready to dip the peanut butter centers, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth.
- Dip each peanut butter egg into the chocolate (letting the excess drain off, I like to set mine on a fork to dip to make it easier) and place back onto the tray until they are all done. Place in the freezer to set the chocolate until it is hard, which usually takes 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a container with a lid for up to a few months.
