ALmond Butter Cups [Archive]

Shmoopie

11-28-2006, 09:51 AM

I found this recipe on another raw food forum and thought I'd share. There were pictures and it looked amazing - like mini Reese's peanut butter cups. I'm just going to copy/paste the recipe here (word for word - directions and all) as I've not tried it yet. I'm not sure if this has already been posted here before or not, but here it is:

The Chocolate:
- 2-3 table spoons of raw cacao butter
- 2-3 table spoons of raw cacao powder
- 1"-2" of vanilla bean
- tiny pinch of salt
- agave necter to taste
- hot water (hot tap water is fine)

Tools:
- spoons
- a big shallow bowl with a flat inside bottom
- a smaller taller bowl which fits in the big bowl

Chop the raw cacao butter in to small chunks (helps it melt quicker), place chunks in the small bowl after running small bowl under hot tap to heat and drying throughly, place small bowl in big bowl after putting hot water in big bowl. It will take a while to melt, you want to stir it once in while with a plastic spoon (a metal spoon will conduct heat a way quicker and cool the butter we are trying to heat) and also replace the water with hot water.

While the cacao butter is melting, you can add the salt, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, and the agave necter - taste and adjust until you have the desired sweetness. Once all the cacao butter has melted, add one table spoon of raw cacao powder, stir this in, add the other table spoon of raw cacao powder. Keep stirring the chocolate powder in until you're left with a silky smooth liquid chocolate.

This will make about 10 of the candies below.

For the next recipes we'll require:
- little paper muffin cups (the size of a peanut butter cup).
- raw almond butter (best using a jar that's almost empty)
- liquid raw chocolate (from above)

First, let's make some Almond Butter Cups. These are like peanut butter cups, but I think they are much better (but I like almonds more than peanuts). Anyway, take some mini-muffin-cups and spoon a little bit of liquid chocolate into the bottom of each one and place them in the freeze for a few minutes until firm. Now take your almost empty almond butter jar at try to scrape the thick chunks of almond butter out of the corners, place a dollup of almond butter on the now firm base and spoon some more chocolate until the almond butter is covered and place back in the freeze until hard.

tvillemom

11-28-2006, 02:10 PM

Thanks Shmoopie! I requested this recipe from another board where you mentioned it! I invisioned making these...but had no idea how to do the chocolate. Thanks for sharing. I just want to add...I make my own almond butter by using a coffee grinder to grind my dehydrated almonds, then I add alittle coconut oil to cream it up. This is dryer than the store bought almond butter, so it may be better for the recipe?? Sounds great, and I can't wait to try it.
I don't know where to get raw cacao butter?? I bet it's crazy expensive!!
Wendi

banana shake

11-28-2006, 04:26 PM

is the cacao butter supposed to be coconut butter/oil? Is there a difference between cocnut butter & coconut oil? Thanks! These sound great!

Rawkinlocs

11-28-2006, 04:36 PM

Coconut oil - the oil extracted from coconut

Coconut butter - the oil AND the meat of the coconut blended

Cacao butter - white, raw cocoa butter that can be used in recipes to make your own white chocolate bars, in the place of coconut butter or oil, etc.

wyjoz

11-28-2006, 05:19 PM

Smoopie: you said: "" I found this recipe on another raw food forum and thought I'd share. There were pictures and it looked amazing """

Could you post the link? I'd love to see the pictures. Thanks, Joz

tvillemom

11-28-2006, 05:33 PM

So, RK, could you just use coconut butter, or are you looking for the chocolate taste in cacao butter?? Now I'm really confused, which isn't hard :rolleyes:
Wendi

Rawkinlocs

11-28-2006, 05:57 PM

So, RK, could you just use coconut butter, or are you looking for the chocolate taste in cacao butter?? Now I'm really confused, which isn't hard :rolleyes:
Wendi

I'm not sure as I've never used cacao butter before. But I'm thinking it's good for firming up the chocolate without the (sometimes overpowering) coconut flavor. But I HAVE seen recipes for raw chocolate using coconut oil or coconut butter, carob or cacao, vanilla and sweetener. But perhaps you can get better responses to your question from those who've used all of these products and can tell you how each one acts in such a recipe as this one.

I'm thinking Sheryl would have some good feedback.

codajess

11-29-2006, 01:37 AM

Cocoa butter is different than coconut oil/butter. Cocoa butter has a chocolate scent and flavor, as it's the fat from cocoa beans. It's used in chocolates/white chocolate. Coconut butter/oil is from coconut. :)

Sheryl

11-29-2006, 01:51 AM

Funny I just posted about cacao butter in a different thread!!

Cacao butter is the oil pressed out of cacao beans when they make cacao powder (which has a reduced fat level from the whole bean so you can grind it really smooth). It's melts just below body temperature, which means it usually stays firm at room temperature, and then melts in your mouth. It also has a beautiful chocolate smell to it which also add to the chocolate recipe you are making. Not much taste though... slightly chocolate but not much.

Coconut oil was what I used prior to discovering cacao butter. Sometimes now I will do a half and half mix and that works well too. Straight coconut oil changes the taste too much for me though. I like my chocolate to taste like chocolate... no coconut! Unless of course you are making raw Bounty bars.

If you mix half cacao butter and half cacao powder with just enough agave to sweeten you have the perfect dark chocolate bar. And it's just like dark chocolate! Yummy!

If you've like raw chocolate and you've never made it with cacao butter you owe it to yourself to try it! Just ensure you get raw food grade cacao butter... not the cosmetic grade which is usually processed quite differently.

Cheers,
Sheryl

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 08:01 AM

tvillemom, I would think they're looking for the chocolate taste. I'd think that using coconut oil/butter would change the taste a whole lot. It sounds kinda good though lol

wyjoz, I can try to grab the link again. When I found the recipe, I copy/pasted it to my computer and also took the picture. I like to have pictures to go with recipes whenever possible so that I know what I'm making when I read something lol. Anyway, if I can find the link, I'll post it. If not, I have the photo...I just don't know how to post photos on here. I'll figure it out and post it in a few.

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 08:11 AM

http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.php?4,21889

There's the link. There are pictures from the person who posted the recipe, and also further down from someone else who tried the recipe and also took pictures of it.

tvillemom

11-29-2006, 08:31 AM

OK...the pictures definitely sold me. AND you say the chocolate will stay hard at room temp??? In that case, I want some....where's the best place to get it, I don't think I've seen it at Earth Fare. Thanks.
Wendi

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 09:18 AM

You mean you want to buy the cacao butter? Ahh, I can't think of the name of the guy's site who sells it. Someone help me out. The raw guru guy that sells raw cacao butter and powder and stuff...what's his name again? I have his page bookmarked on the other computer but I can't find it.

salsababy

11-29-2006, 09:32 AM

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 09:36 AM

Yep, that's it lol...thank you! :)

here ya go tv: http://www.sunfood.com/cgi-bin/order/index.cgi?id=317590716043&d=single&item_id=0972&c=Raw/Organic_Food&sc=Cacao/Chocolate&tc=

wyjoz

11-29-2006, 11:24 AM

wyjoz

11-29-2006, 11:31 AM

Yep, that's it lol...thank you! :)

here ya go tv: http://www.sunfood.com/cgi-bin/order/index.cgi?id=317590716043&d=single&item_id=0972&c=Raw/Organic_Food&sc=Cacao/Chocolate&tc=

I just received my order of the Coconut Butter. It's very solid and smells nice and coconuty butter like; Szhazzie has a recipe for White Chocolate; http://www.shazzie.com/raw/journal/2006/march.shtml

I'm dreaming of a white chocolate recipe
23rd March -- Oooh, I'm getting nagged, best give you it. Er, all measurements are approximate, you may have to fanny about a bit to get the proper consistency, coz I just threw it all in there with my raw chocolate trained eye...

1 cup of raw cacao butter
1 teaspoon of Gillian McKeith's living energy powder
1 cup of raw cashew nuts
1 teaspoon of maca powder
2 dessertspoons of mesquite powder
1 teaspoon of suma powder
2 dessertspoons of raw agave nectar
Grate the cacao butter, and put in a big bowl in a sink full of warm water. Once it's melted, add all the other ingredients to it and stir well. Transfer everything to a Vita-Mix and blend until it's a thick liquid. If you don't get a thick "melted chocolate" consistency, then add more of the dry or wet stuff as appropriate.

Pour into those rubbery ice cube moulds and put in the fridge to set. They're nicest just out of the fridge, but are also OK if they're at room temperature. They don't fall apart or melt like the wicked witch or anything.

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 11:36 AM

Mmmmm! That sounds good too! :D

tvillemom

11-29-2006, 12:36 PM

:eek: Thanks for the link...not sure WHEN I'll be able to afford it though. Does 1 lb. go a long way??
Wendi

Shmoopie

11-29-2006, 02:08 PM

That's what I'm wondering because it definitely is expensive :eek:
Being that the recipe only calls for 2-3 tablespoons of it, I'd imagine that you'd still have a fair amount left. At least half...I hope...lol

Beyond that, I can't see it being an ingredient that one would use very often, so it could very well last ya a while.