Save your jar of almond butter for late-night snacking by the spoonful. You won’t need it to make these chocolate-coated candy cups. Taking its place is a more filling combination of whole raw almonds and hearty rolled oats. You get a lighter, fluffier center than you would using nut butter – especially after throwing protein powder into the mix. On second thought, forget the spoon. Your new bedtime treat is chunky, chewy and has dark chocolate written all over it.
Dark Chocolate & Almond Protein Cups
Makes 10 chocolate cups
Macros per cup: 149 calories | 5.1 g protein | 8.3 g carbs | 10.2 g fat | 2.7 g sugar | 2 g fiber
Ingredients
½ cup Vitacost Organic Raw Almonds
¼ cup Vitacost Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
1 Scoop ARO Vanilla Whey Protein Complex Plus
3 Tbsp. Vitacost Extra Virgin Certified Organic Coconut Oil, divided
2 Tbsp. Vitacost Certified Organic Grade B Maple Syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup stevia-sweetened dark chocolate chips
Directions
- Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, add almonds and oats and pulse until mixture resembles flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, add almond-oat mixture and protein powder, stirring until combined.
- Add 2 ½ tablespoons melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract and stir well.
- Using your hands, knead the mixture until it all comes together. Scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoons, form into a ball and flatten. Repeat until you’ve made about 10 rounds.
- In a small bowl, microwave chocolate chips and remaining coconut oil for about 15-20 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon a small amount of melted chocolate into paper liners. Place almond filling rounds on top, and then spoon more chocolate over each.
- Place in fridge to set, about 1 hour. Once hardened, remove from fridge and eat immediately!