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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups… Inside Out!

Opposite Day.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups... Inside Out! Inside Out Reeses

A day when no means yes, naptime is play time, and dessert comes before dinner.

We celebrated Opposite Day once every year when I was in preschool: we wore our pajamas to class, greeted each other by saying goodbye, and circle time became square time. We tried to sing the ABCs backwards, and then all of the students got a chance to be the teachers (yikes). Why the day has such an indelible impression on me that I can remember so vividly all the way back to preschool, I really don’t know. Must’ve been the dessert-before-dinner thing.

Who could forget that?

Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups

What’s the opposite of a chocolate peanut butter cup? That would be a peanut butter chocolate cup: a thick coat of peanut butter surrounding a chocolate center.

Best eaten before dinner.

Inside Out Reeses

Inside Out Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Adapted from Homemade Peanut Butter Chips

  • Level 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter or PB2 (48g)
  • 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil or cacao butter, melted (40g)
  • 4 tsp pure maple syrup (20g)
  • heaping 2 tbsp melted semi-sweet chocolate of choice, or Sugar-Free Chocolate (32g)
  • mini cupcake liners or candy molds

Combine first three ingredients in a bowl, and stir well to form a paste. Smooth a little under 1 tsp into each of ten mini cupcake liners, going up the sides just a bit. (I put the cupcake liners into a mini muffin tin.) Freeze 10 minutes. Then divide the chocolate evenly among the liners and freeze again. Finally, top with remaining peanut butter paste. Freeze again until solid. If using coconut oil, keep these peanut butter cups refrigerated or frozen. With cacao butter, the candies can stay out at room temp. (I much prefer coconut version, but cacao butter works if you have an allergy.)

Click for: Peanut Butter Cup Nutrition Facts

reeses pieces

Question of the day:

Do you remember preschool or kindergarten?

I think one of my favorite preschool activities was making junk art out of cereal boxes, milk cartons, and toilet paper rolls. But I also really liked the scented markers… I would get the markers a little too close, and they often sent me home with a rainbow nose. Not sure my mom was all too happy about that.

Link of the Day: 8 Healthy Fathers Day Recipes.

 

Published on June 14, 2013

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Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
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ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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101 Comments

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  1. Georgann Perez says

    Katie, God Bless you girl! I stumbled onto your blog and fell in love. ;0) I am the baker in my family so when I decided to eat healthy I put the baking part of my in the back burner. Now that I found your website I am excited to start baking again. I can’t wait. I might have to buy an extra freezer just to store all my baking. lol I know can designate a day of the week when I can get my sweet fix without worrying about packing it on. I have so many friends and relatives that are diabetic that they are going to love this site. Thank you so much. You are a blessing! Keep those recipes coming.

  2. Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says

    Oh man, you did it again with another fabulous peanut butter-chocolate recipe!

    I totally remember parts of preschool and kindergarten! I LOVED when we were allowed to get the play-dough out at preschool, and the little kitchen set that we got to play with. So fun!

  3. Hannah says

    These look sooooooo good! But I have a question: Where can I get powdered peanut butter, or PB2?

    I vaguely remember some points of my preschool and kindergarten life, but I was home-schooled from birth, so I haven’t got many. Life was learning.
    I did steal my mother’s Snicker bar, though, around that age. 😉

    • Samantha says

      In the Seattle area (WA state) you can find the PB2 in the Whole Foods, QFC, and I think PCC. Whole Foods was stocking “Just Great Stuff” powdered peanut butter which I personally prefer to PB2, but both are a little odd “plain” better in recipes in my opinion. 🙂 And I can’t wait to try this one. You can definitely order PB2 online. There is plain peanut flour online as well (no sugar involved), but I haven’t tried a brand yet. Good luck!

    • Ms. Chanandler Bong :) says

      my local walmart has pb2 now, along with coconut butter and improved flavors of peanut butter!

      • Hannah says

        Your local Walmart? What brilliant state do you live in? I’ve only ever seen peanut butter, both natural and sweetened, Nutella, and sweetened almond butter in mine. I’ve never even seen coconut butter in a store. That’s awesome!

        Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

        • Ms. Chanandler Bong :) says

          i live in the hillbilly state of alabama, haha! when i saw that they improved their nut butter aisle i almost dropped to my knees and worshipped the walmart gods hehe :~)

          • Hannah says

            I’m green with envy…but not literally. I’m wanting Alabama right now, but I’ll just reassure myself that it’s probably pretty hot there in June.
            Not much less so here in Wisconsin, though. At least not today.

  4. Henry Schut says

    Love your blog and recipes, but I am confused by the inside out peanut butter cups. What is powdered peanut butter or pb2 ?

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      It’s basically powdered peanut butter – peanuts that have been pressed into powder. (Some people mix it with water for a peanut butter replacement that’s lower in calories… I definitely don’t think it’s good this way, but to each’s own!)

  5. Am says

    Yes, I remember Kindergarten! I had a great teacher who dressed like he was transported from the 80’s. I didn’t know that then, I just knew he had long hair, and I liked how he wore bright shirts. 😛

  6. Am says

    Yes, I remember Kindergarten! I had a great teacher who dressed like he was transported from the 80’s. I didn’t know that then, I just knew he had long hair, and I liked how he wore bright shirts. 😀

  7. Ashley Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine) says

    I remember a less happy Opposite Day, where you’d say something like “Hey! I think you’re cute!” “You do?” “NO HAHAHA IT’S OPPOSITE DAY!!!” …I was always on the receiving end of THAT, ugh 🙁

    These cups are the opposite of my opposite days though 🙂 So tasty!

  8. Riana says

    First off – Katie I love your recipes and is no reflection on you at all, but I just thought I’d inform everyone:

    PB2 and powdered peanut butter is a scary food for a few reasons. It’s not whole real food, the process to make it extracts almost all of the essential monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, leaching the vitamin E content which is fat soluble, therefore reducing the nutritional content of the whole food. More importantly, it’s not organic and is full toxic pesticides (sprayed on peanut crops), and aflatoxin.

    I recommend only using raw, organic valencia peanuts and peanut butter. It’s lower on harmful myotoxins (noticed I said low, not absent).

    Just a thought.

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      Hi Riana,
      The Betty Lou’s one is organic: http://www.bettylousinc.com/products_detail.php?id=287&ref=9
      I definitely agree that if you want peanut butter, you’re best off using real peanut butter. I just sometimes (very rarely… I think only 2 of my recipes call for the stuff) use the powder to achieve the proper texture in recipes. For example, I tried the homemade peanut butter chips with real peanut butter first, but they came out gummy. In any case, thanks for the heads up. I don’t really have any plans for more powdered pb recipes at the moment. 🙂

  9. Olivia@ OmNom Love says

    Katie these are brilliant! I’m going to make some today! I’ve never tried an inside out Reese’s before, but they sound delicious. I mean, why wouldn’t they be good? It’s peanut butter and chocolate! 😉

    My preschool and kindergarten years are a blur. In preschool, I remember having a certain letter and that would be the theme for the day. And the class “bunny” which was actually a stuffed animal. ;P But that’s about it, really…

  10. trajayjay says

    Wow, these are really cool, I wonder what other desserts could be turned inside out. Apple pie, cake?

    But on another note, You mentioned in your donut post that you noticed your blog lacked an “international flair” and you wanted to include more foreign desserts, yet the only foreign one I see on here is like Tiramisu fudge. I don’t mean to press you or anything, but I’m just wondering.

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      It usually takes me a long time to develop, photoshoot, write, and finally post recipes. Like this recipe… I think I did the photoshoot for it back in January! So I definitely did get some international recipes… I just need to post them. The ones that are ready to go (in other words, what you might see on the blog sometime in the next few months) are Tiramisu, flan, Nanimo bars, Fondue… those are the recipes so far 🙂

    • Mary Soucy says

      “Best eaten before dinner.” I like your thinking! I also like the idea of these and the fact that there are no bananas in these means I can eat them. Yeah!

      As for kindergarten…… when I would have gone back in the 50’s my mother didn’t think it was necessary so I didn’t get to go. But back then it wasn’t what it is today, it was more like a big play date. She did send my 9 following brothers and sisters, when their turns came — wonder why?? 🙂

      Thanks for posting these treats! I shall make up a batch or two after I put in a big batch of baked oatmeal. Yum on both accounts!!

  11. Lisa says

    Love these!
    Especially since nut butter is way better than the chocolate in my opinion. I usually go for almond butter cups, since I’m not a huge PB fan.
    I do like peanut flour though.
    I remember both pre-school and kindergarten. Oh those good ol’ days. Kind of miss being a kid sometimes!

  12. lul says

    Hi Katie,
    *Gulp* sums up my feelings to these inside our pb cups.
    I also wanted to let you know that I have made the no bake oreo cookie pie, and it is soooo good and sooooo easy to make. I have made it twice now and my family have said that I must make it again and again. Whoa! 🙂

  13. Bella says

    While I remember preschool, I definitely do not remember an opposite day . . . we did, however, have a 100 day where everyone brought 100 of something to school. Hmmm, 100 peanut butter chocolate cups? 🙂

  14. LC says

    I remember lots of random things about preschool and kindergarten. Once in kindergarten during crafts I cut some of my hair. When my teacher found the hair on the floor she got really mad and held it up to all of our heads until she found out whose it was. I laugh about it now, but then I was soooo embarrassed!

  15. Shiree says

    Can I make these with regular peanut butter? I was about to make them but didn’t realize that I needed powdered peanut butter. I’ve never even heard of it.

    • Kate K. says

      I’m trying it right now with regular peanut butter (had to play around a bit). I’ll let you know if I have any success =) The first layer is freezing right now.

    • Kate K. says

      Okay, granted I can’t compare to the original recipe, but I’d say I had success with my modified version =) Hope it’s okay that I played around, Katie!

      I used 6T regular peanut butter (the kind that’s just peanuts) and used 2T of coconut oil instead of 1/4C figuring the fat from the PB would make it for it. I’d say it was a total success. Reminded me of a recipe for vegan “fudge” that another blogger makes that is really more like a PB cup.

  16. Susan says

    These sound like a lot of fun. Since they are so low in calories, I could have one of these plus something else to give me protein. :-))

    To answer your question, I didn’t go to pre-school, but I do remember a couple of things from kindergarten. Put simply, I remember roll call in the morning, which was always painful for me because I was too shy and afraid to say ‘good morning’ back to the teacher. I also have vague memory of a makeshift classroom cut out of the cafeteria. Not a great memory, but a memory nevertheless…

  17. Jenni says

    Aw, junk art! Don’t forget christmas ornaments plastered with tacky glitter glue and dry macaroni noodles. So artsy. These peanut butter chocolate cups look awesome. This whole post reminds me of the Spongebob episode where he and Patrick celebrate Opposite Day. Psshhh, who needs preschool to eat dessert before dinner? (I hear it’s better for digestion, anyway.)

  18. Suzanne says

    I have extremely vivid memories of kindergarten. There was one book in particular I loved that we could take out on loan; it had a plastic tray of cookies that you would use as props to go along with the story. Clearly my love for things sweet hasn’t changed!

    And this recipe looks great Katie- I can’t believe I used to pass off chocolate-and-peanut-butter combinations!

  19. Colleen Grossner says

    KATIE!

    YOU are amazing! These look amazing!!! I love your beautiful posts! Thank you for your awesome culinary and literary creativity!!! Have a great weekend!

    With love,
    Colleen 🙂

  20. Elizabeth says

    Katie, these look delicious! I made your healthy faux Reeses and my entire family loved them! Keep in mind these are people who subsist primarily on Kraft mac and cheese and take out pad thai. I’m an absolute peanut butter fiend, so I’m excited to try these out. You should try making a healthy cookie butter/biscoff spread! (..Is it even possible to make spreadable cookies healthy???) 🙂

  21. Amy says

    These are such an adorable idea! (And help even out the chocolate-to-peanut-butter ratio of typical Reese’s.) I still remember my first day of kindergarten. We made Stop and Go signs out of construction paper and popsicle sticks, and I wanted to make a second set at home that afternoon. I’m pretty sure my mom had to go to Michael’s that day to buy me popsicle sticks… Oops!

  22. Juli says

    Katie, this is absolutly stunning! I never had thought of doing it that way 🙂 Who needs a chocolate cup if you can have a peanut butter one instead. Perfect!
    Thank you so much for this great recipe. I will try it myself 🙂
    Greetings from Germany. I’m seriously obsessed with your blog!
    Have a great weekend 🙂

  23. Leighton says

    I love this idea! I don’t have peanut butter powder, so is there a way to use regular peanut butter instead?

    • Chocolate Covered Katie says

      Another commenter tried it. Here is her comment:

      Okay, granted I can’t compare to the original recipe, but I’d say I had success with my modified version =) Hope it’s okay that I played around, Katie!

      I used 6T regular peanut butter (the kind that’s just peanuts) and used 2T of coconut oil instead of 1/4C figuring the fat from the PB would make it for it. I’d say it was a total success. Reminded me of a recipe for vegan “fudge” that another blogger makes that is really more like a PB cup.

      • Leighton says

        I just made the modified version and it was a success! After I graduate and become a teacher, I’ll have to make these for my students on opposite day 🙂

  24. KayRen says

    Hey Katie! Speaking of chocolate and pb, guess what I did?
    I was browsing your recipes looking for something sweet to make and settled on the chocolate pb fudge babies. I decided to try stuffing them with your Reese’s eggs filing and make a sort of raw Reese’s pb cup, along the lines of your raw Oreos. If I say so myself, it worked really well! They are delicious! And the real Reese pb cups are one of my favourite things so I’m loving the healthy alternatives.
    I’m just loving your blog. I discovered it last winter and I make your recipes all the time. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas!

  25. Claire Elizabeth says

    Hi Katie! This recipe is absolutely marvelous! I, too, am a PB fanatic! I was wondering, do I measure the chocolate chips BEFORE melting or AFTER? Would the gram measurements be the same? Also, did you use PB2 or Betty Lou’s? And… Completely unrelated, but, do you take a B12 supplement? My mom and I are vegan, and are looking for a good VEGAN B12 supplement. If you do take one, could I ask which?
    I’m sorry this is such a long comment, but you almost always reply to me on Twitter. That means the world to me! It always makes my day a million times better! I REALLY hope that you reply, because it would help tremendously! 😀

  26. Marie says

    I tried Oatmeal with a fork’s version of these and they were incredible!! Never thought to add peanut flour though! :o)

  27. Jess says

    What would happen if you used regular coconut oil instead of extra virgin? I like extra virgin coconut oil, but not really in the candy versions of recipes. Just wondering! Thank you! 🙂 🙂

  28. Am says

    Peanut Butter is one of my all time favorite things. My husband sometimes tells me that I need to go to counseling for my addiction :/ But I think I have it under control 🙂 I often melt up some chocolate and put peanut butter in it for a late night treat. I can’t wait to try this! It looks so good! Maybe I should get started now…

  29. Nicole @ FruitnFitness says

    These sound amazing! Chocolate and peanut butter are the perfect pair however you combine them! One of the strangest parts of kindergarten that I remember is my mom always sending pasta salad for lunch. Her homemade pasta salad is still one of my favorites.

  30. Kate says

    I love your stuff, Katie! But everytime I try to make your peanut butter cup recipes it’s way too oily and doesn’t set! I even reduced the coconut oil. Super weird huh?

  31. Dorothy says

    Hi Katie,
    Just a question? What is powdered peanut butter??
    Where do you get that? I’m from Winnipeg, MB Canada.

  32. Jennifer says

    Hi Katie!

    Just curious if regular peanut butter will work for this recipe? If so, how does the recipe need to be modified. If not, curious why…

    Thanks so much–LOVE your recipes!!
    Jennifer

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      This is what another commenter had to say about it:
      Okay, granted I can’t compare to the original recipe, but I’d say I had success with my modified version =) Hope it’s OK that I played around, Katie!
      I used 6T regular peanut butter (the kind that’s just peanuts) and used 2T of coconut oil instead of 1/4C figuring the fat from the PB would make it for it. I’d say it was a total success. Reminded me of a recipe for vegan “fudge” that another blogger makes that is really more like a PB cup.

  33. mary purdy says

    Holy cow! These look fantastic. I am forever working with my patients to come up with alternative healthy dessert recipes. This site looks like a great resource. Thanks so much. I just made an oatmeal, cashew butter, coconut and chocolate chip bar that is Delish! Thanks for your ideas. Warmly, Mary Purdy, Integrative Registered Dietitian

  34. Ms. Chanandler Bong :) says

    i need to make a batch of the coating just to eat by itself! peanut butter+agave always makes my mouth super happy.

  35. Eat Mega says

    Wow so tasty! Have been experimenting with different types of peanut butter, not feeling too guilty as coconut oil is super good for you. Excuses!

  36. Sara says

    Do you think I could use agave nectar or honey instead of the maple syrup? I wanna make them but don’t have any on hand!

  37. erin says

    when you make your inside out pb cups did you use the PB2 or powdered peanut butter? and also for the pure maple syrup, does it have to be healthy, considering your nutrition facts? I would love to try to make these-

    • deborah says

      question about this inside chocolate layer. do you melt the chocolate chips (or sugar free choc bars if made) or do you just sprinkle the chocolate pieces ontop of the pb layer? the pic looks as if the choc layer had been melted? but you don’t explicitly state that. thanks

        • Deborah says

          thanks, actually saw that in ingredient list she says melted choc chip….after i reread like 10 time and had missed it ;-). made them last nite, awsum for sure!!! she does a fab job with the photoshoot. the pic i took to send to my daughter was so blurry; my good camera was out of battery & cell phone didn’t cut it! hats off to katie’s beautiful true to life pics!

  38. deborah says

    i made these with the raw cocoa butter which i ordered online. i waited with great anticipation for it to arrive. katie said that she much preferred the taste of the coconut oil to that of the cocoa butter. having done it both ways, i agree!! i was very curious to try the cocoa butter. it may have had a more authentic candy quality to the character of the cup and will not melt at room temperature, but the complex sweetness of the coconut oil was lacking. good thing i didnt order a lot of the cocoa butter…..from now on i will make with the coconut oil i don’t have any allergy issues it was more an issue of curiosity.

  39. Annie says

    Just made a batch of these after eyeing them up for a couple of weeks. I was intimidated by the candy making aspect but it is soooooo easy. The hardest part was separating the mini cupcake liners!! I will have to keep making them a secret because I made one batch and my family devoured them. Yum!

  40. linda romer says

    Hi katie, I was wondering could you make these chocolate peanut butter cups with any other oils beside coconut and cacoa?

  41. Beth says

    This was my first recipe I ever made off your blog!
    followed it exactly as printed and it is amazing! Love how the taste of the coconut oil comes through.. Deff better then the store bought ones!

  42. Aimee B. says

    I made these today and they are AMAZING! I always know when something’s a hit because my hubby moans while he’s eating, lol! Yup, you got him going with these! Thanks for all the awesome recipes. You’re the best, Katie! <3

  43. Lexi says

    These are so yummy!!! I made these in 30 minutes and made more that 10 with little candy molds!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

  44. Juliana En says

    Hi I recently stumbled upon your blog and I LOVE all your recipes! They’re so healthy and such a great alternative for processed packaged products. I really want to make these peanut butter cups for my sister because she absolutely LOVES Recess’s PeanutButter Cups, but I have a problem with the use of Peanut Butter powder/ PB2, I read in an article that it’s unhealthy so I’m wondering if I’m able to use regular peanut butter instead? Thank you!

  45. Karen Spring says

    OMG… Katie, these are FANTASTIC. I’m a PB cup addict but hate all the calories. My son just made these for me and they are divine. You’re the bomb, girl!

  46. Karen says

    These are among my very favorite recipes of all time. I make these cups all the time and I’m ADDICTED to them. Great job, Katie. I think these are better than Reese’s. You’ve outdone yourself with these peanut butter gems! I’m in love!

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