Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter – Sweet T and a Honey B

I can’t say that I am sorry for another post involving some sort of nut butter and chocolate. Though, a recent craving has evolved in to a treat I’ve already made a handful of times and I thought it worth sharing. More times than not, my nightly dessert doesn’t need to be more than a small square of chocolate or candy. As a result, I have recently been very fond of the Justin’s Peanut Butter cups that come in two packs because Bryan and I can easily split one at night after dinner. Because my trips Whole Foods to purchase these have increased exponentially, I got to thinking that I could easily make my own version of these delicious treats – and even customize them based on what kind of chocolate or add-ins I have a taste for (ie; various kinds of nut butters, chocolates, dried fruits, nuts, cacoa nibs, seeds, sprinkles, etc). The bonus here is that the chia/flax combo with the nut butter makes these pretty filling so having one of these as a treat after a workout would be great pick-me-up. I whipped up a small batch of these for my mom as she’s recently gotten her taste for sweets back while in the hospital and they couldn’t have gone over better. In fact, a couple of her nurses have already requested some.

This is a perfect sugary snack to share at a get together or keep a container tucked in your fridge or freezer for your nightly sweet tooth.

I highly recommend investing in a silicone mold for making anything involving chocolate. I purchased this one a while ago from Wilton and I have used it for everything from candy molds to mini-brownie bites. If you do not have a mold, a mini-muffin tin and papers will work fine too!

Almond Butter Cups

1/2 cup any nut butter of your choosing (My favorite is Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter)
2 tbs coconut oil
1 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips or candy melts
1 12 oz bag of dark chocolate chips or candy melts (or milk chocolate, if you prefer)
2 tbs coconut sugar
2 tbs chia and flax seed blend
Cooking spray
Silicone candy mold or mini muffin tin & mini muffin papers
Coarse sea salt

Spray mold with cooking spray or line muffin tin with papers
In a microwave safe bowl, combine white chocolate and 1 tsb of the coconut oil. In a second microwave safe bowl, combine dark chocolate and 1 tbs of the coconut oil. Microwave each bowl separately at 30 second intervals and stir between each interval until full melted.
Fill each mold 1/3 of the way with the melted chocolates and place mold in freezer for 10 minutes.
While mold is in freezer, combine almond butter, chia/flax blend, and coconut sugar and place in the refrigerator.
Take mold out of the freezer and place 1 tsp of almond butter mixture in the center of each cup and flatten gently with a spoon.
Fill each mold with the remainder of the chocolates and place in freezer for 3-5 minutes, or until chocolate JUST begins to harden.
Top each mold/candy with a pinch of coarse sea salt and place in freezer for 5 more minutes or until fully hardened.
Pop each candy out and enjoy! (Note, store almond butter cups in refrigerator)

I’m going to admit something that to most people would consider sacrilegious- I was never a huge fan of the chocolate peanut butter combination growing up. Reese’s Peanut Butter cups never excited me while every other kid was desperately searching for them in their trick-or-treat bags (I was always trading those for Jolly Ranchers or Skittles). They say your taste buds change as you get older and it has to be true because within the last few months I can’t get enough of the heavenly combination. For example, I’ve found myself requesting a scoop of peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream as opposed to my all time favorites like pistachio or birthday cake. Or, my most recent post-dinner treat is a graham cracker topped with a tablespoon of of Justin’s creamy peanut butter and a little melted dark chocolate.

One night after a good workout, I found myself standing in the kitchen with the jar of Justin’s Vanilla Almond butter and a spoon (it happens on occasion..). Hubs and I had a sweet tooth and wanted something to cool us down, so along with my beloved jar of Justin’s, and some different flavors of Halo Top on hand, my Halo Top Milkshake concoction was born.

I’d like to take a second to preface this recipe with a very important public service announcement. If you don’t have a pint of Halo Top in your freezer- you’re absolutely missing out. Packed with protein (you heard me, ice cream with protein), and ZERO artificial ingredients or softeners, one would think this ice cream tastes like many other ‘healthy ice creams’, AKA: not tasty. This could not be further from the truth. It tastes like real ice cream people. I look forward to treating myself to my scoop or two of Halo Top each night and there’s zero guilt associated with it.

This milkshake was decadent and REALLY filling. I used two different Halo Top flavors based on me and hub’s personal favorites (Peanut Butter Cup for him and Chocolate Almond Crunch for me). You can easily use whatever flavors you like. Though we did not add it this time, you can easily bulk your shake up a bit by using a scoop of your favorite vanilla or chocolate protein powders, chia seeds, or flax. We made another Halo Top milkshake a while back but used some Vega One Chocolate Protein Powder and PB2. You can read about that one here. This one was strictly for sweet tooth purposes 🙂

Nutty Halo Top Milkshakes

1 Cup of your favorite Halo Top Ice Cream (Peanut Butter Cup or Almond Crunch were delicious!)
1/2 Cup unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbs Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter or Creamy Peanut Butter
2 tbs light whipped cream for topping
1 tbs melted peanut or almond butter for topping
Additional add-ins: 1 tbs chia/flax blend, 1 scoop chocolate or vanilla protein powder, 1/2 frozen banana, or replace the 2 tbs of nut butter in the shake with tbs PB2 or Chocolate PB2.

Combine Halo Top, Almond Milk, and 2 Tbs of Almond/Peanut Butter in a blender and blend for 12-15 seconds. Pour in to your favorite glass and top with whipped cream and melted nut butter.