Peanut Butter Cup Muffins

Oddly enough—actually, perhaps quite understandably—these muffins came together on a whim.

My husband and I were sitting around after dinner, wondering what to do . . . he mentioned the desire for a sort of snack that would resemble a peanut butter cup. We make most of our snacks from scratch at home, so after asking him a few questions, the idea for this muffin was born. I shot up and got straight to work.

I was so delighted at how well these worked out. They are nostalgic without being sickly. They aren’t even meant to be dessert, so they are not overly sweet. Made with nuts and whole grain flour, these are meant to be a tasty midday snack to help carry you through the day (and motivate to you work hard until your break to enjoy it).

With a soft, muffiny chocolate exterior and a predictable peanut butter filling, these muffins were a total success from the first round. I hope you give them a try as well.

Recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Peanut Butter Cup Muffins

INGREDIENTS

for the filling:

1/3 cup peanut butter, preferably made from organic Valencia peanuts, creamy

1/4 cup peanut butter powder

1/4 cup almond flour

2 tsp. maple syrup

pinch of salt

. . . . . . . . . . . .

for the muffin batter:

1 | 112 g. cup einkorn flour, or other whole wheat flour

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder, Dutch processed for rich flavor

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup oil (avocado or coconut, melted)

1/4 – 1/3 cup water, as needed for consistency

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together the ingredients for the filling until fully incorporated into a consistent mass. Place in the freezer while making the muffin batter.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Measure out all dry ingredients and whisk together in a large bowl.
Fill a muffin tin with parchment muffin cups. I like to make my own by cutting out four strips of parchment, cutting those strips into three so that I have 12 squares, and then (stacked in groups of three) I place them over a muffin tin divot, and press them in with a spice jar, using my hands to form and crease the paper around the spice jar. I don’t use those papery ones that just stick to muffins and take way half of your creation. Boo! (Parchment: yay!)
Measure the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry, and mix together. Add water as necessary for a nice muffin batter consistency (you don’t want it too stodgy or dry, but you also don’t want it as wet as a pancake batter).
Take the peanut butter filling out of the freezer, divide into 4 parts. Then divide each of those parts into 3 so you have 12 lumps. Quickly roll each between your palms to make little spheres.
Fill the muffin cups about halfway with the muffin batter, reserving some batter for covering the tops of the peanut butter balls.
Place a peanut butter ball into the center of each mound of batter, pressing it in a just a bit (but not all the way to the bottom).
Use the remaining batter to cover the peanut butter balls.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425 F, then lower the temperature to 400 for 15 more minutes.
Allow to cool for 3 minutes in the tin before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. These freeze beautifully. Simply take one out to thaw in the morning for snack time.