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I am so in love with our little house here in Austin.
Kathryne and I had searched for weeks and weeks on AirBnB when we planned this trip, hoping to find a place that could feel somewhat like “home” for a month. Initially, it seemed like everything cute and fun was way out of our price range. But then one day we happened to stumble across this beautiful collection of mid-century homes in the perfect neighborhood, all within walking distance to South Congress (hello amazing everything), built with soaring vaulted ceilings (my favorite), gloriously white walls (a photographer’s dream), tons of natural light (to let in that warm Texas sunshine), a big open kitchen (thankfully for two food bloggers), and it’s all decorated with the cutest modern furniture (my bed here even has the same West Elm duvet cover that I have at home). I had that deja vu sense I once had when searching for months for a house to buy, and we both knew in a heartbeat that this was “it”.
Sure enough, the place has been absolutely dreamy so far. I love how the light streams in the back window each morning while we make French press, I love how every inch of the counter space gets crammed full of food and dishes and props while Kathryne and I are testing recipes during the day, I love the comfy couches that await us (complete with pups ready for snuggling) once we come back home at the end of the day after exploring the city. I love it!!
Ha, I have to say though, the only thing I don’t love is the one small refrigerator and pantry that the two of us have to share for a month. I mean, I totally get it, knowing that most vacationers are probably not staying here cooking up a storm in the kitchen each day. But suffice it to say that by our second day here, we were having to go on treasure hunts through our packed fridge trying to find things. And our pantry is only large enough for the absolute essentials, which probably should be good news, because there’s not much extra space to fill it up with snacks.
But yesterday when I happened to be craving chocolate — just a little bite of chocolate! — there was none to be found in the house. I did have a jar of cocoa powder in the pantry, though. So for the first time ever, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some homemade chocolates for myself. And…maybe stir in a little peanut butter as well. And sweeten them with honey, since I’m going refined sugar-free for awhile.
5 ingredients, about 5 minutes of prep, and 15 minutes in the freezer later, the most delightful little chocolates were ready to go.
And I am so in love.
All of you candy-making pros out there have probably made homemade chocolates a million times. But as someone who has always been slightly intimidated by all forms of homemade candy, I have to admit that I had no idea how ridiculously easy it is to make homemade chocolates from scratch!!
You don’t even need fancy ingredients.
Just take some unsweetened cocoa powder (the higher quality, the better), melted coconut oil, honey and a pinch of salt and whisk them all together until combined. And then for this recipe, I couldn’t resist adding a few tablespoons of peanut butter too. You can’t quite see it in the mix, but trust me, it’s deliciously there.
Then pour the hot mixture into your candy molds, or into a parchment-lined small baking tray…
…and pop it in the freezer to harden (or the fridge, but let’s face it, I’m impatient).
And sure enough, just 15 minutes later, these bite-sized, naturally-sweetened, delectable little bites will be ready to go.
I did go with a little heart candy mold that I picked up at the last second at Michael’s for $1.99, in honor of that heart-filled holiday coming up later this week. But you can seriously mold these little bites into whatever shape you’d like. Or just break them into bars or little pieces if you use a baking dish.
And if you really want to make someone’s day, bag a few up and give them as a gift!
I will say that these chocolates get fairly soft and room temperature, so they are best stored and served completely frozen or (at least) chilled. Comes with the territory with these healthier honey-sweetened chocolates. But trust me, they are still delicious with every chilled bite.
Hope you “heart” these little guys as much as I do. And happy early Valentine’s Day to each of you!
These easy peanut butter chocolates are sweetened with honey, made with just 5 simple ingredients, and they are the most delicious little treats. You’ll “heart” them!
Ingredients
Scale
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
3 Tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter
2–3 Tablespoons honey (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Add all ingredients together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk together until combined and smooth.
Pour into a candy mold or into a parchment-lined small baking dish (or bread pan). Refrigerate or freeze until completely solid and chilled.
If you are using a mold, simply then pop the chocolates out to serve. If you are using a baking dish, remove the chocolate and carefully chop into your desired size of pieces with a chef’s knife.
*I recommend storing the chocolate in the refrigerator and serving it chilled. It will be super-soft at room temperature.
Love love love these chocolates! I wasn’t planning on making any more chocolate treats for Valentine’s Day this year, but I might have to change my mind….
These chocolates sound wonderful. I’m not a big fan of peanut butter, though – at least when mixed with chocolate. I prefer plain chocolate, so the question is, would the proportions of everything else remain the same if I were to leave out the peanut butter? I have about zero experience with candy-making.
This look close to perfect. The only thing that would make them better is if they were filled with peanut butter ensuring the flavors are distinct but married!
These sound amazing! Also, I meant to ask when I found out you were coming here–do you plan on having a meet up here in Austin or are you keeping a low profile? (Maybe you already mentioned this in a previous post; if so, please forgive me!) Either way, enjoy our fair city!
I’ve never seen anything cuter in my life!!!!! Also I love that you have a tiny refrigerator but you have the perfect heart candy molds. You are seriously amazing. <3
These little chocolates are TOO CUTE! And I laughed out loud reading about the fridge situation. Things still look amazing around these parts though. No one would ever know!
I’ve always wanted to visit Austin, hope you have a wonderful time there! I love the looks of these chocolates, can’t go wrong with PB and chocolate, and the fact that they are so easy..perfect! Gorgeous photos :)
Happy Valentines Day Ali!
Just to let you know I’ve linked this recipe into my latest post of my 13 favourite Valentines recipes and bloggers :) because these look SCRUMPTIOUS!
Betty x
The Betty Stamp
Love your peanut butter chocolates recipe. I’ll definitely try it, but instead of 1/4 teaspoon salt i’ll use 1/3! Thanks for sharing, Megan! Can i post it on my blog?
What a great idea! Your chocolate craving is our gain. Glad you’re enjoying the city!
Since Reese’s are just about my favorite, I’m thinking these would be the perfect poppers. And easy enough for Smudge to make ME for valentine’s :)
Those are adorable! And you can’t go wrong with a peanut butter + chocolate combination :)
Adorable! Now I think I need a candy mold. :)
Love love love these chocolates! I wasn’t planning on making any more chocolate treats for Valentine’s Day this year, but I might have to change my mind….
These look perfectly delicious! I think my own heart may be made of peanut butter and chocolate…thanks for the recipe!
Your place sounds like perfection Ali! Love that you used honey for these treats. They are oh so cute and oh so poppable.
looks so good. I love that its sweetened with honey!
These are adorable! Love the short ingredient list breakdown.
These are absolutely adorable and I love that they’re made with honey and peanut butter. YUM!
And I’d love to see you two in action in the same kitchen! I’m sure there are some interesting but also really fun moments!
These chocolates sound wonderful. I’m not a big fan of peanut butter, though – at least when mixed with chocolate. I prefer plain chocolate, so the question is, would the proportions of everything else remain the same if I were to leave out the peanut butter? I have about zero experience with candy-making.
This look close to perfect. The only thing that would make them better is if they were filled with peanut butter ensuring the flavors are distinct but married!
This looks wonderful and I love the use of honey – I might try using maple syrup!
These sound amazing! Also, I meant to ask when I found out you were coming here–do you plan on having a meet up here in Austin or are you keeping a low profile? (Maybe you already mentioned this in a previous post; if so, please forgive me!) Either way, enjoy our fair city!
I need to find myself some molds! And would love to see pics of your place!
Yei!!! Super easy, I´m gonna try it Asap… But I think I´m gonna add “amaranto” instead peanut butter and fix some “chocolate alegrías”.
=)
Oh my gosh, I am totally making these! I swear they are healthy!
Such a great idea! Peanut butter in homemade chocolate, I’d be all over that :)
What a cute idea! You certainly can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter :D
What a wonderful recipe – you can never go wrong with the dynamic duo of chocolate and PB!
I’ve never seen anything cuter in my life!!!!! Also I love that you have a tiny refrigerator but you have the perfect heart candy molds. You are seriously amazing. <3
These little chocolates are TOO CUTE! And I laughed out loud reading about the fridge situation. Things still look amazing around these parts though. No one would ever know!
chocolate & peanut butter anything sounds amazing right now – these look especially awesome!!
These are so adorable! What a great idea! You can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter :) These are perfect for Valentine’s Day!
I’ve always wanted to visit Austin, hope you have a wonderful time there! I love the looks of these chocolates, can’t go wrong with PB and chocolate, and the fact that they are so easy..perfect! Gorgeous photos :)
Yes please, I would inhale these hearts!
Happy Valentines Day Ali!
Just to let you know I’ve linked this recipe into my latest post of my 13 favourite Valentines recipes and bloggers :) because these look SCRUMPTIOUS!
Betty x
The Betty Stamp
I could just barely taste it! Definitely very subtle. :)
Ali – I have saved this recipe – and can’t wait to make it up – thank you :)
Thanks Donna, I hope you enjoy them!
I wonder if reducing the coconut oil to 2 tbsp would help on the super soft front? That said, who cares!
No one has ever gone wrong with chocolate.
Can you use regular oil instead of coconut? I’m allergic. :/
Hi Ziva! Yes, but we would actually recommend melted butter for these. We hope you enjoy these!
Love your peanut butter chocolates recipe. I’ll definitely try it, but instead of 1/4 teaspoon salt i’ll use 1/3! Thanks for sharing, Megan! Can i post it on my blog?
I had a similar peanut butter chocolates at a restaurant recently and found myself craving it and wondering if I could recreate it today.
I just made these and the OM Goodness is delicious. Simple to follow the recette. Thank you so much.