Healthy treat - Xnut-butter cups (X = almond or cashew or ABC)

Do you know anyone who've tried Reeces peanutbutter cups and has not liked them? I know only one such person (you weirdo!), but I know a dozen who really really love them. I remember one trip to New York when we (2 people) ended up buying 6 pounds of those in Economy Candy, and we ended up running out of this treat after less than a month, just because it was the favorite souvenir of our friends.

But that was past. A few years fast forward, and I now find it too sweet, and my tummy likes to remind me that peanut butter is not really the best for me. But would I give up? Of course not. 

I spotted a recipe somewhere on the internet, for home-made chocolate cups with almond butter. I’m sorry I can’t remember which one was that, but whoever wrote it, I’m endlessly thankful for the inspiration. Since then I made these cups with almond butter, cashew butter, ABC (almond – Brazil nuts – cashew) butter, but also with cranberries, or even with fragrant lavender “custard”.

These take some time to make, but on the other hand it’s really no alchemy and you don’t have to be very precise. And it can be fun. Please take the recipe just as very broad suggestions and customize based on your preference.

Ingredients

• Good quality chocolate (I use 90% cocoa Lindt, or 70% if I feel like having something sweet)
• Good quality nut butter
• Honey or stevia or your favorite sweetener
• Pinch of salt
• Alternative fillings may include cranberries or other small fruits, or lavender custard, or anything you like in chocolate (some even like bacon in chocolate :)

Instructions

1. Prepare the filling. If you use nut butter, process it with salt and honey or stevia. Butter will get harder by whisking, but that is actually what you want. If you want to use lavender custard, prepare it based on the recipe below. If you use something else, try to think about the taste, consistency and shape that will be good in the middle of hard dark chocolate.
2. Melt the chocolate in double boiler.
3. Prepare the tiny paper cups on surface where you don’t mind a few drops of chocolate.
   
4. Prepare the chocolate base by pouring a bit of chocolate at the bottom and tilting the paper cup around to cover sides a bit as well to get something like in the picture below. Put them into the freezer or fridge (at least this is what I do here at the equator).
   
5. If you use the nut butter, make small balls – as big as you want them in the cup, and squash them to ovals like on this picture.
   
6. Fill in these chocolate half-cups with prepared filling. Try to flatten the filling as much as possible and level it, so that you don’t have to pour too much chocolate to cover it.
7. Pour chocolate over the filling and sprinkle with ground nuts, lavender or other useful clues for your happy consumers. Put back to freezer to harden and transfer to fridge. And behold, little pieces of pleasure are born! :)

For lavender custard 

• 4 heaped teaspoons of dried lavender flowers
• 8 spoons of coconut milk
• 2 egg yolks
• Honey or stevia or other sweetener to taste

In double boiler, cook lavender flowers in coconut milk for about 7 minutes. Sieve the flowers from the milk. Whisk egg yolks well with sweetener and lavender coconut milk. In double boiler over medium heat keep whisking the yolks until thick custard will form. 
Please feel free to adjust dosage according to your preferences.