Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – Valentines Special. Dairy-free. Vegan.

* This recipe was originally posted in February 2016. The page was updated in February 2021.

Know any peanut butter lovers?

If so, I have the perfect treat you can gift them on Valentine’s Day huge chocolate peanut butter hearts!

These treats are so simple to make but definitely have the ‘wow’ factor. They’re giant in size so perfect for sharing with your loved ones

Reese’s are probably the most famous peanut butter cup brand, but have you ever checked out their ingredients? Not only they contain a whole bunch of ingredients that I’ve never heard of, but they also contain genetically modified sugar beets, corn and soya beans. These are ingredients that I definitely don’t want to be sharing with my loved ones.

But we don’t have to buy the commercial brands, as it’s so easy to make your own. It’s literally a case of melting some chocolate, stirring together the filling ingredients, then popping them into your moulds.

By making your own, you can also make them dairy-free, so suitable for sharing with your vegan and dairy-intolerant loved ones. They also happen to be gluten free too.

You know I told you they’re big enough to share? Well once you start on one of these, you might find it extremely hard to give away half (I’m speaking from experience!) But no worries, the recipe makes six, so plenty to go round.

I made the chocolates in these silicone heart moulds, purchased from Marks & Spencer a few years ago. They were definitely a worthwhile purchase as I’ve made all kinds of Valentines treats with them, including these Chocolate Cookie Crunch Hearts.

But if you don’t have a heart shaped mould, no worries at all as you can always use round silicone cake moulds or even paper cases. 

Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan)

These chocolates make the perfect gift for peanut butter lovers. They’re incredibly easy to make, yet look so professional that they’re bound to impress!
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g / 7 oz 70% dark chocolate chopped into small pieces
  • 70 g / ¼ cup quality smooth peanut butter (100% nuts; with no added sugar, salt or oil)
  • 2 TBSP icing (confectioners) sugar
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Place half of the chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl). When the chocolate has fully melted, remove from the heat.
  • Spoon about 2 tsp melted chocolate into each mould. Tilt the moulds so that the chocolate coats the sides to a height of about 1 cm / just under ½ inch. (You may not use all the melted chocolate, but that’s fine. Just leave it in the bowl).
  • Pop the moulds in the fridge until the chocolate is solid.
  • In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Taste test and add more sweetener or salt if desired.
  • Add the remaining half of the chocolate pieces to the heat-proof bowl over the pan of water. Gently heat until the chocolate melts.
  • When the chocolate base is set, spoon a small amount of peanut butter filling into the centre of each mould (I use 1-1½ tsp per mould). Use the back of a spoon to level the filling, but leave a gap round all sides. Spoon melted chocolate on top and tilt the mould to fill in the sides.
  • If you have any chocolate left over, pour it onto a piece of baking paper to create a chocolate ‘puddle’. You can keep this in the fridge for another recipe. Any leftover peanut butter is delicious spread on toast or apple slices.
  • Chill the peanut butter cups until completely solid. To remove the chocolates from the moulds, gently wiggle the sides of the mould to release, then push them out by pressing on the bottom of the mould. Stored in an airtight container, these treats will last for weeks. If your house is warm store them in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

I use a silicone heart mould 7cm / 2½ inches in size. If you don’t have one, you can always use round silicone cake moulds or even paper cases. If you use paper cases, pop them in a muffin tray to help keep their shape.

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If you make these Giant Peanut Butter Cups (or any other recipes on our blog), I’d love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for adaptations! Tag your photos with #bitofthegoodstuff on social media and they will find their way to me. You can also connect with me on my social media channels here:
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With love,

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12 thoughts on “Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – Valentines Special. Dairy-free. Vegan.

  1. Oh yummy Sharon! I love that you’ve made these giant! I never tried Reese’s before and I’ve never tried making these. Yours look perfect. Lots of chocolate and a nice thick peanut butter filling. Hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day.

  2. I live with a peanut butter fiend!
    Perfect for him and so. A little treat to eek out and this peanut butter piggy can have some love!

  3. These look so much better than the real thing Sharon – so much more real! Gail will adore these and as she’s from the USA where Reese’s are a childhood treat it’ll be that bit extra special

    1. Thank you so much Jonathan! I really hope Gail likes them. I gave a couple to ‘M’ for Valentines in a gold box. He loved them! Said they were much nicer than any commercial peanut butter cup he’d ever tried 😀

  4. Oh, yum yum yum. I was craving chocolate peanut butter cups the other day and wishing I had vegan ones near me to buy, but clearly I need to organise myself to make these instead 😀 I have made them before but your recipe looks particularly delicious.

    1. Thanks Kari. They are so easy to make at home. I haven’t tried this yet, but I imagine they freeze well too. Definitely worth making a stash for when peanut butter cup cravings strike 😉

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