Merry Christmas Eve, friends!
I always think I’m going to post waaaay more recipes for you this season than I actually do… in fact, nearly every time I make something I think, “I should post this,”… and then we eat it so fast I can never take any pictures! It almost happened with these chocolate peppermint cups also, but as you can see it didn’t take too many to do the photo shoot, so I got lucky. And to be honest, these are one of the best things I’ve made this holiday season. They’re fast, they’re easy, and they’re absolutely delicious!
As much as I love treats filled with flour, dairy, and cream, I find that those types of goodies don’t sit very well with my stomach. So I’ve been coming up with recipes that are naturally gluten and dairy-free. They’re still pretty high in calories, but somehow I do feel better the next morning after indulging.
I hope you love these little guys as much as we do!
They’re super quick to make and use ingredients likely in your pantry right now: dark chocolate, unsweetened coconut (this forms the base but you do not taste the coconut, I promise!), maple syrup, and peppermint extract.
Just whiz up the base in your food processor, melt your chocolate with a little coconut oil to keep it soft, and spoon a bit into a silicone mini muffin tin. Freeze that for about 10 minutes, pop a teaspoon of filling on top, and cover with the rest of the chocolate. Stick it back in the freezer, and that’s it!
They really are the perfect treat to finish off a meal… maybe your Christmas Eve dinner?
Merry Christmas, friends!
Ingredients
For the filling:
- ½ cup unsweetened dried coconut
- 1 ½ T. coconut cream (or full-fat coconut milk)
- ½ T. coconut oil
- 1 T. pure maple syrup
- 1 t. peppermint extract
For the chocolate:
- 300gm (10 oz) high-quality dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ t. coconut oil
Instructions
To make the filling:
- Combine all filling ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender. Process until a paste forms.
To make the cups:
- Melt the chocolate and ½ t. coconut oil together until smooth. Spoon about 1 T. of chocolate into a silicone mini-muffin tin.
- Place in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes or until set.
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon filling on top of chocolate, spreading to edges.
- Cover with remaining chocolate.
- Return to freezer to chill until set, about 20 minutes.
- Store in the freezer or fridge.
- Makes about 20.