Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
As a kid, one of my favorite candies was Reeces Peanut Butter Cups. Since going Plant Based Vegan I have tried many of the store bought vegan copy cat peanut butter cups. The problem with the store bought versions is that they are still full of refined sugars and oils. We came up with our own version which is free of refined sugars and oils. Only whole food plant based vegan ingredients in these delicious fudge squares.
Equipment
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Layer
- 4 deglet dates or 2 medjool dates
- ⅓ cup peanut butter oil free, sugar free
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 – 2 tsp water if needed
Chocolate Layer
- 16 deglet dates or 8 medjool dates
- ⅔ cup almond meal
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Add the peanut butter layer ingredients into a food processor and blend until mixture sticks together
- If it isn’t sticking together, add water 1 tsp at a time until it does
- Pour mixture into a bowl and set aside
- Add chocolate layer ingredients into a food processor and blend until mixture sticks together
- If is isn’t sticking together, add water 1 tsp at a time until it does
- Take half of the chocolate mixture and press it into a silicone baking dish or a parchment paper lined dish
- Pour all of the peanut butter mixture onto the chocolate layer and press on top of the chocolate layer
- Press the remaining chocolate mixture onto the top of the peanut butter layer
- Place in the fridge for a couple hours
- Turn the pan over to get the fudge out of the container
- Cut into squares, the size of your choosing
Nutrition
Calories: 171kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 24mgPotassium: 294mgFiber: 4gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 45IUCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg
Hello! Is there a substitute that would work for the almond meal here? We have a nut allergy. Thanks!
You could probably try rolled oats. I haven’t tried it but I think it would work.
Jill
I tried it with oat flour. I had to add more water than prescribed to get the peanut butter layer to stick. I also had to add water to the chocolate layer. I’m guessing tahini or sunflower seed butter would be a better replacement.
This looks great and I’m super excited to try it. To clarify, does the peanut butter filling portion call for 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup almond meal?
In the video you said 1/2, then corrected it to 2/3, but the printable recipe also states it as 1/2 cup.
Thank you!
I kind of depends on your peanut butter. If it is the more runny kind then 1/2 cup will be fine. If it is more dry then 2/3. When it is mixing if it doesn’t stick together with just 1/2 cup then you can add a little more.
did you accidentally say this backwards? You say: “If it is more runny kind then 1/2 cup will be fine”. But wouldn’t you use the 2/3 cup with the runny kind? Then you say :” if it is more dry, use 2/3″, but wouldn’t you use less ( the 1/2 cup) if the peanut butter is dry?
How should this be stored and for how long?
It’s best to store it in the fridge and it will be good for a couple weeks.
I just bought your cookbook “plant based cooking made easy”- I had my husband look through the desserts and this is the recipe he chose for his birthday treat! His birthday is Feb 17th! I’m sure it will be delicious! I love your “mother of all gluten free breads” recipe! Thank you so much for all of your creations!
Fantastic! I hope he enjoys the bread and has a wonderful Birthday!
My friend turned me on to using dates and nuts in sweets and this is a recipe after our own heart. Easy and quick to make, pretty to look at, delicious…
Tip: I found that wetting my hands made it much easier to press the batters into the dish.
To make a good thing good-er next time I will add in one or more of the following: coconut, chopped nuts, instant coffee powder, orange peel, cocoa nibs, or chopped dried fruit.
After getting your book recently this recipe caught my eye as I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Well, I made it this morning and its absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you for this recipe its definitely one I shall be doing again and again.
how many dates do you think you would use, if I used Deglet dates ( they are smaller)? Do you think it would double the Medjool?
Deglet dates are roughly half the size of most medjools so you are right, you would just double the amount.
Jill, thank you so much for this recipe!! My two kids have eaten strictly WFPB their whole lives and have always wondered what candy tastes like. We’ve unwrapped a lot of them and broken them apart and talked about what ingredients are in them. They were always interested in the Reese’s PB cups. I just made these for the kids (and myself and my husband!) and they were so excited to try the healthy version of them!! They absolutely loved it!!!! That was such a treat to be able to do that for them. Thank you thank you!!!! I really appreciate having your recipes to add to our rotation.
Can I use almond flour instead of almond meal?
yes
Can I use almond flour in place of almond meal?
yes
I made the delicious blizzard but I had the topping left over, once I ran out of out of the “nice cream” I had tons of the “blizzard” topping left over, so I made the delicious chocolate from this recipe and I placed it on top of parchment paper then I rolled out my “leftover “blizzard topping” to the same size as the chocolate base then flattened it onto the Chocolate still using the parchment paper, then I cut it into squares and sat the pan into the the freezer to set. Then I out the squares into a container which I live in the freezer. It taste similar to almond joy or roca candies it’s so delicious . I’m so grateful to Jill and her family for helping me to enjoy a whole food plant based life deliciously. God bless them .
Sounds Amazing Tamia =)
what do you mean by oil free peanut butter? I thought all peanut butter had natural oil in it from the peanuts?
Meaning: added oil. A lot of peanut butters have added oil.
from one PB cup lover to another: made recipe as printed. not quite right……. rewatched video- the printed recipe above needs revision:
PB layer: 4 Medjool dates and 1 teasp. vanilla.
Choc layer: 16 Medjool dates
Could I use date syrup instead of whole dates? I don’t have a food processor and my blender can’t seem to cope with blending whole dates.
I’m not sure it will work because it is a liquid. Your fudge might just be really soft which is still delicious
Hi: can you confirm whether you should use Medjool dates or Deglet dates, please? In the recipe given above, it’s Deglet (4 in peanut butter layer; 16 in chocolate layer), but in your book it’s Medjool (same quantities given).
I wouldn’t have thought any more of it, but you say (in response to someone else’s query, about swapping one for the other) that Deglet dates are ca half the size of Medjools – so am guessing using one over an other would make an appreciable difference to the end result? Many thanks 🙂
Yes, medjools are usually about twice the size of deglets so you would use half as much. I will check the recipe and adjust it. Thank you for letting me know.
I made these twice and couldn’t get enough of the chocolate layer in my loaf pan both times. I seen someone commented something about if the date ratio is wrong so I am curious, is this the right recipe? (Btw they were still delicious just not the right consistency)
You can always double the chocolate layer ingredients. I just double checked the amounts and it looks right to me.