Dark Chocolate Sunflower Butter Candy Cups (with Coconut Butter Variation as well)

You know what else you can do with your sunflower seed butter? You can make it into CANDY! Heck YES! These are basically Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, only homemade, so with less weird crap. And if you aren't allergic to every other nut and seed out there, you can of course substitute any other kind of nut or seed butter that you like. I'm sure pretty much every other nut butter would taste even better than sunflower seed butter, given my hazy memory of how delicious almonds and hazelnuts and pistachios once were, circa 1994, but it certainly did the job! We also did a version with coconut butter (sometimes called "coconut manna", which is sort of goofy to me), and they were super delicious too, sort of like mini Mounds bars. I don't have tons to say about the process here because it's v. straightforward and easy, particularly if you have a silicon mini-muffin pan. If you don't have a silicon muffin pan (mini or otherwise), just use a regular muffin tin but be sure to use paper liners of some sort as the candy cups will be difficult to remove from the tin after they've set.

Here is a video to get you inspired. Beckett doesn't use v. many consonants, but what he's trying to tell you is that he's a spatula. I am not sure why he thinks he's a spatula, but I think it's cute.

Notes:

1. We used a mix of chocolates that I'm going to assume was about 60-70% chocolate. I would NOT go darker, and I'm a lover of crazy dark chocolate.

2. If you have or know any children, you should make these with them. There is nothing quite as awesome as chocolate-covered tiny face.

3. Again, crucial: paper liners or a silicon mini muffin mold for easy candy removal.

Here's what the process looks like:

Do you see how clever I am? I put coconut flakes on the coconut ones so we could distinguish between the two kinds. I put Golden Fig's Chocolate Salt on both kinds because, dang. Here's what the finished products look like, with two eager candy-consumers in the background...

3. We made these twice in one week because they are so good.

I love you too.

Dark Chocolate Sunflower Butter/Coconut Butter Candy Cups

Yield: 24 mini candies, 12 large

Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

9 oz. dark chocolate (~70%) (you could use milk chocolate or semi-sweet too - I'm making some white chocolate ones later tonight), broken into small chunks

Golden Fig Chocolate Salt or sea salt flakes for topping

For sunflower butter filling

1/2 cup sunflower seed butter or other nut or seed butter*

1 heaping tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

* If you use unsalted, unsweetened sunflower or other nut/seed butter, add an additional tablespoon honey + 1/4 teaspoon salt to filling mixture.

For coconut butter filling

1/2 cup coconut butter (I used Artisana brand), softened a bit in microwave

2 tablespoons agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener of choice)

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the modern way, microwaving it for 30 seconds, stirring it a bit, repeat, until chocolate is smooth. Spoon about a teaspoon of chocolate into each cup in your mini-muffin or muffin tin. Scoop up about a teaspoon of filling, roll it into a small ball in your hands, flatten it out so that its circumference is just a bit less than the muffin cup, and center it on top of the chocolate puddle. Repeat with remaining filling. Top each candy cup with another half or full teaspoon of chocolate. Sprinkle with some salt. Place mold or tin in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes so candies can set. They can be kept in refrigerator or at room temperature, though they are easiest to eat when brought to room temperature.