Valentines Day Treats

The days surrounding Valentine's Day can be a huge challenge for those of us trying to avoid a candy/sweets overload.  Office treats, dinners, and gifts can be overwhelming temptations.  One trick for allowing myself to indulge but for making sure I have healthy treats is to make them myself and take them to work or give them as gifts. These peanut butter cups are sweetened with all natural sweeteners, which are much better for you then refined sugars.  I buy organic graham crackers sweetened with agave and use maple sugar, instead of white sugar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate chips
1/4 cup almond milk (unsweetened, vanilla)
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.  Remove the mixture from the heat.  Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.  Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.  Top with chopped nuts.  Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours.

(Recipe from The Kind Diet)