I’m a huge Reese’s peanut butter cup fan. As a teenager, I remember my sister and I heading to Target to buy up the after holiday candy and we would stock up on Reese’s cups like you wouldn’t believe. As much as I would like to do that now, my pants will not allow it. It’s either the candy or them. But I wanted a cleaner and less sugary version of the original, so I started playing with a recipe. 



About the ingredients

• Almond butter: I used almond butter just because I wanted to try it. You could certainly use peanut butter instead. If you use a nut butter that ONLY contains nuts and salt (natural or organic), it will be runnier. So, make sure that you mix it well and add more nut flour to help thicken it up.

• Almond flour: this is used as a low carb thickener. Most recipes call for excessive amounts of confectioner’s sugar, which not only contain powdered sugar, but also cornstarch and/or tapioca starch (A.K.A. carb overload).The starch, along with the sugar, retain the moisture to create a cookie dough like texture. So, instead of sugar and starch, I used almond flour. Don’t have almond flour? That’s okay. Use your choice of confectioner sugar in place of it. This will, however, alter the carbohydrate count. 

• Swerve sweetener: As a sweetener, I used Swerve. It is a low calorie sugar replacement and can be replaced one-to-one. While most of these nut/chocolate dipped tests call for confectioner’s sugar, I took the Swerve and ground it into a fine powder using a coffee grinder. Using regular confectioner’s sugar in place of the Swerve will work, also. 

• Chocolate: I used Enjoy life brand chocolate, 69%. The higher the percentage, the lower in sugar. Choose what you like best. 



Special note:

Even if you don’t use almond flour or Swerve, making this recipe yourself will still have less sugar, carbs, and other non-candy things than what you will find in the store. I would measure your sugar of choice, a tablespoon or two at a time, to determine sweetness preference.



Almond Butter Balls Recipe

Makes: approximately 10-12, 1 inch sized balls

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1/3 C. Almond butter
• 2 T. Almond flour
• 2 T. Swerve sweetener (Swerve’s confectioner’s sugar or by grinding Swerve’s granulated sugar to make your own) OR regular confectioner’s sugar (organic is corn free)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Dark chocolate for melting 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, in intervals of 15 seconds, mixing in between, until melted. Set aside to cool. 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined. Remember to add more almond flour  (for low carb), or confectioner’s sugar, one tablespoon at a time to get the right consistency and sweetness level desired. 

3. Roll nut mixture into 1 inch rounds and dip into chocolate, covering the exterior. Place on parchment paper in a 9 x 9 pan. Refrigerate for about an hour or into the freezer for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy.