Why use plain old peanut butter, when you can enjoy seasonally orange chocolate pumpkin butter cups? These mini homemade sweets are a perfect “safe” treat for Halloween, but should be enjoyed throughout the fall and anytime pumpkin cravings strike.
Coated with good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate, these dairy-free chocolate pumpkin butter cups have a creamy, soft filling with pure pumpkin, warm spices, vanilla, and your choice of creamy ingredients (see my original and nut-free options – all are scrumptious!).
This recipe for chocolate pumpkin butter cups came about when I was conducting my chocolate melting trials. I was craving something pumpkin, but needed an easy way to use up all of that delicious melted chocolate. These chocolate pumpkin butter cups came together so easily, and fortunately, since I ended up with a quadruple batch(!) they freeze nicely, and actually stay a little soft in the middle when fully chilled (read: you can eat them straight from the freezer!).
I’m sharing this recipe on Gluten-Free Wednesdays at Gluten-Free Easily and Allergy-Free Wednesdays at Whole New Mom.
Special Diet Notes: Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cups
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian and generally food allergy-friendly.
- ¼ cup raw cashews (see option below for nut-free)
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Generous pinch salt
- 1 bag dairy-free semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (I used a combination of the two))
- If using cashews, grind them into a fine powder using your spice grinder or small food processor.
- In a blender or mixing bowl with a hand mixer, blend the powdered cashews, pumpkin, sugar (to taste), oil, maple, pie spice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Cover and place the mixture in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- Melt the chocolate using these instructions for the best way to melt chocolate.
- Using a pastry brush (I like this silicone one for chocolate), brush chocolate into the bottom and part way up the sides of mini silicone muffin cups (an also use mini muffin liners). Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes, or until the chocolate sets up.
- Spoon the pumpkin mixture into the chocolate shells, leveling it out. Drizzle on more of the melted chocolate to cover. If using the best way to melt chocolate, your chocolate should still be melted for continued use, but you can add a little more hot water to the bottom pan and rewhisk if needed.
- Chill the cups in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for longer storage. Can serve at room temperature or chilled.
Key Ingredients: Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cups
23 Comments
These look delicious! Do you know if there’s a good way to substitute stevia for the powdered sugar? I’m not supposed to eat any kind of sugar, honey, etc. I know you would use a lot less stevia, & I wasn’t sure how that would affect the texture, volume, etc. Thanks!
Hi Sandy, I would do a search on that – perhaps low glycemic powdered sugar or stevia powdered sugar substitute. I’m not an expert on that topic. You can try just stevia, but it will likely affect the texture and volume a bit.
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YUM! I love peanut butter cups so I think I’d love these pumpkin butter cups 🙂
You would, I promise Liz 🙂
cups like these are one of my favorite things to make – pumpkin sounds GOOD.
Doesn’t pumpkin always sound good? 🙂
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yum! I was just eyeing a similar recipe on my blog to make again. Great minds think alike 😉
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Wow! These look so amazing, I can’t wait to try them! I’ve never made anything like this, and I’m curious where you found the mini-silicone cups… do you have a link for those?
Hi Sarah, I actually got mine for a great price (just $3 for 12) at World Market, but it looks like they no longer sell them. These mini muffin cups have good reviews and are some of the least expensive I’ve seen online.
perfect, thanks!
What a dynamite idea, Alisa! They look irresistible!
Thanks Dreena!
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YUM!! This is a must try for me…so creative Alisa! I am featuring them this week on AFW!
Thank you so much Tessa!!
These look wonderful Alisa!! It’s great to know they also freeze well too, that way I could enjoy these whenever the mood strikes me. 🙂
That’s what I’ve been doing – and the mood struck three times yesterday 🙂
I’m so intrigued by using the powdered cashews! I totally thought you would soak them when I saw them in your recipe. Cool! I’d love to try a pumpkin-chocolate combo right about now 🙂
Alisa, these look and sound AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!