Bean

Coconut Butter + Vanilla Bean Coconut Butter Cups

by:
February 26, 2013
4.8
4 Ratings
Coconut Butter + Vanilla Bean Coconut Butter Cups
  • Makes 1 cup coconut butter + 20 mini cups
Author Notes

Coconut Butter is made from one simple ingredient, unsweetened, dried shredded coconut! Prepare to be amazed. The coconut butter cups are a fun twist on the classic chocolate peanut butter cup. Enjoy! —Ashley McLaughlin

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Coconut Butter
  • 3 cups unsweetened dried finely shredded/grated coconut [not flaked or chips]
  • Vanilla Bean Coconut Butter Cups with Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • 1 cup coconut butter, melted or freshly processed
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin unrefined coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tablespoon pure cane sugar, optional
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup, warmed
  • 1 pinch fine grain sea salt
Directions
  1. Coconut Butter
  2. Add the coconut to a large food processor and turn on until it reaches a fully smooth-liquid state, about 5-10 minutes. It should easily drip from a spoon. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Store in a sealed jar in your pantry.
  4. The coconut butter will solidify below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Simply reheat by scraping out the desired amount and melting in a pan over low heat until smooth. Or, scrape into a small bowl and place in the microwave for 10 second increments, until melted.
  5. tips: Be sure to use a fresh bag of coconut to ensure it hasn't dried out. Never add any liquid other than melted coconut oil to help move the process along. In more than 20 batches that I've made I've never needed to add coconut oil to help process into coconut butter. Do not use less than 3 cups of coconut in an 11c capacity food processor.
  1. Vanilla Bean Coconut Butter Cups with Chocolate Peanut Butter
  2. Stir the peanut butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and pinch of sea salt together until smooth. Mixture will be thick.
  3. Add the melted coconut butter to your food processor, if not using a fresh batch, and turn on.
  4. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to process.
  5. Add the vanilla beans (discard the pod) and 1 tablespoon pure cane sugar [if using].
  6. Continue to process until the sugar has melted and the mixture is drippy.
  7. Line a mini muffin pan with 20 mini liners and add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vanilla bean coconut butter to the bottom of each.
  8. Take about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate peanut butter and flatten it slightly in between your fingers. Place on top of each cup.
  9. Top with 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of the vanilla bean coconut butter and lightly tap the top of each cup with a spoon to level the ingredients.
  10. Place the pan in the freezer or fridge until hardened. Best if stored in a sealed container in the fridge.
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  • Jennifer Eaton
    Jennifer Eaton
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  • Alex Peters
    Alex Peters
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    Ielean Spanos
  • Katherine Francis
    Katherine Francis
Ashley McLaughlin
Hello! My name is Ashley, and I'm the photographer + writer behind the blog, Edible Perspective. LOVE // the husband // family // cooking for others // farmers markets // the first winter snow // cycling // snowshoeing // snowboarding // bluegrass // architecture // our pups // farm fresh eggs // mountains // boxed wine // breakfast // biking to breweries // clean sheets // traveling

Popular on Food52

37 Reviews

Jennifer E.
Jennifer E. April 25, 2015
Finally got to make these and yum they are tasty, but my cups looked a bit funky in the end, like the centers collapsed. I did tap the cups before the fridge. Any tips? Hoping to make again soon!
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. April 26, 2015
That's strange! I'm not sure why they would have collapsed. Was the chocolate PB layer stiff, almost like a dough when you added it?
 
Jennifer E.
Jennifer E. April 27, 2015
Yes the peanut butter mixture was thick, like dough. The filling seemed to have sunk down and the coconut seemed to rise up the cup liners. I might try popping them in the freezer before adding peanut butter filling next time?
 
Ruth
Ruth April 20, 2015
I+don't+see+a+picture+of+the+end+result,+yet+everyone+seems+to+be+saying+"these+look+great"+...+what+am+I+missing??
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. April 26, 2015
There are 2 photos at the top. Click the right or left arrow on the side of the image to see the next photo. You can read more about coconut butter here: https://food52.com/blog/5978-whip-up-your-own-coconut-butter
 
Ruth
Ruth April 26, 2015
OHHH Duh! Got it... ok, now can you tell me why there are + signs between all my words of the 1st post??? I didnt put them there! Honest.
 
Alex P.
Alex P. October 6, 2013
I have to say, I don't get the hype. I have overheated my Vitamix and my small food processor doing this and end result...? Not that great. So I thought I would buy the premade stuff and see what all the fuss was about but when I got it home and tried it- by the way "stirring" store bought coconut butter is exactly like stirring natural peanut butter where all the oil has seperated, it's hard as a rock. But once I had tried the store bought, organic raw coconut butter, it tasted exactly like my appliance destroying homemade version- i.e. nothing to write home about. it's a little gritty, mildly coconutty and really kind of blah. I love making coconut milk using the dried full fat coconut flakes but this just isn't all that.
 
Popcake
Popcake April 2, 2013
Hi - I tried to make these last week. I almost killed my food processor in the process - I reckon it was on for 30 mins. Nothing really happened. I bought this stuff on your recommendation: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Shredded-Coconut-Lite-250/dp/B004SIAQ40/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364915805&sr=8-2
But nothing but a fine version of what I put in - tried adding coconut oil. Again nothing. I live in the UK and still unsure what to use. Is it suppose to be fresh - like almost if I was to crack a coconut open and use the flesh like that?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. April 2, 2013
Hi there! Sorry for the problem you had. The link you sent was for "lite" unsweetened coconut which has a much lower fat content and unfortunately will not turn into coconut butter. In my post on Food 52 for the coconut butter cups I mention about not using the low-fat/lite kind. http://food52.com/blog/5978-whip-up-your-own-coconut-butter You'll want to try this coconut instead: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Shredded-Coconut-226-Case/dp/B001HTJ2FW/ref=sr_1_10?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1364941469&sr=1-10 Hope this helps!
 
Ielean S.
Ielean S. March 31, 2013
If you have a Vitamix it works way better than a food processor. Alternatively, if you have a little coffee or spice grinder that works well too, (wash it out well first). It takes more time as you can only do small batches, but you can still do a lot of small batches a lot faster than in a food processor. A food processor just doesn't do the trick for this.
 
Mindy,Faulisi
Mindy,Faulisi April 3, 2013
Thank you for the input!! I don't have a Vitamix (yet) so I'll try it with my spice grinder. I really can't wait to eat these :)
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. April 3, 2013
Also be sure you're not using "lite" unsweetened shredded coconut. It must be the full fat variety. :)
 
Mindy,Faulisi
Mindy,Faulisi March 13, 2013
i am dying to make these cups but ive been running my processor for over 10mins and the coconut is no where near liquid, just a very dry almost flour like state. i live in CO and its very dry here, should i heat it? ive already added 1tbsp of coconut oil, i could add more i just dont want to ruin it.
 
Mindy,Faulisi
Mindy,Faulisi March 13, 2013
i added coconut oil (3tbsp total), coconut cream, even earth balance (im out of coconut oil now). its about the consistency of ricotta cheese. for now its going into the fridge because im out of time for the night. please help me make something delicious!
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 13, 2013
What type of coconut did you use? Was it flaked or shredded? I also live in Colorado but only once (out over 20 batches) has it not turned to coconut butter. I think that time it was due to using an older bag that I opened a few months prior. I have never had to add coconut oil so I'm not sure what could have been the issue, except for the type of coconut used. Or, if you only used 1 cup of coconut in a large food processor (11 cups) it makes it very hard to turn to butter. 3-4 cups is best. Hope this helps! Adding any liquid besides coconut oil will unfortunately not help.
 
Katherine F.
Katherine F. March 7, 2013
I bought a glass flip-top container for this, is it necessary to boil the container before use? It would only be for short term, I'm sure this coconut butter won't last long.
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 7, 2013
It just depends if you want the container fully sterilized or not. Normally, I thoroughly hand wash new jars or put them in the dishwasher.
 
Morgan K.
Morgan K. March 7, 2013
Well my coconut mix didn't come out drippy; I had to use the spatula to swish it out of the food processor. I ran the thing for almost 15 min on and off to scrape the sides. I have a can of firm coconut cream from trader joes, I was thinking that it may liquefy it down just a tad and make it smooth. Hoping it works because these look great! :)
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 7, 2013
Your best bet is to add melted coconut oil to the mix and not any type of milk/water liquid. Were you using unsweetened finely grated/shredded coconut or the flaked coconut? The flaked kind won't work for this. Also, it's best if you use a fresh bag of coconut. Hope this helps!
 
Vitaj
Vitaj March 6, 2013
Ah... Flaked NOT recommended. NOW I see that! lol Yeah, it didn't really work out very well, and I finally gave up before I burned up my Cuis. : ( I bought organic flaked at my coop, imagining it to be superior in oiliness, etc., but alas... Will try again after I've used up all this flaked stuff I have!
 
Popcake
Popcake March 6, 2013
Shredded coconut? Is this the same as desiccated? Can't find Shredded... sorry - do you mean fresh coconut that you shred?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 6, 2013
You're looking for shredded or grated dried + unsweetened coconut. I just looked up info on desiccated and it sounds like it's dryer than the shredded/grated kind, so this probably will not work. Here's the link http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-desiccated-coconut.htm Here's a link to what you're looking for: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Do-Organic-Shredded-Coconut-22-Pound/dp/B002FK0A26/ref=sr_1_4?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1362630071&sr=1-4&keywords=let%27s+do+organic+coconut (not coconut chips or flakes) And fresh coconut will not work. Hope this helps!
 
Angela2mc
Angela2mc March 5, 2013
I made these last night and they are so good! I'm avoiding sugar, so I used 1 tbls in place of the granulated sugar and another tablespoon of sugar in place of the maple syrup.
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 5, 2013
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed them!
 
aneeval
aneeval March 4, 2013
These look great! Do you add a whole vanilla bean minus the seeds to the coconut butter mixture?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 4, 2013
Nope, you want to add the seeds only. I'll modify the directions to be more specific about that.
 
agapegirl
agapegirl March 4, 2013
In the comments you say "grated"; in the recipe you say "shredded"; they also make "flaked"; so, which is best? thx
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 4, 2013
Sorry for the confusion. Grated + Shredded are the same. It's the smallest form you'll find dried unsweetened coconut. Flaked is not recommended.
 
agapegirl
agapegirl March 4, 2013
d
 
joannajw
joannajw March 3, 2013
can I make it in a Vitamix or is the food processor better?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 3, 2013
I have seen people make it with their Vitamix but I have never tried. I always have much better luck making nut butters and coconut butter in my food processor, so I've always stuck with that. You can check this link http://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/make-your-own-coconut-butter/ and I found a few others as well when searching "coconut butter vitamix." Hope this helps!
 
dbradley
dbradley March 3, 2013
I'm confused on how the food processor will "melt" the sugar. Are you really just looking for it to dissolve in the heated coconut butter and oil?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 3, 2013
Yes! If you decide to use the sugar (I find coconut sweet enough on it's own) you're just looking for it to incorporate and melt into the butter. :)
 
Colleen R.
Colleen R. March 1, 2013
omg you could use almond butter and it would be like an almond joy!
 
Rose A.
Rose A. March 1, 2013
Can coconut butter be made with fresh coconut meat?
 
Ashley M.
Ashley M. March 1, 2013
Unfortunately not. It only works with the dried, unsweetened, grated variety.
 
Kitchen B.
Kitchen B. March 1, 2013
Wow, that's so so interesting. This would be wonderful for coconut jam drop cookies I want to make! It would amplify the coconutty taste. Yum.