Rich and creamy Chocolate Cashew Butter Swirled Candy Cups that you can make heart shaped for Valentines Day or in cupcake liners. They’re Paleo and Vegan friendly, easy and fun to make with simple, whole food ingredients!
I had to do another chocolate recipe in honor of Valentines Day. It’s the rule. I couldn’t bear to give you a salmon dish or something savory even though that probably would have benefitted both of us. Paleo and Vegan Chocolate Cashew Butter Candy Cups for the win! Salmon next week 🙂
I thought this recipe was going to be really straightforward, but it was not.
I originally wanted a layered chocolate cashew butter candy, but got really messed up with the texture of each layer. My family (and me, definitely me) wound up eating 2 prior batches that had a too-soft top layer and a too-hard chocolate layer. I was all over the place at first, maybe sugar coma induced brain fog.
Finally, I decided to just swirl the two layers which was the right way to do it. Live and learn with chocolate and nut butter. I guess I’m not really complaining about it. Not complaining and actually holding myself back from having another right now, because the final product rocked, period.
Even though it took me 3 tries, in the end the recipe is very simple. I used a silicone heart-shaped mold with 12-cups so these came out bigger than just bite sized, but you can use any silicone mold that you have, depending on how big you want the candies to be. But, even if you don’t have a silicone mold, you can still make this recipe, no worries whatsoever.
You can also just line a muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake liners and make classically-shaped candy cups! I recommend double lining the cupcake pan so the chocolate doesn’t leak through. Really anything goes with this – and I promise you’ll have a little extra of both the chocolate and cashew butter mixture to do whatever you please with 🙂
Chocolate Cashew Butter Swirled Candy Cups {Paleo & Vegan}
Chocolate Cashew Swirl Heart Candy
Ingredients
For the chocolate bottom layer
- 1 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips
- 3 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
- 3 tbsp smooth cashew butter - any smooth nut butter you like will work
For the cashew-honey-vanilla layer
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp raw honey or pure maple syrup for vegan
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp smooth cashew butter - again any smooth nut butter is good!
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Layer First:
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In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil and the chocolate chips over low heat and stir until melted and smooth
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Add the cashew butter and stir until smooth and creamy
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Fill your silicone heart mold (or cupcake liners) about halfway up for each cup. Put the chocolate in the freezer or refrigerator while you make the second layer.
For the Cashew Butter Layer
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In another small saucepan, melt the 2nd 3 tbsp of coconut oil and the honey together over very low heat while stirring. Add the cashew butter and stir until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
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Take the mold or lined cupcake pan out of the freezer and carefully spoon a little bit of the cashew butter-honey mix into each heart over the chocolate. Take a toothpick and gently swirl the cashew layer into the chocolate (have fun with the designs!)
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Put in the freezer until completely set, then remove from freezer. You should be able to easily pop each chocolate out from the mold or cupcake liners
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Serve and enjoy! Store leftovers in the freezer or refrigerator to keep them solid. The chocolate layer will be hard and the cashew layer creamier.
Are you candied-out yet? Well stop that because we’re just getting started. It’s not even V-Day yet! Start firing up the chocolate craving portion of your brain and let’s all happily indulge this weekend!
Happy Valentines Day!
Any Valentines plans this weekend? (eating chocolate or drinking wine on the couch counts)
Hi! I'm Michele. Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, and mom of 3. Welcome to my blog, where we obsess over all of it and love every minute! (It's way fun over here, promise.) Stay a while to eat, run, and rant with me! 
Ohhhh I forgot how much I love cashew butter! I tucked chocolates and cards in the kids’ lunches even though it’s a day early. Saturday is filled to the brim with the usual soccer games and birthday parties, so there aren’t many Valentine’s Day celebrations going on there, but that’s okay. I’d say that I make love wherever I go, but that sounds illegal. Ha ha ha ha!
That’s so sweet of you to give your kids lunch surprises 🙂 I feel like V-Day is much more kids focused now than it ever was, and I actually like it that way!
These look delicious! I have to try these out!
Easy and so worth it!
Yum! I am loving all the chocolate recipes I am seeing this week! It’s a good thing the Whole30 is over:)
Good timing on that for you! I’ve been pretty chocolate-happy lately, and realizing I can make it easily makes it more tempting. Have a great V-Day and weekend!
Yum! I love cashew butter with chocolate. Great recipe!
Thanks! Enjoy your V-Day and weekend 🙂
Goodness I love cashew butter and the nuts themselves. I would have a hard time deciding which I liked better, them or pistachios. Love the silicone molds!
I’m a cashew and cashew butter fan, moreso than almond!
Yeaaah, those candy cups are going to have to happen. Thanks for the recipe!!!!!
Hope you like them! Happy V-Day 🙂
Love that I can make chocolates so easily. WHO KNEW?? Hoping I can find one of those molds today…that is so sweet. Cannot wait to make a batch…or seven (just kidding) of these!
I know, it’s a little dangerous once you realize how easy it can be! The molds they make are fun too. One for every holiday 🙂
I’m 100% sure that my Valentine’s is going to involve some kind of chocolate, but other than that? No idea. I’ll be up in the mountains, so lots of snowboarding and driving for me!
Happy Friday 😀
You’ll have the best time, enjoy 🙂
You and Laura (Mommy Run Fast) are trying to make me gain weight with these recipes! So up my alley…thanks for sharing! ; )
Saw hers too and want to try them! Happy V-Day 🙂
You had me at chocolate and cashew…..can there be anything better? No…no there can not 😉
The best!
Oh yum, nut butter and chocolate? Can you GET any better than that? Have a great weekend!!
Yup it’s all good stuff! Happy V-Day and have a great weekend 🙂
Well these are the most perfect things for Valentines day! YUMMY and adorable too! Cashews are my jam. 🙂
I like cashew over almond I think 🙂 Happy V-Day! Thanks!
I had a snowman silicon pan – I don’t know where it is! But you just reminded me to look for it lol
That’s a fun one!
These look amazing! It’s always funny to me how American people call chocolate candy 🙂 we only call chocolate chocolate and candy is for gummy type stuff! 🙂
Thanks! And yeah, I’m not a big fan of candy candy but chocolate can do no wrong for me 🙂
Pretty sure I’d make that in one giant sized mould and dig in myself….#singletonlife
You can keep them in the freezer so it’s worth it!
Those look so good!!! Yes it may have taken a few tries, but so worth it! Nice job lady! I LOVVVEE that valentines day is one of those days you can get away with eating chocolate galore 😉 Have a wonderful day!
It’s all about the chocolate! Happy Valentines Day to you!!
Ohmygoodness, I’ve just found another recipe that I’ll be eating on V-day all by myself haha! Can’t wait to make these!
This one is sooo good! Really simple too!
Pinning these! They look so good!
Thanks!
PINNING! this is brilliant. So easy yet looks so freaking delicious. My kind of recipe! Cant wait to try :):)
Yay! They really are so good – and easy too!
Uh oh. These are way too easy and way to addictive for me to be pinning. But I did it anyway. I made them as cups last night and proceeded to eat two immediately after they were set. I can’t wait to share with my kids 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Yay! This is one of my favorites and also one of the first treats of this kind I made. Glad you liked them!