Of course, if you ask me, the store-bought version tastes a little too sweet, so I wanted to try to make a healthier version at home. These homemade chocolate-covered peanut butter pumpkins are naturally sweetened with dates and take just minutes to prepare. They’ll help you quickly satisfy your sweet tooth, without a crazy sugar crash later.
I love making healthy desserts with dates because they are a great source of iron, which can help prevent anemia. They are also a good source of minerals like magnesium, manganese, and selenium, which are important for bone health. You can make your own chocolate coating to keep these healthy Halloween treats naturally-sweetened, or for a faster preparation you can simply melt your favorite dark chocolate bar, instead.
Either way, this treat will be lower in sugar than store-bought peanut butter cups and I think they taste even better. (Especially with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt on top.) I hope you’ll enjoy them, too!
Recipe Notes:
You can use any nut butter you like in this recipe, just keep in mind that it will change the flavor. Almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower butter, or tahini should all work just fine. I used a drippy, all-natural peanut butter for this recipe, so I recommend using a nut or seed butter with a similar consistency for similar results. Depending on the cookie cutter you use, you could make more or less than 20 pieces. I had a small bat-shaped cookie cutter that would have probably made closer to 40-50 pieces! This is the cookie stamp set I used to make the pumpkins and ghosts. For a dairy-free and soy-free chocolate coating, I like to use Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips or Eating Evolved Chocolate Bars if you’re going the store-bought route. Use this recipe for a homemade chocolate coating. Need a date-free option? Try my Healthier Peanut Butter Eggs recipe.
As always, please leave a comment below if you make any modifications to this recipe, so we can all benefit from your experience! — Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite Halloween candy? SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave
