If you are a choco-holic like me, then this post is for you! I love chocolate. Actually, I love sweets. I crave something sweet after I eat a meal. About a year and a half ago, I started looking for healthier ways to satisfy my sweet tooth.  I turned to chocolate that was dairy/soy free and sweetened with things like coconut sugar. I love Eating Evolved chocolate bars (check out their website- they have lots of good stuff!) and Enjoy Life chocolate chips. More recently, some friends have introduced me to Hu chocolate bars and Hail Merry tarts. They are all SO good! But, they can get pretty expensive (especially at the rate I buy them!). So, I tried making my own salted dark chocolate almond butter cups. And they are amazing! I'm already addicted. Something about sweet and salty together really gets me. I only used four ingredients, and I already had most of the ingredients at my house. If you have a sweet tooth like me, here's what you'll need:

• A 12 cup chocolate candy mold (pictured below)
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life's chips because they are dairy and soy free)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• Almond butter (I use Trader Joe's creamy salted almond butter)
• Sea salt

To begin, I added the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave safe dish. I add the coconut oil because it thins the chocolate out and makes it easier to pour the chocolate into the molds.

I put the chips and coconut oil in the microwave on defrost for 1 minute and 30 seconds. I stopped the microwave every 30 seconds to stir the chips and to make sure they were not burning. Chocolate can easily burn in the microwave. It gets hard and lumpy- you don't want that! Make sure to check the chocolate frequently as every microwave is different. When the chocolate was smooth, I spooned the melted chocolate into the molds. I purchased my candy mold at A.C. Moore for a few dollars.

I filled the molds about 1/3 full.

Once each cup had the first layer of chocolate, I popped the mold into the freezer for about three minutes. This was just long enough for the chocolate to set a little. The chocolate doesn't need to be rock hard, but it helps to have it hardened just a bit. Next, I removed the mold from the freezer and added a spoon full of creamy almond butter to each cup. I just eyeballed the amount, but it was about another 1/3 of the cup. My goal was to make three even layers (chocolate, almond butter, and then chocolate again). I used Trader Joe's creamy almond butter because it's smooth and thin which makes it easy to spoon into the cups. It also only has three ingredients (almonds, cashews, and sea salt).

Then I added the third layer which was another layer of the melted dark chocolate.  Lastly, I grinded some sea salt over the top of the cups (YUM). How good do these look?!

Then into the freezer they went. I let the cups in the freezer overnight to set. The almond butter needs a few hours to harden. I store the cups in the freezer because I love my chocolate cold (I store all of our chocolate in the fridge or freezer) and because the coconut oil in the chocolate causes the chocolate to melt pretty quickly. I'm warning you, these treats are very addictive! I dare you to make them and only eat one. I have yet to be able to do that and I've made a few batches! This recipe makes 12 cups, and I bet they won't last long!