I am hosting book club in February so it’s always fun to find a few sweet treats I can make for my friends. And when I find two treats that can be made ahead of time, it’s a win-win situation for me.

Mostly. More on that later.

So, what did I pick?

  • Crowded Kitchen’s Double Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups with Raspberry Chia Jam
  • Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds

These treats appealed to me for very different reasons.

I always wanted to try to make some version of a homemade nut butter cup, and honestly thought they would be difficult to make. Would they be worth the effort or should I just head to the store and grab a bag of candy?

But when I found a recipe that paired cashew butter with raspberry chia jam, it was a no-brainer that I would finally delve into homemade nut butter cups.

I’m glad I did!

And the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds were just a no-brainer. I love chocolate. I love almonds. I love a very simple recipe that can be made in less than 30 minutes.

Done deal.

However, let’s be real. You’ll want both of these more often than just on Valentine’s day.

Simple to Make−Double Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups with Raspberry Chia Jam

Get the recipe from: Crowded Kitchen

A make-at-home, unique take on one of the most loved candies (yes, I’m talking about you, Reese’s peanut butter cups), you’ll be amazed how simple these are to make.

But they were more than that.

Stick with me when I say they were a zen experience.

Maybe I just needed an afternoon in my kitchen.

Or maybe I zoned out to the hum of the food processor.

Or…maybe I lost myself in the chocolate stirring−all that silky, glossy chocolate goodness. It was like watching a fire. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Could be any of the above. Or all of the above.

Whatever it was, I left the kitchen wondering why I waited so long to try making these one-bite delights.

Left: Cashew Butter ingredients. Right: Raspberry Chia Jam ingredients.

Six things to know about the Double Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups wtih Raspberry Chia Jam recipe:

  • These are the perfect make-ahead treat. And no need to worry about keeping them fresh either, as I guarantee they’ll disappear quickly.
  • Both the cashew butter and jam preparations are very Simple to Make. Get started with the cashew butter as it does take some time to come together. While it’s processing, work on the raspberry chia jam.
Raspberry chia jam before it sets in the fridge.
  • My cashew butter came out thicker than I think it was supposed to. When I hear cashew butter, I imagine a spreadable texture. That’s not what I ended up with but the taste is there and that’s what matters.
Cashew Butter preparation.
  • I used an equal mix of 77% dark chocolate and 55% dark chocolate. This is where you can play with your food. Like really, really dark chocolate? Pick the highest percentage you can find. Like something a bit lighter? Drop that percentage or do a mix like I did.
My dark chocolate mix. Sadly, no Golden Ticket.
  • Painting the mini muffin liners was so much fun! Honestly, I kind of dreaded this part as I assumed it would be messy and hard to do. But, I used a silicone basting brush that made the process very zen. The chocolate easily coated the liners and filled in all the grooves. I found myself sort of sad when I finished painting them all.
Cashew Butter Cup assembly.
  • I ended up with a lot of extra cashew butter and raspberry chia jam. I mean A LOT. So much that I’m going to have to make more of these cups or find a few other options to use up the leftovers. Cashew butter and raspberry chia jam sandwich anyone???

These little one-bite delights might just make it onto my regular rotation of make-at-home sweets.

Let us know what you think when you make this recipe.

Prepped and ready for the freezer!

Simple to Make−Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds

Get the recipe from: Sally’s Baking Addiction

I could eat these all day.

And apparently so could my husband and daughter.

This is where that win-win situation I talked about earlier turns into a win-lose situation.

I made these in advance for my book club and I needed them to last until then (literally less than a week).

However, the almonds were in grave danger (is there any other kind?) of disappearing before then.

I caught my daughter sneaking into them three times the night I made them.

Sigh…

I can’t blame her.

But I can yell at her to not eat them all before my book club. Mother-of-the-Year candidate here.

Only 4 ingredients!

Six things to know about the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds recipe:

  • These 4-ingredient almonds are so, so Simple to Make! Other than melting the chocolate, they are just an assembly process.
  • I used semi-sweet chocolate and I needed more than the 6 ounces indicated for the recipe. I really think it will depend on how heavily you coat your almonds. Mine were a smidge heavy on the chocolate. I’m not sorry.
  • The easiest way to coat the almonds (for me) was to dump a handful into the chocolate, stir them around until they were coated, then pull them out individually with a fork. I tried individually coating them, but that took forever and my patience waned.
Almond-enrobing station.
  • I used sugar in the raw instead of turbinado sugar. That’s what I had on hand and the pretty gold color made my heart happy.
Yummy goodness on a Silpat mat.
  • Store these in an air-tight container once they fully set. Hide them from your family if you’re making them for an event.
  • These would make great gifts. Hostess gift, holiday gift, just-because gift. You get the idea.

Drop us a note in the comments and let us know if your family is as big of a fan as my family is.

Hello Love!