Matcha Coconut Almond Butter Cups

Matcha coconut butter cups filled with creamy oozy almond butter. These decadent almond butter cups taste like a treat, but are a perfect snack!

The creamy matcha coconut butter shell pairs nutty grassy matcha with the tropical sweet nuttiness of coconut, much like my Hawaiian Matcha Mochi Cake. Against a honey-sweetened creamy almond butter that further compliments the flavor of matcha, these cups are decadent without being overly sweet.

The idea for the coconut butter shell is inspired by Salted Plains' coconut golden milk cups and these vanilla bean coconut butter peanut butter cups made by Edible Perspective. I'd been wanting to make a matcha shell "cup," but that much white chocolate felt like too much sweetness. Coconut butter subs in as an option that's much less rich. 

Matcha Coconut Almond Butter Cup Ingredients

These coconut butter cups are made with simple ingredients!

The shell is made of unsweetened shredded coconut, blended with just a tiny bit of coconut oil, sugar, matcha, vanilla, and salt. With a simple creamy almond butter and honey filling, these cups are packed with protein. 

Coconut butter, which is different than coconut oil, is made by grinding the flesh of a coconut - in this case, unsweetened shredded coconut - into creamy butter. 

Recipe Testing Notes

I tested these matcha coconut butter cups with no fewer than 10 different filling options, looking for a filling that was both ultra gooey and creamy without being overly sweet - one that complimented the matcha without competing. 

• Start with super creamy roasted almond butter. I use freshly ground almond butter from my local market that has no other ingredients besides roasted almonds. If your almond butter is a little more firm, try putting it in the blender to make it smoother and creamier.
• Sweeten with warm honey or maple syrup + coconut oil. If you add just maple syrup of honey to almond butter, it will seize and you'll end up with hard dough-like almond butter, more akin to a store-bought peanut butter cup filling. To keep the filling creamy, heat the honey with less than a teaspoon of coconut oil before adding it to the almond butter. 
• Freeze the sweetened almond butter into a dough. To keep the almond butter in the center, without it oozing out the sides of the cups, freeze the almond butter for 10-20 minutes until it's firm enough to scoop as little balls. 

What kind of Matcha to use?

For a flavorful matcha cup that tastes smooth and creamy, use high-quality matcha. Cheap low-quality matcha can easily taste like bitter dirt, without any of the pleasant umami notes. Since these matcha coconut cups are matcha-forward, it's key that you start with good matcha. 

My favorite is Encha Organic Latte Grade, but you can also check out my ultimate guide to matcha to learn more about how to pick a delicious matcha brand! 

As an added bonus, using quality matcha will also make sure your cups look as bright green as mine.

Recipe

Matcha Coconut Almond Butter Cups

yields: 16 cups

prep time: 20 minutes mins

cook time: 10 minutes mins

total time: 30 minutes mins

Matcha coconut butter cups filled with creamy oozy almond butter. With easy options for vegan or refined-sugar-free, these decadent almond butter cups taste like a treat, but are a perfect snack!

5 from 4 reviews

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Ingredients

Almond Butter Filling:

• ▢ 3 tablespoons honey, or sub maple syrup for vegan
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons coconut oil
• ▢ ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons creamy and smooth roasted almond butter, see note
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Matcha Coconut Butter Shell:

• ▢ 2.25 cups (215 g) unsweetened shredded coconut, see note
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar, or sub coconut sugar, but NOT honey or maple, or leave out
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons high-quality matcha powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ Optional: 3 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds, for garnish

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INSTRUCTIONS

• Line a mini muffin tray with 16 paper liners.
• Prepare the almond butter filling. See note below about creamy almond butter. Combine the honey or maple syrup in a small bowl with the coconut oil and microwave together for 20-30 seconds, until it begins to bubble. Pour the warmed honey into a small bowl with the almond butter and mix until creamy and smooth. Transfer to the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up while you make the shell.
• Make the coconut butter. Place the unsweetened dried shredded coconut in a high-powered blender or food processor and blend on high for several minutes until it turns into a thin creamy butter that drips off a spoon. I use the small blender of my high-powered Blendtec blender and it takes less than two minutes, but if you're using a food processor or low-powered blender, it can take up to ten minutes. 
• Add melted coconut oil, sugar, matcha, vanilla extract, and salt and blend until completely combined. The mixture should be creamy and pourable.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon of matcha coconut butter into a lined mini muffin tin. Scoop 1 teaspoon of frozen creamy almond butter filling flatted into a disc into the center of the coconut butter. Spoon 1 teaspoon of matcha coconut butter over the top, adding more to smooth out the top, as needed.
• Sprinkle with chopped toasted almonds and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until just firm. Note, you can also place them in the fridge to firm but, but because they'll firm up slower, you'll end up with ripples in the top. Remove from freezer, and store in the fridge for up to a week. See post above for storage options.

Notes

These are best stored in the refrigerator, though they'll last for a day on the counter. When left for longer at room temperature, the matcha oxidizes and they turn a muddy light green-brown color, though the flavor isn't affected.

You can keep them for up to a week in the fridge or 2 months in an airtight container in the freezer. Defrost the frozen cups at room temperature before eating.

Eat these cups straight out of the fridge when the firm shell snaps, giving way to a creamy gooey filling. Or leave them at room temperature for an hour when the shell becomes creamier like milk chocolate.

Almond Butter

I use freshly ground almond butter from my local market that has no other ingredients besides roasted almonds. If your almond butter is a little more firm, try putting it in the blender to make it smoother and creamier.

Substitutions

• Unsweetened shredded coconut: You can replace the unsweetened shredded coconut with store-bought coconut butter, by weight. It will be solid at room temperature. Heat it for a few seconds in the microwave and place it in the blender or food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. I do not recommend using flaked coconut or sweetened shredded coconut.If you don't have a small blender jar or if your food processor bowl is particularly large, you might find you need to double the coconut butter recipe to have enough in your jar to get it smooth.
• Sugar: To make these coconut butter cups refined-sugar-free, you can leave out the sugar from the shell or sub in coconut sugar, though the green color will be a bit muddier. Do not add liquid sweetener to the coconut butter or it will seize up into a firm dough, making it impossible to pour into the cups. 
• Honey: Sub out the honey in the filling for equal parts heated maple syrup. The maple syrup filling also ranked highly in our taste-tests, but I slightly preferred the honey notes paired with matcha.
• Almond Butter: Sub out with peanut butter or cashew butter, as desired! Alternatively, use date paste tossed with chopped nuts.