Matcha coconut butter cups filled with creamy oozy almond butter. With easy options for vegan, paleo, and refined-sugar-free, these decadent almond butter cups taste like a treat, but are a perfect healthy snack packed with healthy fats and protein. 

Working from home can be dangerous for a perpetual snacker like myself. This past year has exacerbated my snack habit now that I've added having my kids home full-time to the mix. I find myself popping into the pantry or the fridge just for a moment of respite from the noise, often looking for something sweet. 

Matcha Coconut Butter Cups

And that's when I decided I needed to have some healthy protein-packed snacks on hand. These little matcha coconut almond butter cups filled with creamy oozy almond butter are so satisfying, and they're high in healthy fats that keep you full longer.

The creamy matcha coconut butter shell pairs nutty grassy matcha with the tropical sweet nuttiness of coconut. 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 a healthier option that's much less rich. 

Matcha Coconut Almond Butter Cup Ingredients

These coconut butter cups are made with simple ingredients and can easily be made vegan, by subbing maple syrup for honey. And to make paleo almond butter cups, also leave the sugar out of the shell. 

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 nutritious and packed with protein. 

What is coconut butter

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. 

While you can buy coconut butter by the jar, you can easily make it at home for a fraction of the price using desiccated coconut. Just 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. 

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. 

How to Make Creamy Almond Butter Cup Filling

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. 

How to Make Coconut butter cups

To turn the coconut butter into coconut butter cups, add a tablespoon of coconut oil to help it set up, and flavor it with sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. For a matcha version, blend in matcha powder. 

1. Spoon 1 teaspoon of matcha coconut butter into a lined mini muffin tin. 
2. Scoop 1 teaspoon of frozen creamy almond butter filling flatted into a disc into the center of the coconut butter. 
3. Spoon 1 teaspoon of matcha coconut butter over the top, adding more to smooth out the top, as needed. 
4. Sprinkle with chopped toasted almonds and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until firm.

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!

Substitutions

• 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.
• Sugar: To make these coconut butter cups refined-sugar-free and paleo, 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. 

How to store Coconut Almond Butter Cups

These matcha coconut almond butter cups 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.