Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Cups

These vegan chocolate pumpkin seed butter cups are totally scrumptious! Pumpkin seed butter, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin spice combine into a sweet chocolaty morsel that’ll leave you wanting another… and another… and another. These healthy treats are lightly sweetened with maple syrup and packed with iron, magnesium, and zinc.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve fallen fast and hard for pumpkin seed butter.

With apologies to peanut butter, pumpkin seed butter has much more going for it from a nutritional perspective. Pumpkin seed butter is packed with iron, zinc, and magnesium: a two tablespoon serving supplies 23 percent of your recommended daily intake of iron; 14 percent of your recommended daily intake of zinc; and 37 percent of your recommended daily intake of magnesium!

Minerals aren’t all that pumpkin seed butter has to offer: it’s also an excellent source of protein, providing 10 grams per 2 tablespoon serving. Indeed, it is an excellent food for athletes and fitness buffs: not only is its protein content impressive, but it is also a source of the conditionally essential amino acid L-Arginine. You might have heard that L-Arginine helps to increase blood flow, the reason being that it is the precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide (which I discussed in my previous post with regard to beets). Nitric oxide is a signalling molecule to the vascular system, which can amplify blood flow and nutrients.

I’d been enjoying pumpkin seed butter on my toast for quite some time until I came up with the idea of using it as a nut butter cup filling! (Because research has shown that people are far more likely to eat something that is good for them when it’s all wrapped up in chocolate. 😉 )

Sometimes, inspiration strikes like a lightning bolt, and that certainly happened with this recipe. Pumpkin seed butter definitely had to be the base, but I couldn’t ignore the impulse to add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, too! Triple the pumpkin = triple the fun.

how to make these chocolate pumpkin seed butter cups

These healthy chocolate pumpkin seed butter cups are a breeze to prepare. All that you need to do to begin with is melt some dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips with a tiny bit of coconut oil.

In a bowl, stir together pumpkin seed butter, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice (homemade or store-bought), maple syrup, oat flour, and sea salt. Refrigerate this mixture for a few minutes to firm up. Then divide into 8 equal balls and lightly flatten into disks.

Line a muffin pan with 8-12 paper liners and add 2 teaspoon of melted chocolate to each. (I opted to make 8 pumpkin seed butter cups and 5 pumpkin seed butter balls; hence the range in number of paper liners there). Place a pumpkin seed butter disk into the chocolate and top each with 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate. Freeze for 30 minutes before enjoying.

These pumpkin seed butter and pumpkin spice chocolate cups require just a few ingredients- most of which you probably have on hand already. Pumpkin seed butter can be found in many grocery stores, health food stores, and online. Or, if you have a food processor, you can make your own! To make homemade pumpkin seed butter, toast 3 cups of raw shelled pumpkin seeds (sometimes called pepitas) in a 300 degree F oven for 12 minutes. Once cool, process in the food processor until a butter forms, 10-15 minutes.

Clearly, I just can’t let pumpkin season go too easily, huh? I hope you don’t mind! If you love pumpkin as much as I do, be sure to look at my pumpkin spice oatmeal blender pancakes, pumpkin spice almond butter brownies, and pumpkin spice latte recipes, too!

If you make these vegan chocolate pumpkin seed butter cups, let me know by leaving a comment and a rating below this post. And don’t forget to post a photo to Instagram with @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen! I love seeing your delicious recreations.

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I’d love to know how long you can make a batch of these babies last! Ours were gone within a couple of days.

See you soon with a meaty veggie burger recipe that’s sure to brighten up your weekend. Enjoy!