No-Bake Chocolate Mint Cups (Vegan and gluten free) - Phase 3

No-Bake Chocolate Mint Cups (V)
Phase 3
Makes 12 standard servings of healthy fat and each is a partial grain


1 cup rolled oats
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 T cacao powder
pinch of fine sea salt
½ cup melted and cooled coconut oil


Chocolate Filling:

½ cup raw cacao or Hershey’s regular cocoa powder
½ cup coconut milk (from a can)*
½ cup Vegan Butter (recipe on my blog)
½ cup xylitol or stevia/pure monk fruit equivalent
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

*note about canned coconut milk: If you buy a quality coconut milk, it will be about 2/3 cream and 1/3 watery liquid. This is generally not possible to shake up to blend, so simply pour everything into a blender and blend on low until smooth. Pour into a jar to store leftover in fridge for another recipe

Line a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with little strips of parchment paper or cupcake liners and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the oats, pecans, coconut, cacao powder, and salt. Pulse the mixture until everything is finely chopped.

Add coconut oil to the food processor. Pulse until a sticky “dough” starts to come together. Pinch it between your fingers to make sure that it will hold together. Place the dough in the fridge for about 5 minutes, just to firm up.

In the muffin tin, drop about 3 tablespoons of the dough into each cup. Lightly spread it out with your fingers. Then, with the bottom of a shot glass (or something similarly sized), press an indent into each portion of dough to form a “cup.” Place the prepared cups in the fridge while you make the ganache.

Make the ganache. Put the cacao, milk, vegan butter, sweetener in a sauce pan and whisk until smooth. Put on medium heat and whisk until very smooth and sweetener is dissolved/melted. Carefully taste and adjust sweetener, if you wish. Whisk in the mint extract.

Retrieve the cups from the fridge. Divide the ganache evenly among the cups. Place the peppermint ganache cups in the fridge to set for at least 6 hours- overnight is better. When ready to serve, let the cups sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before carefully running a paring knife around the edges of each cup to release (unless you used a cupcake liner) Keep the ganache cups on a plate in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and shredded coconut if you like!