There are recipes that require a certain amount of commitment, and then there are recipes like these. These Pecan & Peanut Butter Fat Bombs are firmly in the second category. They take minutes to make, require no baking and can sit quite happily in your freezer until the moment you desperately need something chocolatey and sweet.
Now, I know I talk a lot about protein on Forever Forty, but this recipe isn’t pretending to be a high-protein snack. It isn’t. What it is, however, is a really satisfying little treat when you’re trying to cut back on sugar. There is something about the combination of chocolate, peanut butter and crunchy pecans that makes these feel much more indulgent than the effort involved in making them would suggest.
And, honestly, sometimes that’s exactly what you want. You don’t always need a snack to be packed with protein, contain 17 different superfoods and require a blender, three bowls and half an hour of your life. Sometimes you just want something sweet that hits the spot without sending you straight back into the kitchen looking for more.
My COVID-era fat bombs
I used to make these a lot during COVID, which was quite a strange period of my life. Like so many people, I suddenly found myself with an abundance of time and absolutely no idea what to do with it. My particular response was to decide that I was going to become pescatarian keto. Because apparently cutting out carbs wasn’t enough of a challenge.
I cut out chicken, beef, lamb, alcohol and carbs, which left me with a fairly impressive list of things I couldn’t eat. At that point I clearly needed a hobby, so I became a chef. Or, more accurately, I became someone who spent an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen trying to work out what on earth I could make that fitted my new way of eating.
I made some genuinely creative things during that time, but these weren’t one of them. They were simple, they were quick and they were ridiculously easy to eat. And that was precisely why I kept making them.
Because sometimes you don’t want the creative culinary masterpiece. Sometimes you want the recipe equivalent of sweatpants.
Why I still make them
The thing I particularly love about these is that you can make a batch and keep them in the freezer. This might sound like a small detail, but I think it makes a huge difference when you’re trying to cut down on sugar.
When a craving hits, you don’t have to start looking for something to make, convince yourself that a piece of fruit will satisfy you or stand in front of the cupboard eating handfuls of whatever you can find. You’ve already got something waiting for you. Take one out of the freezer, give it a few minutes and you’ve got a little chocolate treat ready to go.
The freezer also solves another problem: me and my complete inability to leave delicious things alone.
If I make a batch of something and leave it sitting on the kitchen counter, I can very easily convince myself that having “just one more” is a perfectly reasonable idea. When they’re in the freezer, there’s at least a small amount of effort involved. I have to actually decide to take one out. It sounds ridiculous, but sometimes that tiny bit of friction is enough.
What makes them so satisfying?
It’s really the combination of textures and flavours that makes these work. You’ve got the richness of the peanut butter and coconut oil, the bitterness of the cocoa and the crunch of the pecans. Add a little stevia or erythritol to take the edge off the cocoa and you end up with something that tastes surprisingly indulgent.
I would use a no-sugar-added peanut butter if you’re specifically trying to reduce your sugar intake. Peanut butter can vary quite a lot between brands, so it’s worth checking the label rather than assuming they’re all the same.
The pecans are also important. You don’t want to grind them into oblivion because the little crunchy pieces are what stop these from simply becoming frozen chocolate paste. I like chopping them fairly roughly so that you get different-sized pieces throughout.
They couldn’t be easier to make
This is one of those recipes where the instructions are almost embarrassingly simple. Melt your coconut oil, add it to the chopped pecans, peanut butter and cocoa powder, and mix everything together. Add your sweetener gradually and taste as you go until you’ve got the level of sweetness you like.
Then simply spoon the mixture into your moulds. I used mini cupcake papers when I originally made these, but silicone chocolate or confectionery moulds work really well too.
Pop them into the freezer for around five minutes and they should firm up nicely. Once they’re set, transfer them to a freezer-safe container and keep them frozen until you need them.
That’s genuinely it. No oven. No complicated technique. No waiting for something to cool for an hour. Just mix, freeze and eat.
The perfect little sugar-free treat
I’m not going to tell you that these are a replacement for every sweet craving because, let’s be honest, sometimes you want an actual piece of cake. But when what you’re looking for is that combination of chocolate + sweet + crunchy + satisfying, these do a surprisingly good job.
They’re particularly useful if you’re trying to get out of the habit of automatically reaching for something sugary whenever you fancy a treat. Having an option like this ready in the freezer means you can still have your little reward without necessarily turning it into a full-blown dessert situation.
And that, really, is why I think recipes like this deserve a place alongside all the high-protein meals and healthier recipes. Not every recipe has to tick every nutritional box. Sometimes a recipe earns its place simply because it helps you stick to the way you want to eat.
These are easy, they’re chocolatey, they keep beautifully in the freezer and they take about five minutes to make.
Sometimes that’s more than enough.
Pecan & Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp peanut butter no sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1-2 tbsp stevia or erythrithol to taste
Instructions
- Mix the pecans, melted coconut oil, peanut butter, cocoa powder and sweetner together in a bowl until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into small silicone moulds or mini cupcake cases. I used mini hearts silicone mould.
- Place in the freezer for around 10 minutes, or until firm.
- Store in freezer and take one out whenever you need a little chocolate fix.
Forever Forty tip
Don’t overthink the sweetener. Start with a small amount and taste the mixture before adding more. Cocoa powder can be quite bitter, but you don’t need to make these intensely sweet for them to feel like a treat.
And if you’re anything like me, make a double batch and keep them tucked away in the freezer. Future-you will be very pleased when the 9pm chocolate craving arrives.