These cookie cups are a cross between an almond butter cup and a cowboy cookie. Chewy gluten-free oats*, coconut, and crunchy nuts are dipped in silky chocolate for a no-bake dessert with no refined sugar, gluten, or dairy!

or these salted caramel chocolate cups (from Creme de la Crumb). This dish came up as a result of a hunger and an unwillingness to get out of bed on a Saturday morning. I, like most people on Pinterest, have drooled over this photo of almond butter cups (from Pinch of Yum), and

They’re dessert nirvana, carefully portioned. They’re like Reese’s peanut butter cups, but without all the stuff you can’t name, and even better since they’re handcrafted and customized to your preferences.

So, one Saturday morning, I was in my bed, surrounded by blankets and pillows, unwilling to get out since it was winter and effing chilly. I grabbed my phone and began looking through Pinterest for a breakfast meal that would entice me to leave my blanket cocoon and travel down three flights of stairs to the kitchen.

I couldn’t locate one.

But all I did discover was those two blasted photographs repeated on my feed. They summoned me. They were pleading with me to go downstairs, melt some things, and mix it all together. However, for some reason, none of them felt completely at ease. I didn’t want salted caramel, and the almond butter filling alone wasn’t enough.

I determined that what I really wanted were cookies. I wanted cookies that were packed with all sorts of goodies; no plain chocolate chip cookies for me that day. Hearty cookies with oats, almonds, coconut, and cinnamon. Cookies with a cowboy theme.

But I also wanted them to be chocolate-covered, not simply loaded with chocolate chips.

Even with the YOLO excuse, it looked like chocolate coated cowboy cookies were stretching it as a breakfast choice. So I thought, why not mix cowboy cookies with almond butter cups and make them paleo?

It is a task for which I am willing to get out of bed.

Easy to make

To be honest, it wasn’t all that difficult to make. I began with the almond butter foundation and gradually added the other ingredients until I achieved the desired texture.

I wanted them to be meaty rather than runny. I didn’t want to bite into anything that would flow out; instead, I wanted it to remain in tact so that the messiness element was kept to a minimum.

You’ll always wind up with chocolaty fingers, but that’s a badge of pride in my opinion.

Adjust accordingly

Feel free to tweak to your liking, but if you appreciate the uncertainty of not knowing whether you’ll end up wearing your meal, use more almond butter and less of the rest. You are a wild youngster.

On top, sprinkle with sea salt and chopped coconut. It helps them look nice, and the salt brings out the taste of the chocolate (its a thing).

How many cowboy cookie cups does this recipe make?

If you want to share, bear in mind that this creates 12 cupcake-sized cups (diameter-wise, not height-wise, which would be INTENSE). I’d hate for you to undervalue yourself because you’re a wonderful person!