All my friends and family know that Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year because I can eat as many Reese's as I want. I just can't resist the delicious chocolate and peanut butter combination. Recently, I became curious about alternatives to Reese's and started exploring chocolate peanut butter cups made from better and more natural ingredients to see how they compare. Below is a complete ranking, from worst to best, of the peanut butter cups I tried to help you find your preferred sweet treat for Halloween and year-round.
Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Unreal is a healthier candy brand—if such a thing exists. They use organic, gluten-free, and vegan ingredients, and their peanut butter cups contain only 5 grams of sugar. These are good to reach for when I'm looking for something healthier, but they do lack some of the flavor that I crave. The dark chocolate outside is rich and delicious, yet the peanut butter isn't smooth and has a cake-like texture. The peanut-butter-to-chocolate ratio is balanced, but, overall, this cup left me wanting more.
Justin’s White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Like Unreal, Justin’s focuses on incorporating natural and better ingredients into the foods we love. Justin’s main products are nut butters, and it shows in their cups. While the white chocolate was unnaturally sweet, the smooth peanut butter filling compensated for it, creating a sweet and salty snack. I am not a huge white chocolate fan due to its sweetness, but the deliciousness and quality of the peanut buttery inside did provide a nice contrast and balance to the white chocolate flavor.
Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Ranking just above its white-chocolate counterpart, Justin’s dark chocolate cups taste both delicious and natural. With 8 grams of sugar per cup, the cups have enough sweetness to satisfy my craving without giving me a sugar overload. The cup includes some of the best dark chocolate and peanut butter I have ever eaten, but it falls near the middle of the pack because the ratio is a bit off. This cup contains much more chocolate than peanut butter. Nonetheless, Justin’s is a great choice when you can’t justify a Reese’s but need a peanut butter cup in your life. Surprisingly, the white chocolate contains the same amount of sugar as the dark chocolate, yet, for both, I'd love more peanut butter to distract from the sweetness.
Theo Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious this cup is. It was my first time trying the Theo brand, and I expected a similar flavor profile to that of Justin’s peanut butter cups, but these cups are much larger and have more peanut butter, which I love. The peanut butter is less creamy than that of the Reese's or Justin's cups, but the peanut-butter-to-chocolate ratio is right up my alley. They're also heart-shaped, which is always an added bonus.
Reese’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Nothing can top the tried-and-true leading peanut butter cup brand. As soon as I bit into the Reese’s peanut butter cup, the winner was clear. With melt-in-your-mouth chocolate and peanut butter, everything about this cup is smooth and delicious. Though the combination of milk chocolate and sweetened peanut butter does create a super sweet cup, the peanut butter is also salty, and the cup is still delicious.
And there we have it. I spent my money on these overpriced and fancy peanut butter cups so that you don’t have to. Despite being higher in sugar and made from some not-as-good ingredients, Reese’s will forever be the chocolate peanut butter cup champion in my book. Now, you can embark on your own chocolate peanut butter cup adventure. If you are looking for the ultimate hands-on experience or a healthier option and are up for the task, I'd recommend making your own. The chocolate peanut butter cup possibilities are endless.