Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups — ENGINEERED

Munch or Dump rates Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups by Skinny Dipped ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

A 'better-for-you' candy engineered to hit low-sugar numbers with chicory root fiber and palm kernel oil, not a genuinely clean treat.

Why this verdict

• Palm kernel oil, a refined tropical oil, replaces real cocoa butter
• Chicory root fiber added to dilute the sugar count on the label
• Three sugar sources: cane sugar, maple sugar, and more added sugar
• Alkalized cocoa and sunflower lecithin mark it as processed candy
• NOVA 4 engineered snack, not a whole-food treat

Ingredients (13)

• peanut butter (safe) — Real ground peanuts, good protein and healthy fats
• CHOCOLATE LIQUOR (safe) — Ground cocoa, source of flavanols
• Sugar (moderate) — Added refined sugar; spikes blood sugar and turns a milky base into a dessert.
• Cocoa Butter (safe) — Natural fat from the cocoa bean; a clean ingredient.
• Palm Kernel Oil (concerning) — Refined tropical oil high in saturated fat, used to firm and cheapen the shell
• chicory root fiber (moderate) — Added prebiotic fiber that pads the label and can cause bloating/gas in quantity
• peanut flour (safe) — Defatted ground peanut; adds protein and peanut flavor.
• NONFAT DRY MILK (moderate) — Dried milk solids for creaminess
• Maple sugar (moderate) — A second added sugar; still sugar despite the natural halo
• Cocoa powder (processed with alkali) (moderate) — Alkalized (Dutched) cocoa; fine for flavor but the alkali process strips much of the beneficial flavanols.
• Sea Salt (safe) — Standard seasoning in small amounts.
• Sunflower Lecithin (moderate) — An emulsifier used to bind the bar; generally recognized as safe but a marker of processed formulation.
• vanilla (safe) — Real flavoring