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Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Hearts are PERFECT for Valentine’s Day! They taste just like a Reese’s milk chocolate peanut butter heart… but a million times better because they’re homemade! And their adorable heart shape is sure to make anyone swoon!
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Hearts
Valentine’s day is quickly approaching, my friends! Instead of buying boxed chocolate from the sweet shop (or worse, grocery store), let’s make some, ok?
Making homemade candy is a fun and rewarding process. And I think the results speak for themselves! I mean, just look at these gorgeous chocolate covered peanut butter hearts!!! Who wouldn’t swoon over a box of these?! I make them – along with my lemon sugar cookie hearts – every year!
Peanut Butter Hearts: Ingredients
- Confectioner’s Sugar: For the best results, sift the sugar before use.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: My brand recommendation is JIF. Don’t sub chunky peanut butter or natural peanut butter in this recipe.
- Unsalted Butter: Bring it to room temperature before use.
- Salt: Fine sea salt works best.
- Vanilla Extract: In a pinch, you can skip this.
- Milk: Whole milk works best but any milk will work.
- Chocolate: Use dark or milk chocolate, based on your taste preference.
- Pink Nonpareils: If you can find them, they add a cute festive feel to these peanut butter hearts.
Shaping the Hearts
- You want your dough to be soft and easily pinched together, without being wet or sticky. I like to think of it as playdoh; it should be just a little crumbly but effortlessly obey your hands when molded into shape.
- If the dough feels too sticky, simply add a little more confectioners’ sugar. If the dough is too dry a splash of milk is your friend.
- You can use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to make the peanut butter hearts.
- Or scoop out a ball of the filling, press flat with the palm of your hand., and shape it into a heart.
- The most important part is just remember not to make them too thin. They should be at least 1/4 of an inch in thickness. This helps them keep their shape during the chocolate dipping process.
Dip the Hearts in Chocolate
- You’ll dip the hearts after you shape and freeze them. You need to freeze them for about an hour and a half.
- Freezing is important because the dough is soft and will easily loose it’s shape if you dunk it before they’re frozen.
- I prefer semi-sweet or dark chocolate for this recipe, since the peanut butter filling is already quite sweet. But you can use milk chocolate if desired.
- You can decorate the hearts with pink and white sprinkles, flaky sea salt, or leave them plain.
I adapted this recipe from my Salted Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs!
More Peanut Butter Recipes:
- Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cups
- Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
- Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Truffles
Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Hearts are PERFECT for Valentine’s Day! They taste just like a Reese's milk chocolate peanut butter heart… but a million times better because they’re homemade! And their adorable heart shape is sure to make anyone swoon!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (340g) confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 16 ounce jar (454g) creamy peanut butter JIF or something similar
- 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons (42ml) whole milk
- 20 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil optional
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang on two of the sides, you’ll use them as handles to easily remove the mixture later. Set aside until needed.
- In a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, or in the body of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, sea salt, and vanilla. Beat on medium-low speed until well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until it becomes a nice workable dough. It should be a little sticky, but easy to work with. The texture should be similar to play-dough. If it’s too sticky, add in more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. If it’s too dry, add in more milk, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Press the peanut butter mixture into the prepared baking pan. Smooth into the pan by placing a sheet of plastic wrap over the surface, then gently pressing it with your hands until it’s evenly spread across the bottom of the pan.
- Place the pan in the freezer and chill for exactly 90 minutes. In the meantime, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Once the 90 minutes are up, remove the pan from the freezer. Then use the parchment paper handles to remove the peanut butter mixture from the pan.
- Using a 2” heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can. Don’t waste any peanut butter mixture, instead gather the scraps, gently knead them into a ball, and press back into a flat surface. This little trick should get you about 5 extra hearts.
- Carefully transfer the cut hearts to the prepared baking sheet, then place them back in the freezer for another 90 minutes, or until completely firm.
- About 20 minutes before you plan on dipping your hearts, melt your chocolate.
- Heat the chocolate and coconut oil (if using) in a double boiler over simmering water. Cook until the chocolate is completely melted. Carefully remove bowl from heat and set aside.
- Place the bottom of a peanut butter heart onto a fork, and dip it into the chocolate, letting it completely submerge before pulling it back up and placing it back on the parchment lined sheet. Sprinkle with nonpareils if using. Then repeat with all hearts.
- Place the chocolate dipped hearts back in the freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to harden. Store covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks, or until needed.
Tried it and loved it?Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @Bakerbynature and by using the hashtag #BakerByNature
These are my ultimate Valentine. Pb and dark chocolate in the shape of hearts?? I WANT EM!
These are so fun and they look delicious!!!
These look amazing – I had made something similar a couple of years ago and never bothered to blog the recipe but I remember how incredibly addictive they are. Yum. Gorgeous photos too! Pinned : )
Hi Lucy! Thank you so much for the sweet compliments 🙂 These are definitely addictive!
I am SO IN LOVE WITH THESE! Literally, because they’re hearts and figuratively because they are chocolate and peanut butter and SO CUTE! Pinned!
Thank you, Taylor <3
Ooh amazing, I love how these are heart shaped – so original!
Thank you so much, Kerry 🙂
These are so adorable, and I could easily eat every single one!
It is too easy to eat them all 😉 Thanks Marcie!
Oh my goodness, I’m not sure I could make these for anyone but myself this Valentine’s Day because I would eat them all before they got away!
I may have had this same exact problem 😉
These are so adorable! This would be perfect to make with my four year old. He would have a blast. Although I know I would be busy making hearts while he’s making Darth Vaders 🙂
Ha! If he can make a darth vader chocolate covered peanut butter figure I think that’s AWESOME! I make these with my nieces all the time and they always have a (very messy) blast 😉
Yum! And, I just bought the corresponding Girl Scout cookies because of this same flavor combination!
There’s nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter 😉
Where is the actual recipe, I would love to try them.
Hi Lisa. There is a link right in the post. Just click on it and it will take you there. If you still don’t see it, let me know 😉
The link no longer works 🙁
Hi Alison. The link does work, I just tested it out on 3 different computers. Here is a link since you’re having an issue clicking on the one in the post: http://bakerbynature.com/salted-chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-eggs/
Peanut butter and chocolate.. my favorite combination! Pinned it:)