These chocolate peanut butter hearts are made with pure love, and a little bit of chocolate and peanut butter of course. Only 5 ingredients are needed to make these no-bake goodies packed with the classic salty-sweet combination we can’t get enough of.
Why this recipe works
Valentine’s Day calls for all kinds of adorable sweet treats! With heart oreo truffles and conversation heart cookies already in our arsenal, it was the perfect time to roll out this chocolate peanut butter hearts recipe. These homemade peanut butter and chocolate candies are great for gifting to neighbors or loved ones or to stash away in the freezer to snack on throughout the month.
They’re as simple to make as they look. You’ll combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt with a mixer then roll it out flat to make a base for you to stamp into with a cookie cutter. Then, dip the hearts into melted chocolate and let them set. Lastly, try not to devour in one sitting.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
PEANUT BUTTER – You’ll want to use creamy peanut butter for this recipe. Depending on a few factors (such as your peanut butter, the humidity, etc.), you may need slightly more powdered sugar for the peanut butter mixture to achieve the right consistency. It should feel like Play-Doh and easily roll out, but not be too mushy.
CHOCOLATE – We are using milk chocolate. You can use either chocolate chips or a bar of chopped chocolate for the coating. While candy melts will work for this, they are much sweeter and taste more artificial compared to regular chocolate. Feel free to substitute with dark chocolate, white chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate in place of milk chocolate.
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Add the powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt to a large bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat until well combined. Towards the end, it helps to knead the mixture with your hands, as if you were making bread dough. Form the peanut butter mixture into a ball.
- Place a piece of parchment paper down on your countertop and lightly dust the paper with powdered sugar. Put the peanut butter ball on top, and then sprinkle on a little more powdered sugar. Roll it out to a circle about 9 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick.
- Use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to stamp out as many hearts as you can. Gather the scraps, re-roll them, and stamp out more hearts, continuing this way until all the peanut butter mixture is gone.
- Arrange the peanut butter hearts on a parchment-lined baking tray. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes, or in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or a double boiler.
- Dip the chilled peanut butter hearts in the melted chocolate, and then place them back onto the parchment paper so the chocolate can set. If there’s extra chocolate, you can drizzle it decoratively on top.
- Let the chocolate harden before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Store your fully cooled and hardened chocolate peanut butter hearts in an air-tight container, separating the layers with parchment paper, at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 6-7 days.Â
Yes, you can freeze these peanut butter hearts. After the chocolate has hardened and they are fully cooled, move the hearts to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flash freeze until solid then transfer to an air-tight container or large ziptop bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Enjoy frozen or allow them to thaw at room temperature.
The exact number of chocolate peanut butter hearts you get will depend on the size of your heart-shaped cookie cutter. We used a cookie cutter about 2 1/4 inches wide and got 20 hearts (after re-rolling all the scraps).
Serving Suggestions
You can easily switch up your cookie cutter shape to make these for other holidays. Try an egg-shaped cutter for Easter, a pumpkin for Halloween, a shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day, and so on.
For garnish, use any leftover chocolate to drizzle over the hearts, or melt some red, pink, or white wafers down to drizzle on top. Valentine-themed sprinkles also make a cute addition. For gift giving, wrap the peanut butter hearts up in a cellophane baggie and tie with a bow or line them inside small bakery boxes.
More Related Recipes
- Peanut Butter Cups
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
- Valentine Muddy Buddies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
- Valentine’s Day Heart Cupcakes
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 â…” cups powdered sugar plus more for rolling out peanut butter mixture
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter such as Skippy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces milk chocolate chopped. or chocolate chips
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- Depending on a few factors (such as your peanut butter, the humidity, etc.), you may need slightly more powdered sugar for the peanut butter mixture to achieve the right consistency. It should feel like Play-Doh and easily roll out, but not be too mushy.
- The exact number of chocolate peanut butter hearts you get will depend on the size of your heart-shaped cookie cutter. I used a cookie cutter about 2 1/4 inches wide and got 20 hearts (after re-rolling all the scraps).
- We are using milk chocolate. You can use either chocolate chips or a bar of chopped chocolate for the coating. While candy melts will work for this, they are much sweeter and taste more artificial compared to regular chocolate. Feel free to substitute with dark chocolate, white chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate in place of milk chocolate.
- Store your fully cooled and hardened chocolate peanut butter hearts in an air-tight container, separating the layers with parchment paper, at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 6-7 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt to a large bowl. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat until well-combined. Towards the end, it helps to knead the mixture with your hands, as if you were making bread dough. Form the peanut butter mixture into a ball.
- Place a piece of parchment paper down on your countertop and lightly dust the paper with powdered sugar. Put the peanut butter ball on top, and then sprinkle on a little more powdered sugar. Roll it out to a circle about 9 inches in diameter and about 1/2-inch thick.
- Use a small heart shaped cookie cutter to stamp out as many hearts as you can. Gather the scraps, re-roll them, and stamp out more hearts, continuing this way until all the peanut butter mixture is gone.
- Arrange the peanut butter hearts on a parchment-lined baking tray. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes, or in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or a double boiler.
- Dip the chilled peanut butter hearts in the melted chocolate, and then place them back onto the parchment paper so the chocolate can set. If there’s extra chocolate, you can drizzle it decoratively on top.
- Let the chocolate harden before serving.
Nutrition
Lindsay Formaro
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