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Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts

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You don't have to wait for Reese's peanut butter hearts to hit store shelves each Valentine's Day – make your own! With 6 ingredients and a cookie cutter, you'll have homemade creamy chocolate peanut butter hearts – no specialty silicone molds, no baking. Can easily be made with other shapes for different holidays, like eggs for Easter!

Chocolate covered peanut butter hearts on red and white kitchen towels with multicolored candy hearts

Valentine's Day isn't a holiday I particularly care about, but I do care about the stacks of Reese's peanut butter hearts on store shelves.

The original Reese's peanut butter hearts are made with milk chocolate, and I personally prefer darker chocolate – so I decided that it would be worth the effort to just make my own.

Why do Reese's hearts taste different?

We all agree that Reese's taste better when they're in the seasonal shapes, right? There's something about the ratio of peanut butter filling to chocolate that is just superior versus the original Reese's cups.

I actually did some digging because I knew I wasn't alone in noticing the taste difference of the seasonal Reese's shapes, and there might actually be a difference between the eggs and hearts vs. the pumpkins and trees!

The candies are shipped different times of year, and because the hearts are shipped during the winter, it's colder and the chocolate is at less risk of melting. Well, there ya go.

Ingredients for chocolate covered peanut butter eggs on a counter top

Key Ingredients

  • Unsalted butter: You're going to start with room temperature butter, and make sure you're using unsalted! If all you have is salted, omit the additional salt I call for in the ingredients.
  • Creamy peanut butter: What did you think I was gonna say, salsa? ;) The peanut butter is the star of the show here! You don't want to use natural peanut butters with the oil on top as they'll be too liquidy and won't set up well.
  • Powdered sugar: I tend to lean toward the lower side of the scale when it comes to how much powdered sugar I add to my peanut butter hearts because I don't like things overly sweet. I like to use 1 cup, but you can add up to 1 1/2 cups to taste.
  • Pure vanilla extract: It adds a little mellow, complementary flavor.
  • Salt: To keep things from getting too sweet! But again, omit if you're using salted butter.
  • Chocolate: You can use dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate – whatever floats your boat. But make sure you're using baking bars or melting wafers, and not chocolate chips. I explain why below!
  • Oil: If you're using baking bars, you'll need to add a little oil to smooth out your melted chocolate. I like to use coconut oil.

How to make chocolate peanut butter hearts

Creamed butter in a clear mixing bowl

Step 1: In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, beat butter on high speed for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Peanut butter dough in a clear bowl

Step 2: Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and beat on low medium speed until well combined. Press peanut butter mixture into the bottom of a baking sheet covered with a piece of parchment paper, at about a 1/2″ thickness (no rolling pin needed). Place sheet pan in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Peanut butter dough on parchment paper with heart shapes cut out

Step 3: Remove the pan from the freezer, and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can. If you need to, transfer your cutouts to another parchment lined sheet pan while you re-press and freeze any of the remnant peanut butter dough to use up the rest of the dough. 

Peanut butter dough cut into heart shapes on parchment paper

Step 4: Place the sheet pan of heart cutouts back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but I recommend 1 hour.

Melted chocolate in a glass measuring cup

Step 5: Melt chocolate in your preferred method – in the microwave or in a double boiler.

Chocolate dipped hearts drizzled with chocolate on parchment paper

Step 6: Dip each peanut butter heart into the melted chocolate until completely coated, then lift out and gently tap the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Transfer back to parchment paper to set.

Chocolate covered peanut butter hearts on red and white kitchen towels with multicolored candy hearts

What kind of peanut butter should you use?

You want to use a creamy peanut butter, but not a natural peanut butter that requires you to stir it to mix in the oils. They're simply too oily for the purpose of this recipe.

I like to use Justin's Classic Peanut Butter Spread. If you're feeling nutty (pun 100% intended), you could use a crunchy peanut butter!

How to shape peanut butter hearts

I like to treat the peanut butter dough like sugar cookie dough, and cut out the heart shapes with a heart-shaped cookie cutter! Easy peasy.

If you need to, transfer your heart cutouts to another parchment lined sheet pan while you re-press and freeze any of the remnant peanut butter dough to use up the rest of the dough.

The peanut butter mixture will get softer at room temperature, so it's worth working in batches to keep them in the freezer as long as you can.

What kind of chocolate should you use?

Regardless of the method you choose to melt your chocolate, you want to use high quality chocolate – and not chocolate chips.

Chocolate chips don't melt well because they contain less cocoa butter than baking bars and have additional stabilizers – they've been created with the intention of retaining their shape.

You can either baking bars that you've chopped up for the purpose of melting them down, or you can use chocolate melting wafers. My go-tos are the Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking bars or Ghirardelli melting wafers (both the dark chocolate and white chocolate).

How to melt chocolate

Melting chocolate in the microwave

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and oil (or just wafers) and heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Use something with a decent amount of depth to it to make dipping easier, such as a liquid measuring cup. Let the chocolate sit at room temperature for a few minutes to cool a little before dipping your peanut butter hearts.

Melting chocolate with double boiler

In a double boiler (with a small amount of water in the saucepan that doesn't touch the bottom of the top pan), bring water to a simmer. Add chocolate and oil (or just wafers), and stir constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat for a few minutes to cool a little before dipping your peanut butter hearts.

How to melt white chocolate

White chocolate is more temperamental than other chocolates, and can seize up more easily if something goes awry. Keep a close eye on your white chocolate, stir constantly, and make sure to remove from heat as soon as you see all the chocolate is almost completely melted.

Give it a few stirs off heat and the rest will meld together nicely without beginning to get grainy. Remove from heat to cool a bit.

Decorating

If you plan to add sprinkles or other decor to the tops of your hearts, make sure you do it immediately after you've dipped each heart in the melted chocolate. The chocolate will set up and harden pretty quickly, so it's a brief window of opportunity to add that special somethin'.

If you have extra melted chocolate leftover when you're done dipping all the hearts, re-heat it a little if needed and then transfer it to a pastry bag or plastic storage bag with a small corner cut off.

Pipe some thin stripes on top of your hearts once the chocolate coating has set to add some visual interest, and/or to cover any imperfections. Which I have plenty of, so… yeah. I absolutely do this.

Can I use a silicone mold?

Sure! If you have a heart mold, feel free to utilize it. You’ll just want to follow a slightly different process than what is outlined below in the recipe card.

  1. Melt your chocolate and use a brush to coat the inside of each mold and then it set.
  2. Instead of freezing the peanut butter dough, you’ll instead press it into the chocolate-coated mold cups.
  3. Then brush the top (or I guess technically it’s the bottom!) of each mold cup with more melted chocolate.
  4. Stick it in the freezer, and you’re done!

Reese's hearts vs. homemade hearts

Can we all agree that while the Reese's peanut butter hearts taste great, they… uh, don't look the best? I mean, that is barely a heart! Unless they're going for human heart shaped? Which would be… weird.

All that to say, our homemade peanut butter hearts are going to win the beauty contest this time around! You know, because ours look like an actual heart shape.

How to store peanut butter hearts

I like to keep my peanut butter hearts stored between layers of parchment paper in a freezer safe container in the freezer. It only takes a couple minutes outside of the freezer to be ready to eat, and they can be stored in the freezer to up to 3 months.

You could also keep them stored in the fridge in an airtight container instead for up to 2 weeks.

FAQs

What kind of peanut butter should you use?

You want to use a creamy peanut butter, but not a natural kind that requires you to stir it to mix in the oils. They're simply too oily for the purpose of this recipe.
I like to use Justin's Classic Peanut Butter Spread. If you're feeling nutty (pun 100% intended), you could use a crunchy peanut butter!

What kind of chocolate should you use?

Regardless of the method you choose to melt your chocolate, you want to use high quality chocolate – and not chocolate chips. Chocolate chips don't melt well because they contain less cocoa butter than baking bars and have additional stabilizers – they've been created with the intention of retaining their shape.
You can either baking bars that you've chopped up for the purpose of melting them down, or you can use chocolate melting wafers. My go-tos are the Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking bars or Ghirardelli melting wafers (both the dark chocolate and white chocolate).

How to store peanut butter hearts

I like to keep my peanut butter hearts stored between layers of parchment paper in a freezer safe container in the freezer. It only takes a couple minutes outside of the freezer to be ready to eat, and they can be stored in the freezer to up to 3 months. You could also keep them stored in the fridge in an airtight container instead for up to 2 weeks.

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Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts

5 from 1 vote
You don't have to wait for Reese's peanut butter hearts to hit store shelves each Valentine's Day – make your own! With 6 ingredients and a cookie cutter, you'll have homemade creamy chocolate peanut butter hearts – no specialty silicone molds, no baking. Can easily be made with other shapes for different holidays!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 20 hearts

Ingredients
 

Instructions

Make the peanut butter filling

  • Line a half sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
  • In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer (aff link), beat butter on high speed for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
    1/4 cup (56 ¾ g) unsalted butter
  • Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and beat on low medium speed until well combined.
    2/3 cup (172 g) peanut butter
    1 cup (120 g) confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
    1/2 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
    pinch salt
  • Press into the bottom of your prepared sheet pan, at about a 1/2" thickness (no rolling pin needed). Place sheet pan in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the freezer, and use an heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many "hearts" as you can. If you need to, transfer your heart cutouts to another parchment lined sheet pan while you re-press and freeze any of the remnant peanut butter dough to use up the rest of the dough.
    Place the sheet pan of heart cutouts back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but I recommend 1 hour.

Melt chocolate

  • Microwave method: In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and oil and heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Use something with a decent amount of depth to it to make dipping easier, such as a liquid measuring cup. Let the chocolate sit at room temperature for a few minutes to cool a little before dipping your peanut butter hearts.
    10 ounces (283 ½ g) dark chocolate or white chocolate
    1/2-1 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) coconut oil
  • Double boiler method: In a double boiler (with a small amount of water in the saucepan that doesn't touch the bottom of the top pan), bring water to a simmer. Add chocolate and oil, and stir constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat for a few minutes to cool a little before dipping your peanut butter hearts.
    10 ounces (283 ½ g) dark chocolate or white chocolate
    1/2-1 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) coconut oil

Coat the peanut butter hearts in chocolate

  • Using a candy dipper (aff link) or a fork, submerge each peanut butter heart into the melted chocolate until completely coated, then lift out and gently tap the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove excess dripping chocolate. Transfer the coated hearts back to the parchment paper to set.
    If you find the peanut butter hearts getting too soft to work with, pop them back in the freezer for a bit.
  • If you're planning to decorate them with sprinkles, you'll want to do that just after you've dipped them in the chocolate as they will set up pretty quickly!
  • Place the sheet of coated hearts back in freezer for 30 minutes to set completely. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Chocolate: You can also substitute the chopped chocolate and oil for 10 ounces of chocolate melting wafers. You just don't want to use chocolate chips because they don't melt well.
Storage: I like to keep my peanut butter hearts stored between layers of parchment paper in a freezer-safe container in the freezer. It only takes a couple minutes outside of the freezer to be ready to eat, and they can be stored in the freezer to up to 3 months. You could also keep them stored the same way, but in an airtight container the fridge instead for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1heart | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 38mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.

Recipe created by Leslie Kiszka

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