STL: peanut butter and chocolate hearts
Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 07:00AM 
Remember, the Share the Love series starts on Monday, where guest posters and I will be sharing ideas for projects that will help you connect with the important people in your life during this chilly and sometimes lonely time of year. To kick things off I wanted to show you a fun recipe you can make with even your littlest kids that's perfect for this time of year: chocolate covered peanut butter hearts.
These are a beauty of a treat: they're extremely easy to make and taste like a decadent Reese's PB cup. We made our hearts pretty big, so we've been sharing slices of them. I keep cutting off just a little bite, then coming back for more. (Keep reading for recipe + tutorial!)
The recipe only has three ingredients, and I've actually shared it before in it's simplest form here, along with some other simple recipes kids can make. To make chocolate covered peanut butter hearts you need:
1/2 stick (4T) butter or margerine, softened
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 heaping C of powdered sugar
1 bag milk chocolate chips
(1) Mix first three ingredients together. You can mix this together with a wooden spoon, but I find it's easier to just mix with my hands. Knead slightly until it comes together in a smooth ball, adding a little more powdered sugar if needed so it's not too sticky.
(2) Roll the PB mix out between two pieces of wax paper.
(3) We rolled ours about 1/2 inch thick.
(4) Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the PB mixture. Place each heart on another sheet of wax paper.
(5) Roll out the "scraps" of PB mixture and cut more hearts. We were able to make 8 3-in hearts (for the last one I just pressed the remainng PB mixture into the cookie cutter.
(6) Cover in melted milk chocolate: melt milk chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds and taking care not to overheat. Hold a heart in the palm of your hand and gently cover the top of it in melted chocolate, using a spoon to spread the chocolate just to the edges - go easy on the chocolate at this point. Gently turn the heart, chocolate side down, onto wax paper, and let set up a few hours until firm. (You can skip the firming up part if you want - the heart will just slide around a little as you cover the front w/chocolate.)
(7) Once the chocolate beneath the heart is set up, re-melt your chocolate and spread it onto the top and down the sides, being more generous with the chocolate now. Use your spoon to smooth and swirl the chocolate on top. Then use a toothpick to remove any excess chocolate that drips down and obscures the heart shape. Let set up AT ROOM TEMPERATURE a few hours before eating or gifting.
If you're in a rush, you could let the chocolate set up in the fridge, but it will not be as pretty - the cold air will likely make the chocolate streak gray. (And yes, you can use candy coating if you really want, but it's not real chocolate and it doesn't taste nearly as good - I use Ghiradelli or Guittard milk chocolate chips - or even Hershey's in a pinch.)
Reader Comments (7)
Oh my...that looks amazing!!
Roman made me promise that he could participate in the sweet shop this year, Im thinking of all the fun shapes we could make.
I featured you in my Valentine Heart Project Round Up!
http://littlemomprairie.blogspot.com/2013/01/valentine-project-round-up.html
Those looks super yummy!!!! I hope you stop by to link sometime- http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/01/link-party-4.html
These look so delicious!! stopping in from create and inspire :)
I found you from the Flaunt It Friday link up. These look delicious and perfect for Valentine’s. I just started a new Saturday Spotlight Linky Party on my blog this week, and would love to have you stop by and share! http://angelshomestead.com/saturday-spotlight-1/
Making these today!! Thanks soo much for sharing!