You don’t have to wait for Reese’s peanut butter hearts to appear on shop shelves on Valentine’s Day; create your own!You can make homemade creamy chocolate peanut butter hearts with only six ingredients and a cookie cutter. No fancy silicone molds or baking required. It’s simple to make additional forms for other occasions, such as eggs for Easter!
Valentine’s Day isn’t a holiday I especially like, but the piles of Reese’s peanut butter hearts on shop shelves are.
The original Reeses peanut butter hearts are made with milk chocolate, which I like, so I felt it would be worth the effort to simply create my own.
Contents
- Why do Reese’s hearts taste different?
- Key Ingredients
- How to make chocolate peanut butter hearts
- What kind of peanut butter should you use?
- How to shape peanut butter hearts
- What kind of chocolate should you use?
- How to melt chocolate
- Decorating
- Can I use a silicone mold?
- Reese’s hearts vs. homemade hearts
- How to store peanut butter hearts
- FAQs
- Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts
- FAQs
- What are the ingredients in Reese’s peanut butter Heart?
- What is the filling in a Reese’s peanut butter Cup made of?
- What makes Reese’s peanut butter different?
- Are there Reese’s hearts?
- Are Reese’s peanut butter cups heart healthy?
- Is peanut butter heart healthy?
- Is it real peanut butter in Reese’s?
- What kind of peanut butter does Reese’s use?
- What is mixed with the peanut butter in a Reese’s?
Why do Reese’s hearts taste different?
We can all agree that Reeses taste better in seasonal forms, right? There’s something about the peanut butter filling to chocolate ratio that makes it preferable than the original Reeses cups.
I really conducted some research since I knew I wasn’t the only one who noticed a flavor difference between the seasonal Reeses shapes, and there could be a difference between the eggs and hearts and the pumpkins and trees!
The candies are distributed at various periods of the year, and since the hearts are shipped in the winter, it is colder and the chocolate is less likely to melt. So there you have it.
Key Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: You’ll start with room temperature butter, and make sure it’s unsalted! If all you have is salted, leave off the extra salt called for in the recipe.
- Creamy peanut butter: Did you expect me to say salsa? The peanut butter is the main attraction here! Natural peanut butters with oil on top will be too liquidy and will not firm up nicely.
- 2 cups, or as desired.Powdered sugar: I try to keep the amount of powdered sugar in my peanut butter hearts on the lower end of the scale since I don’t like things to be too sweet. I like 1 cup, but you may add up to 1 1
- Pure vanilla extract offers a subtle, complimentary taste.
- To protect foods from being excessively sweet, add salt! However, eliminate if using salted butter.
- Chocolate: Use whichever chocolate you want: dark chocolate, semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. However, instead of chocolate chips, use baking bars or melting wafers. I’ll explain why later!
- If you’re using baking bars, a little oil will be needed to smooth out the melted chocolate. I like using coconut oil.
How to make chocolate peanut butter hearts
Step 1: Using a hand or stand mixer, beat butter for 2 minutes on high speed in a large mixing basin until smooth and creamy.
2 thickness (no need for a rolling pin). Freeze the sheet pan for at least 15 minutes.Step 2: Mix in the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until completely blended. Press the peanut butter mixture onto the bottom of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, approximately 1 inch apart.
Step 3: Remove the pan from the freezer and cut out as many hearts as you can using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer your cutouts to another parchment-lined sheet pan if necessary while you re-press and freeze any leftover peanut butter dough to use up the remainder of the dough.
Step 4: Freeze the sheet pan with heart cutouts for at least 30 minutes, but I prefer 1 hour.
Step 5: Melt the chocolate in your favorite technique (microwave or double boiler).
Step 6: Dip each peanut butter heart into the melted chocolate until fully covered, then pull out and gently tap the fork on the bowl’s side to remove excess chocolate. Return to the parchment paper to set.
What kind of peanut butter should you use?
You want a creamy peanut butter, not a natural peanut butter that has to be stirred to incorporate the oils. They’re just too fatty for this recipe’s purposes.
Justins Classic Peanut Butter Spread is my favorite. If you’re feeling very nutty (pun completely intended), try a crunchy peanut butter!
How to shape peanut butter hearts
I prefer to use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the heart shapes in the peanut butter dough, just as I would with sugar cookie dough! Simple as that.
Transfer your heart cutouts to another parchment-lined sheet pan if necessary while you re-press and freeze any leftover peanut butter dough to use up the remainder of the dough.
The peanut butter mixture will soften at normal temperature, so work in batches to keep them frozen as long as possible.
What kind of chocolate should you use?
Regardless of the technique you select to melt your chocolate, use high-quality chocolate rather than chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips do not melt smoothly because they contain less cocoa butter than baking bars and have extra stabilizers designed to keep their form.
You may use chocolate melting wafers or baking bars that have been cut up for the purpose of melting them down. Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking bars or Ghirardelli melting wafers (both dark and white chocolate) are my go-tos.
How to melt chocolate
Melting chocolate in the microwave
Combine chocolate and oil (or simply wafers) in a microwave-safe dish and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. To make dipping simpler, use something with some depth, such as a liquid measuring cup. Allow the chocolate to cool for a few minutes at room temperature 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 doesnt touch the bottom of the top pan), bring water to a simmer. Stir frequently until the chocolate and oil (or simply the wafers) have melted. Remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool before dipping your peanut butter hearts.
How to melt white chocolate
White chocolate is more volatile than other chocolates and may readily seize if anything goes wrong. Keep an eye on the white chocolate, stir regularly, and remove from heat as soon as it seems to be nearly entirely melted.
After a few off-heat stirs, the remainder will blend together beautifully without becoming gritty. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Decorating
If you want to add sprinkles or other decorations to the tops of your hearts, do it just after you’ve dipped each heart in the molten chocolate. Because the chocolate hardens rapidly, you just have a little time to add that unique something.
If you have any remaining melted chocolate after dipping all of the hearts, re-heat it slightly if necessary and then transfer it to a pastry bag or plastic storage bag with a little corner cut off.
or to disguise any flaws. Which I have a plenty of, so yes. This is something I totally do.Once the chocolate coating has hardened, pipe some thin stripes on top of your hearts to give visual flair.
Can I use a silicone mold?
Sure! Feel free to use a heart mold if you have one. Simply follow a slightly different procedure from what is indicated in the recipe card below.
- Melt your chocolate and cover the interior of each mold with a brush before it sets.
- Rather of chilling the peanut butter dough, push it into the chocolate-coated mold cups.
- Then, brush the top (or, I suppose, bottom!) of each mold cup with extra melted chocolate.
- Stick it in the freezer, and youre done!
Reese’s hearts vs. homemade hearts
Can we all agree that, although Reeses peanut butter hearts taste delicious, they don’t look the best? I mean, that’s hardly even a heart! Unless they want a humanheart shape? That would be strange.
All of this to say, our handmade peanut butter hearts will win the beauty contest this time! Because ours resembles an actual heart shape.
How to store peanut butter hearts
I put my peanut butter hearts in the freezer between layers of parchment paper in a freezer safe container. It just takes a few minutes outside of the freezer for them to be ready to eat, and they can be frozen for up to 3 months.
You may also preserve them in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
FAQs
You want a creamy peanut butter, not a natural version that has to be stirred to blend in the oils. They’re just too fatty for this recipe’s purposes.Justins Classic Peanut Butter Spread is my favorite. If you’re feeling very nutty (pun completely intended), try a crunchy peanut butter!
Regardless of the technique you select to melt your chocolate, use high-quality chocolate rather than chocolate chips. Chocolate chips do not melt smoothly because they contain less cocoa butter than baking bars and have extra stabilizers designed to keep their form.You may use chocolate melting wafers or baking bars that have been cut up for the purpose of melting them down. Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking bars or Ghirardelli melting wafers (both dark and white chocolate) are my go-tos.
I put my peanut butter hearts in the freezer between layers of parchment paper in a freezer safe container. It just takes a few minutes outside of the freezer for them to be ready to eat, and they can be frozen for up to 3 months. You may also preserve them in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. You might enjoy Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs (Reese’s Replica!)
Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Hearts
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Description
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Cookie cutter of choice
Ingredients
- cupunsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- cuppeanut butter, no stir, creamy
- 1cuppowdered sugar, up to 1 1/2 cups, if desired
- teaspoonpure vanilla extract
- pinchof salt
- 10 ounces chopped dark or white chocolate baking bars (not chocolate chips)*
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, vegetable oil, or shortening
Instructions
Make the peanut butter filling
- Set aside a half sheet or jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper.
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
In a large mixing basin, beat butter on high speed for 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
1 - a sprinkle of salt, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, 3 cups peanut butter 1
Mix in the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt on low to medium speed until completely blended.
2 - 2 thickness (no need for a rolling pin). Freeze the sheet pan for at least 15 minutes.
Press 1 tablespoon into the bottom of your prepared sheet pan.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and cut out as many hearts as you can using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer your heart cutouts to another parchment-lined sheet pan if necessary while you re-press and freeze any leftover peanut butter dough to use up the remainder of the dough.Return the sheet pan with heart cutouts to the freezer for at least 30 minutes, but 1 hour is preferable.
Melt chocolate
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Microwave method: Combine chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. To make dipping simpler, use something with some depth, such as a liquid measuring cup. Allow the chocolate to cool for a few minutes at room temperature before dipping your peanut butter hearts.
1 pound dark or white chocolate, 10 ounces - 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Bring water to a simmer in a double boiler (with a tiny quantity of water in the saucepan that does not touch the bottom of the upper pan). Stir in the chocolate and oil until the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool before dipping your peanut butter hearts.
1 pound dark or white chocolate, 10 ounces
Coat the peanut butter hearts in chocolate
- Submerge each peanut butter heart in the melted chocolate with a candy dipper or a fork until thoroughly covered, then raise out and gently tap the fork against the side of the dish to remove extra dripping chocolate. Return the coated hearts to the parchment paper to dry.If the peanut butter hearts get too soft to work with, place them back in the freezer for a few minutes.
- If you wish to garnish them with sprinkles, do it right after you dip them in the chocolate since they will harden rapidly!
- Return the sheet of coated hearts to the freezer for 30 minutes to thoroughly set. Serve and have fun!