These chocolate covered peanut butter hearts are so easy to make, require very little ingredients, and taste amazing with their rich, chocolatey outside and creamy, peanut buttery filling on the inside. And the best part, whoever you give these to will be super impressed and touched that you took the time to make these delectable treats just for them!
2cupsPowdered Sugar(plus extra for rolling out the filling)
12ozSemi-Sweet Chocolate Chips(or milk chocolate)
2tablespoonVegetable Shortening(or coconut oil or ½ square of paraffin wax)
Instructions
Prepare a small cookie sheet lined with wax paper. This will be for the peanut butter hearts you cut out with the cookie cutter.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the unsalted butter, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff on medium-high speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
½ cup Unsalted Butter, ¾ cup Creamy Peanut Butter, ½ cup Marshmallow Fluff
Switch the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until fully combined. The peanut butter filling should be soft, creamy, and a little sticky.
2 cups Powdered Sugar
Sprinkle some powdered onto a clean, dry surface as well as the rolling pin and roll out the peanut butter filling to about ¼ inch thickness.
Take a small heart shaped cookie cutter and coat it with some powdered sugar before cutting out the hearts. If the filling sticks a little to the inside of the heart cookie cutter, very gently take your finger and press down until it releases from the cookie cutter. You can also try releasing the peanut butter hearts by gently shaking the cookie cutter in a downward motion. Repeat this step until all the peanut butter filling has been used. Space the hearts close together on the cookie sheet.
Freeze the peanut butter hearts for a minimum of 45 minutes to 1 hour (or longer is okay too) until they are firm enough to dip into the chocolate.
Line another cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside. This will be for the chocolate covered peanut butter hearts.
Place the semi-sweet chocolate chips and vegetable shortening (or coconut oil) into a microwaveable bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute, then stir again until the chocolate is fully melted and blended with the shortening. See notes if using a double boiler and/or paraffin wax.
12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, 2 tablespoon Vegetable Shortening
Dip each peanut butter heart into the melted chocolate using candy dipping tools or two forks. Gently tap any excess chocolate off, then place it onto the wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat until all the hearts have been dipped in chocolate, then place in the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to harden. Once chilled, trim off any excess, if desired.
Keep the chocolate-covered peanut butter hearts in an airtight container in the fridge, or freeze them for a month.
Notes
If using a double boiler, fill the bottom boiler with about 1 inch -1.5 inches and simmer over low heat. Add the chocolate chips and shortening (or coconut oil) to the top saucepan, stirring until the two are blended together and smooth. If using paraffin wax instead of shortening or coconut oil, melt the wax first in the top part of the double boiler (do not melt the wax in the microwave) over 1 inch - 1.5 inches of simmering water over low heat. If you have any little lumps of chocolate or wax, press down firmly on them using a spatula until they disappear. When freezing the peanut butter hearts (before chocolate coating), 45 minutes to 1 hour is good, but longer is always better. The firmer they are, the easier they will be to dip into the melted chocolate.Please note that this recipe is not the same as traditional buckeyes. They have a slightly different taste and texture.