Heart Shaped Brownies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Hearts, chocolate, and peanut butter. A winning combination, no? To celebrate this sweet month, treat your loved ones to a batch of Valentine’s Day heart shaped brownies. These heart pan brownies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made from scratch and are just begging for the perfect occasion for sharing – Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and birthdays. Here at Arkansas Girls, we won’t turn down a peanut butter chocolate medley ever!
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Ingredients for Heart Shaped Brownies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- 1 1⁄4 cup butter
- 4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 4 oz milk chocolate baking chocolate
- 3⁄4 cup cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 18 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (Standard size – not the king size and not the minis)
- Sea salt
We use two multiple types of baking chocolate plus cocoa – in addition of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for the ultimate chocolate brownie with peanut butter experience!
These bad boys are rich! Just my style! – Harper, Age 11
Three Methods for Cutting Heart Shaped Brownies
Heart Pan
Use a brownie pan specially designed for brownie hearts (as seen in these photos). These heart molds, divided into individual hearts, can be found around Valentine’s Day at many department stores and online. Although you can find heart pans with 6, 8, and 12 cavities, we prefer to use the heart brownie pans with 6 cavities for slightly larger hearts. You can use the heart molds to make other things – like Jello hearts.
Before baking, each heart cavity in the pan needs to be generously greased so that the batter does not stick and the brownies can release easily from the pan.
The heart mold pan is our favorite way to make heart-shaped brownies! Of course, we like anything with hearts!
Cookie Cutters
Opt to bake the brownie mixture in an 8 inch baking pan. Line the pan with foil (with foil hanging over the edges by a few inches) and grease the bottom and sides of the foil well. Bake brownies at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the edges have pulled in slightly and a toothpick comes out clean.
Once brownies have baked and cooled, gently lift the brownies out with the foil handles. Use 2-3 inch cookie cutters to gently cut heart shapes into the brownie layer. The heart cookie cutters need to be deep enough to cut all the way down into the brownie.
Be clever with how you go about inserting the cutters so as to waste as little brownie as possible. Before starting, think about the best place to start the first cut so that you maximize the pan, creating as many brownie hearts as possible.
Topping Valentine’s Day Brownie Hearts
Sometimes we leave our heart shaped brownies without any type of topping – in true classic brownie form. Other times, we sprinkle a small sprinkle of sea salt across the tops after baking.
The second path is to consider the brownie the base for a variety of fun toppings.
To incorporate some color and freshness to the dessert, adorn your brownies with a strawberry, cut into a pretty pattern.
Other ideas include melting chocolate, and then drizzling or piping melted chocolate onto the tops of the brownies. Add sprinkles for an extra pop of fun and color.
These Valentine’s Day brownie hearts will be a winning choice for a Valentine’s dessert! We sure hope you like them as much as we do!
Heart-Shaped Brownies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Unsalted butter
- 4 oz Baking chocolate Semi sweet
- 4 oz Baking chocolate Milk chocolate
- ¾ cup Cocoa powder
- 2 cups White sugar
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tsp Salt
- 6 Eggs
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 18 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Regular size – not King and not mini
- Sea salt for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Brown the butter: place butter in a pan and melt over medium heat. Once melted, keep over medium heat and swirl occasionally until butter starts to foam, turns golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Take off heat and set aside until ready to use.
- Chop or grate the two chocolate bars and melt in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring between intervals until chocolate is fully melted. This may take a couple of minutes.
- To a large bowl, add both sugars, vanilla, salt, and eggs. For approximately 10 minutes, using an electric mixer, mix on high speed until mixture achieves a light and fluffy consistency.
- Next, add browned butter and melted chocolate to the bowl and blend until incorporated.
- Sift the flour and cocoa before folding into the batter with a spatula until just combined, careful not to overmix.
- Add the peanut butter cups: Generously grease a heart shaped muffin pan and add a heaping tablespoon of batter into each cup. Press a Reese’s peanut butter cup into the batter in each brownie, careful not to press too deep. Add a tablespoon of batter on top and smooth out with a spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and slap pan on kitchen counter two or three times – to help remove air bubbles. Bake for another 10 minutes or until brownies are cooked through but still fudgy.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least half an hour. Using a sharp knife, cut around the edge of each brownie to separate it from the pan. Carefully invert onto wire rack and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Notes
Nutrition
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