Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts

Valentine's Day is not really a big-deal holiday to me, although I think it can be a sweet day to remind others that you care about them. Here is a very yummy, sweet treat that you can share with a friend, co-worker, or neighbor to let them know you are thinking of them. Or, make up a big container of them and gift them to someone really special! They are delicious and so cute to boot:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts
1 regular-sized jar of peanut butter
1 stick of butter (or margarine)-softened
3-5 c. of powdered sugar
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3 T. shortening

**Optional: you can add rice krispies, peanuts, or any other add-in that you might like. I like mine creamy.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and stick of butter. Stir until very creamy. Slowly start to stir in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Eventually you can just use your hands to start mixing it in. You want the mixture to be the consistency of play-doh. It should not stick to your hand at all and you should be able to easily form a ball with it. Once it's to this point, you won't need to add anymore powdered sugar:


Sprinkle a clean surface with a dusting of powdered sugar. Flatten some of the peanut butter dough on this surface, and slowly roll it to about 1/2" thickness (it should be very easy to roll. If not, add more powdered sugar). With a 1-1/2" heart cookie-cutter, cut out the heart shapes:



Place the hearts on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Cover with wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (if short on time, you can freeze for 15 minutes).



In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate morsels with the shortening for 1 minute. Stir and reheat for another 15 seconds, stirring again. Continue to do this until the chocolate is completely smooth and the shortening is melted. If the chocolate seems to thick and fudgey, add a bit more shortening. You want it almost at a runny consistency. Remove hearts from the fridge. Using a large fork, dip the hearts in the chocolate one at a time. With the covered heart sitting on the top of the fork, bang the fork against the side of the dish removing any excess chocolate. Place the heart on the wax paper to set:





White chocolate is another great option with the peanut butter flavor. I also like to take some of the extra melted chocolate and make designs on the already-covered chocolate hearts for a quick added touch. Now it's time to make the hearts presentable! I love these quick little boxes because they're just the right size for the heart candy. Here's the pattern I use (you can print it off and increase the size when scanning):


Make sure to print or trace the design onto a heavy cardstock. Fold at the dotted lines to get this:


You can fill up the little box with Valentine's colored M&Ms or other candy. Then place a homemade heart on top (make sure to put down some parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the box first):





Then I folded up the box and added an embellishment. There's a little spot under the top fold of the box where you can put a ribbon. When the recipient pulls the ribbon out, they can get a message from you:



If you don't have time to make the box, a cute Valentine themed cupcake holder does the job too! Just tie a little cellophane bag with a ribbon around it.: