Valentine’s Peanut Butter Brownies

I realize that for many of you, your January resolutions are coming to an end today. So do not read any further if you haven’t finished your Whole 30 or whatever other diet you’ve committed to for the month of January. Because no matter what type of plan you’re on, these brownies are non-compliant. Unless you’re on the peanut butter and chocolate lovers diet, in which case saddle up friends because these brownies are going to change your peanut butter chocolate loving life. This homemade brownie recipe combines rich milk chocolate, creamy peanut butter, and is topped with milk chocolate Reese’s peanut butter hearts to make sure every bite is packed with as much chocolate and peanut butter as physically possible. So if you’re ready to fall in love this Valentine’s Day, whip up a batch of these brownies and be ready to go full cartoon heart eyes with they are love at first bite.

If you had to make me choose, I’d pick a cookie over a brownie most days. But a solid brownie recipe has always been in my back pocket for when I need to whip something up quickly so that I don’t show up somewhere empty handed or when I need to satisfy an urgent chocolate craving. I think one of the most deadly things I ever figured out was how to make a coffee mug brownie in less than a minute. What I love most about brownies is the ability to take a base recipe and add in whatever you have on hand to make it your own – chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, peanut butter – the possibilities are truly endless.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are my kryptonite, so anytime I pick up Reese’s I almost always end up trying to bake them into something so that I don’t have an open bag laying around. So when I grabbed these Valentines Reese’s Hearts, it took all of about an hour before I knew I had to get these baked into something quickly.

The combination of melted milk chocolate chips and then whole milk chocolate chips folded in at the end make these extra chocolaty and creamy, and oh-so-decadent. And while I might recommend in the official recipe to let these cool before cutting, if we’re being totally honest here I always eat one brownie super hot straight from the oven with a fork right out of the pan. That’s my ideal perfect dessert.

Look at that beautiful bite of peanut butter perfection. I had to make these twice since the first batch was delicious, but not as photogenic as I wanted for the blog, and I can tell you my neighbor was not complaining about having to take a second batch off my hands the other day. If peanut butter isn’t your thing, you could also do these with Dove Caramel hearts for Valentine’s Day and just leave out all of the peanut butter, which would also be a really delicious dessert.

So whether you’re baking up a dessert for your sweet thang this year, or you bae is Netflix, the sweetest thing you can do to celebrate Valentine’s Day is bake up a batch of these Valentine’s Peanut Butter Brownies. It will definitely be love at first peanut butter bite!

Valentine's Peanut Butter Brownies

Yield: 9 Large Brownies

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time: 40 Minutes

For the peanut butter chocolate lover in your life, these brownies are packed with creamy peanut butter, milk chocolate and topped with Reese's Peanut Butter hearts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles
  • 9 Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the melted butter, sugar, and eggs until incorporated.
  3. Microwave the peanut butter for about 15-30 seconds until it melts a little and slowly stir into the batter.  Mix in the vanilla extract.
  4. Melt chocolate chips on low heat or in the microwave, stirring frequently to avoid clumping. Add the melted chocolate chips into the batter, stirring until incorporated.
  5. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet batter.
  6. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula until evenly distributed.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Put 9 Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts 3 across and 3 down evenly. I used my finger to outline where I would cut the brownies and put the candy right in the center. Top with sprinkles.
  8. Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes minutes, being careful not to over bake. Let the brownies cool before cutting into 9 even portions. Enjoy!