Happy almost Valentine’s Day!
Last week, I shared a recipe for S’mores on a Stick. This week, I am re-posting a recipe I shared last Valentine’s Day. When I came up with this recipe, I wanted to come up with more of an adult peanut butter cup. I tried a few different nut combinations, but in the end I liked the combination of peanuts and cashews the best. The flavors were just perfect with the semi-sweet chocolate. It turns out, it is also kid friendly, as my daughter often asks me to make them. Since she is such a chocolate lover, she will get these and the S’mores on a Stick on Valentine’s Day 🙂 These hearts are fairly simple to make, but take a little time and effort to cut out and coat in chocolate. I make the nut butters, but you can try store-bought nut butters as well. They freeze exceptionally well, so you can make a large batch and don’t have to worry about them going bad too quickly…not that you will have any left 😉
This is the perfect Valentine’s treat for the nut and chocolate lover in your life. They have a delicious combination of sweet, salty, and nutty flavors, and are wonderfully indulgent.
Notes
If you don’t want to make your own nut butters, use store-bought, but try to go for a grind on-demand type. You may have to adjust the recipe, if your mixture is too thin.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts (I use blister peanuts)
- 1 Tbsp almond, cashew, or walnut oil (or oil without taste)
- dash of salt
- 1 ½ tsp. honey
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 cup unsalted butter (slightly softened)
Special Equipment:
- parchment paper
- food-safe paint brush (can be found with cake decorating supplies)
- heart-shaped cookie or fondant cutter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Sift the powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- Pour raw cashews on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place in the oven for 6-8 minutes until lightly roasted. Move around if needed. While still warm, place in a food processor and grind the nuts. Once the nuts are ground, add a little salt and oil while the food processor is still on. Continue until it comes together (it will not be a creamy nut butter and too much oil will make it hard to work with).
- Add the cashew butter, powdered sugar, honey, and butter to a bowl, and mix well with a hand mixer.
- Place the peanuts in the food processor and run until it turns into a slightly crunchy peanut butter. Add the peanut butter to the rest of the ingredients, and mix well with a hand mixer. When it comes together, work a little with your hands as if working with biscuit or pie dough. Turn out onto parchment paper and press or roll until it is 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out the hearts and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Once your shapes are cut out, add 2/3 of the chocolate to a double broiler over low to medium heat. Ensure that it doesn't boil and no steam gets near the chocolate. Stir well as the chocolate starts melting. When it fully melts, remove the double broiler from the heat, and stir in the remaining chocolate. Remember to keep moisture away from the chocolate and work quickly.
- Use a food-safe paint brush to apply the chocolate. This brush enables you to control the application of the chocolate. Turn each heart over and paint with chocolate and then flip back over to the front. One at a time, paint the sides and top with chocolate. As you finish painting the top, paint a heart with the chocolate on top, just to give it a little design and hide any application flaws. The chocolate is very forgiving and mistakes are easily fixed (if fixed immediately). Remove each heart when complete and place on clean piece of parchment paper. Allow the hearts to harden out of direct sunlight and away from direct heat (this will take several hours). For a quicker harden, use the freezer (15 minutes) or fridge (1 hour). Enjoy!
- Store away from sunlight or direct heat in a sealed container. Freeze for longer storage.
These look great Antonia. Homemade nut butter is tons better than the bought ones 🙂
Thank you so much Lynne!
wow!! they look so adorable!
Thank you 😀
Yumm these looks gorgeous and sound so good! I love cashews!
Thank you Lynn! Cashews are delicious, aren’t they?
yes they are so good! Your pictures are gorgeous! yumm
Thank you for the kind words Lynn 🙂
yumm I really need one haha
Me too, but my daughter ate them all 😉
haha
Between her and my husband, chocolate treats just disappear 😉
like my mom! she used to hide chocolate bars under her pillow!
haha, too funny!
I know funny right?
Yes, very 😀
🙂
Those look luscious! I love chocolate and cashew!
Thanks Sadie! It is a great combo 🙂
I can totally picture your daughter drooling over these. What kid wouldn’t do that? They look awesome and they are the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day. My best wishes for a fabulous celebration to you all!
Yes, and she does..lol! She is anxiously awaiting another batch! Thank you so much Francesca! Happy Valentine’s Day to you all as well!
Cute-love them Antonia!
Thanks so much Cheryl! Have a great Valentine’s 🙂
You all too! Cheryl
🙂
I now know what I want for supper tonight ♥♥
summerdaisy.net
Haha, I am with you on that! After all, they do have protein, right? Thanks for visiting 🙂
Oh Antonia, I really love this idea! Matt adores peanut butter cups and I’ve been trying to come up with a little “I love you” DIY gift that I can make for Sunday. I’m actually going to make these! I can’t wait to give them a try. Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day 🙂
Thank you so much Heather! That’s awesome to hear, I hope you both enjoy them! I would love to hear what you think 🙂 I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day too, and a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions.
Antonia,
What a fabulous share! Great recipe and photos. I love those hearts and am pinning the recipe!
Thank you so much Sandhya! I appreciate the share 🙂 Have a great Valentine’s Day and weekend!
Peanut butter cups are my favorite candy bar so I know I would enjoy these sweet little treats 🙂
Thank you very much Judi!
Yum! These are perfect for Valentine’s Day 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you Sarah! I hope you have a wonderful weekend too and Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂
This looks amazing. Lovely combo. Have a great weekend and Happy Valentine’s day!
Thank you Kushi! Happy Valentine’s to you as well! Have a great rest of your weekend 🙂
Antonia, I can only hope someone will give me some of these! Peanut Butter & Chocolate are my favorite! Thanks for sharing this, I am in treat heaven. Happy weekend to you. 🙂
Thank you very much! I wish I could send you some 🙂 Happy weekend to you as well, and Happy Valentine’s!