Valentine's Day Dessert Ideas

Are you looking for some Valentine's treat ideas? 

I've got you covered. 

I'm convinced the way to a boys heart is through their stomachs. But, more importantly, I'm convinced that a way to a boy's heart is with peanut butter and chocolate. Put those two magical ingredients together, and I promise girls, the boys will come a knockin'. 

I don't get super excited about Valentine's day. But I do get excited about food. So any excuse to whip up a sweet treat get's my wheel's turning. 

Every Christmas, my mom makes the BEST Peanut Butter Balls in the whole wide world. Think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but better. WAYYYY BETTER. We usually have to wait for these all year long. And when Christmas comes around, every single boy in my family, husband included, goes straight for the peanut butter balls. (See my theory is true! Boy's love chocolate and peanut butter!)

So I thought, why do we have to wait till Christmas? Why can't we have Peanut Butter Balls anytime we want? Besides the fact that I would weight 300 lbs,  I don't think there's a good reason not too! 

So I set out to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine's Day Hearts. Well, that doesn't work out to well, when the peanut butter has nothing to mold onto. So I thought, why not make a graham cracker crust? Then spread the peanut butter filling on top and top that with chocolate and cut those into cute little heart shaped Peanut Butter Cups. 

So that's just what I did. 

And you know what. I have no words. These are AMAZING. Boy's don't just love peanut butter and chocolate, GIRLS DO TOO!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Valentine's Day Hearts

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

2 1/2 c Graham Cracker Crumbs

6 tbsp sugar

2/3 c butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar together. Stir in melted butter. Crust will be crumbly.  Spread out on a 9x13 brownie pan and press crumbs together to form crust. Bake in the oven 8 minutes. Cool completely and set aside. 

For the Peanut Butter Filling: 

1 1/2 c Creamy Peanut Butter

1 c butter, room temperature

3 c powdered sugar

Cream together the peanut butter and butter. Slowly add powdered sugar till it is combined and mixture is smooth. 

Gently layer peanut butter mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Be careful as the crust can fall apart easily. You may need to give up using a spoon and just use your fingers. (That's what I did!) 

Put the pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden before pouring on the chocolate. 

For the Milk Chocolate Topping:

2 bags milk chocolate chips

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. (If microwaving, melt for about 45 seconds and then stir and then put in for another 45 seconds. Be careful not to burn the chocolate). 

Add 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil to make the chocolate smooth and easy to pour/spread. Pour chocolate over hardened peanut butter and spread evenly. 

Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts into the bars. Or, if you want to skip the hearts, cut bars into squares. 

Store in freezer and take out about 5-10 minutes before serving.