Valentine’s Day Peanut Butter Heart Cookies

These classic Peanut Butter Heart Cookies are a favorite any time of year but made special for Valentine’s Day with the addition of chocolate hearts. It is an easy recipe using pantry staples and Hershey chocolates and requires no refrigeration time before baking!

For more festive treats be sure and try my Valentine’s Day Chocolate Covered Oreos and these 4 ingredient Valentine’s Day Caramel Pretzel Bites. 

Valentine’s Day Cookie Recipe

I just love browsing the candy aisles the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. I’m a sucker for all the heart shaped treats & candies, and the pretty pink and red treats. Which is why I love creating fun and festive recipes like these Valentine’s Day cookies which are a play on the classic peanut butter blossom cookies, also called kiss cookies.

A soft-baked peanut butter cookie topped with a heart shaped Hershey’s chocolate. It’s the perfect way to get your kids in the kitchen (they love to unwrap the chocolate hearts) or make them to say ‘I love you’ to family or friends ♥.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This recipe uses simple pantry ingredients, most of which you probably already have, just be sure you buy a bag of those heart shaped Hershey’s chocolates!

• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Table Salt – I prefer to use table salt in most baked goods recipes as it provides much better flavor balance to all the sweetness. 
• Granulated Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar
• Creamy Peanut Butter – For best results, do not use all-natural peanut butter.
• Butter – I use salted butter but unsalted butter can be used if that’s what you prefer. 
• Large Egg
• Vanilla Extract
• Hershey’s Heart Chocolate – These are just solid milk chocolate hearts that come in pink and silver wrappers. Unwrap the hearts before starting this recipe and let them sit in the fridge until you need them. If wanted, you can also use Reese’s heart shaped peanut butter chocolate instead. 

How To Make Peanut Butter Heart Cookies (Valentine’s Day Cookies)

• Step 1 : Preperation
  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper (my preferred method) or you can use a silpat liner or spray with cooking spray. 
  • Unwrap the Hershey’s chocolate hearts and place them in a bowl, in the fridge, until you need them later in the recipe. 
• Step 2 : Mix Dry Ingredients
  • In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
• Step 3 : Wet Ingredients
  • In a larger mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, or you can use a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter, butter, sugars. Beat on medium speed, for about 2 minutes, until combined and lighter in color. 
  • Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. 
• Step 4 : Cookie Dough
  • Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix on low speed just until combined and no flour streaks or pockets remain. 
• Step 5 : Peanut Butter Heart Blossom Cookies
  • Using a small cookie scoop, or 1.5 tablespoons of dough, scoop up the cookie dough and roll into a tight ball and then roll the ball in the sugar. Place on the cookie sheet. 
  • Bake for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies are puffy looking and there are slight cracks on the tops. 
  • Remove from the oven and immediately press a heart shaped chocolate (from the fridge) on top of each cookie. 
  • Let cool completely.

Tips For Success

• Use a Cookie Scoop : I think everyone needs a cookie scoop in their kitchen! It makes getting evenly sized cookies a breeze. I own this small cookie scoop (affiliate link) and this medium cookie scoop (affiliate link). I couldn’t imagine making cookies without one!
• Don’t Roll the Cookie Dough Balls Too Large : If you roll the balls of cookie dough too large, the cookie will end up spreading out weird and not having those fun crinkly edges, when you press the chocolate down on top of the cookie. The recipes says to roll into 1.5 tablespoons balls, so try to stick with that size. Each cookie dough ball should look slightly smaller than a golf ball. 
• Parchment Paper : I swear by using parchment paper for baking cookies on. I am positive it helps the cookies cook more evenly and prevents the bottoms of the cookie from over browning. I could not live without these pre-cut parchment paper sheets (affiliate link) by Reynold’s brand. I always have a stock of them in my kitchen. 
• Eat a Cookie Warm! : If you love chocolate + peanut butter then be sure you eat at least one cookie when it’s warm. It’s so incredible with the super soft peanut butter cookie and the melted, gooey chocolate on top. 

Hershey’s Peanut Butter Heart Cookies FAQ’s

• How to Store Leftovers
  • Store leftover cookies in an air tight container, at room temperature, for 3-4 days. 
  • You can eat them from room temperature or try warming one up in the microwave for 5-10 seconds!
• Can I Use Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Hearts Instead?
  • Yes! Of course you can. If you want more of that intense peanut butter cup flavor, then use the Reese’s heart shaped peanut butter chocolate instead. 
  • I have also seen the Dove brand of chocolate with a heart shaped chocolate as well. 
• Can I Freeze These Cookies?
  • Yes you can freeze them. You can either freeze the cookie dough balls OR freeze the baked and cooled cookies.
  • If baking from frozen, put the dough balls onto the cookie sheet, and let them sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. You may need to add an additional 1-2 minutes on the cook time. 
  • If eating a cookie from frozen, simply let it thaw at room temperature for a little but before eating. You can also warm it up in the microwave. 
• Can I Skip Rolling the Dough Balls in Sugar?
  • I would not recommend skipping this step. The sugar on the outside is what gives this cookie it’s sweet flavor and it gives it those crinkly edges, that we all love about classic kiss cookies or peanut butter blossom cookies. 
  • There are lots of sugar substitutes out there that can easily be swapped if you’re worried about the sugar. 

Celebrate Valentine’s Day With These Great Ideas

Everyone will love playing these Valentine’s Day Minute to Win It Games! Do you remember that fun show? All these ideas use those cute & colorful candy conversation hearts. Perfect for a family party, friends gathering, and even classroom parties. You can break into teams and keep score or just play for fun!

Serve some of this Party Punch (it’s a pretty pink color) at your party.

Make my Sheet Pan Sugar Cookie Bars with pink icing and use some festive Valentine’s Day Sprinkles on top. 

I always make my Favorite Sugar Cookies and have a cookie decorating station. Put some different frosting colors out and a wide selection of sprinkles and let everyone decorate their own. You can also use heart shaped jelly beans or the Valentine’s mix M&M’s as decoration for the cookies. 

Try my easy Red Velvet Sheet Cake for a festive and colorful dessert. It starts with a cake mix!

Have fun with this Valentine’s Day Trivia game at your party!