Last updated on December 26th, 2024 at 09:37 pm
Valentine’s day is almost here, and I thought it would be fun to make some adorable, heart-shaped brownies! These valentine heart brownies are the perfect cute Valentine’s desserts for your sweetheart, bake sales, or even just for yourself (because self-love is important too!). Before we dive into the baking and decorating, let’s gather everything you’ll need.
Jump to Recipe
Ingredients:
- Brownie Mix or Homemade Brownie Recipe: You can’t go wrong with your favorite brownie mix or a simple, fudgy homemade recipe.
- Eggs, Oil, and Water: If you’re using a mix, check the package for specifics and go with those!
- Unsalted Butter: Softened to room temperature for the frosting
- Powdered Sugar: Perfect for making a smooth frosting.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances all the sweet flavors.
- Food Coloring: Pink, red, or any other Valentine’s color you love.
- Decorative Sprinkles: Think hearts, glitter, or anything cute for Valentine’s Day
Decorating Tools for Valentine Heart Brownies:
- Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter: The star of the show for making those perfect heart shape brownies.
- Piping Bags and Tips: Great for detailed decorating.
- Frosting Couplers: Optional but useful to changing out various piping tips instead of having many different piping bags
- Parchment Paper: A great decorating surface that you can easily get messy and then throw out
How to Make Heart Shaped Brownies
Let’s get to the fun part: baking and transforming a pan of regular brownies into a batch of cute Valentine’s desserts that’ll steal anyone’s heart.
Step 1: Bake Your Brownies
Start by preparing your brownie batter. If you’re using a mix, follow the package directions. For homemade brownies, whisk together your wet and dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Pour it into a parchment paper-lined baking pan—I recommend a 9×13-inch pan for thin, easy-to-cut brownies.
Bake the brownies according to the instructions, but keep an eye on them to avoid overbaking. A slightly underbaked brownie will be fudgier and easier to cut into heart shapes without crumbling. You know your brownies are done when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out either clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
Step 2: Cool Completely
Once your brownies are out of the oven, let them cool completely in the pan. This step is crucial for clean cuts and perfectly shaped hearts.
Step 3: Cut Out Heart Shapes
Grab your heart-shaped cookie cutter and start pressing it into the cooled brownies. You can spray your cookie cutter with a bit of non-stick spray to help the hearts come out cleanly. To maximize the number of heart brownies you get, arrange the cutter close to the edges and each other. Don’t worry about leftover scraps—they’re perfect for snacking or crumbling over ice cream.
Step 4: Decorate!
Now for the creative part: decorating your valentine heart brownies! Whip up a simple buttercream frosting by combining butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add a splash of milk for the perfect consistency.
Divide the frosting into bowls and use food coloring to create a Valentine’s Day palette. Spread or pipe the frosting onto each heart brownie, then go wild with sprinkles, edible glitter, and any other fun toppings.
Let your frosting set for an hour or so, and you’ll be good to go!
Pro Tips
Here are some tried-and-true tips to ensure your heart shape brownies turn out perfect every time:
1. Use Some Non-Stick Spray
A metal cookie cutter works best for cutting through the brownies. You can also lightly grease it to prevent sticking. You can also the brownies in the fridge for about 30 minutes before using the cookie cutter. This helps them firm up and hold their shape while you’re cutting too.
2. Practice Your Decorations on Parchment Paper
I recommend figuring out which designs you want to make with your frosting and practicing them on a clean sheet or parchment paper first. If you don’t mix your colors too much on the parchment paper, you can easily use a rubber spatula to scrape the frosting back in the bowl and then you can use it on your brownies after a couple practice rounds. Here are some examples of frosting tips and the different designs they can make:
3. Level Your Brownie Batter
Before baking, use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the batter in your pan. This ensures consistent thickness and makes cutting heart shapes easier.
4. Use a Frosting Coupler
If you want to use various different frosting tips without having to change them out of your piping bag, a coupler is the way to go. That way you can have a variety of frosting decorations in the same color of frosting. Couplers are actually only a couple of dollars to buy at a craft store, too! Also, I would just keep the same tips for the same colors of frosting so you’re not constantly having to wash out your frosting tips because you want to change colors.
Note: Different couplers fit different sized piping tips. If you’re buying frosting couplers for the first time, check out the frosting tips at the store, too, to make sure they fit.
FAQs
Q: Can I use a different shape besides hearts?
Absolutely! While heart brownies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, you can switch things up for other occasions. I also make Christmas tree brownies around Christmas time.
Q: What can I do with the leftover brownie scraps?
Don’t toss those delicious scraps! Use them to make brownie truffles by mixing them with frosting, rolling them into balls, and dipping them in chocolate. You can also crumble them over ice cream or yogurt for a tasty treat, as well.
Q: How far in advance can I make these brownies?
You can bake and cut the brownies up to two days ahead of time. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Decorate them the day you plan to serve for the freshest presentation.
Q: Can I make these gluten-free or vegan?
Definitely! Use a gluten-free brownie mix or recipe for a celiac-friendly version. For vegan valentine heart brownies, substitute flax eggs, dairy-free butter, and plant-based milk in your recipe. You can make vegan-friendly frosting with either vegetable shortening or vegan butter.
Q: What if I don’t have a heart-shaped cookie cutter?
No cutter? No problem! Use a knife to carefully cut heart shapes freehand, or trace a heart template onto parchment paper, place it over the brownies, and cut around it.
These valentine heart brownies are the perfect heart-shaped desserts for Valentine’s Day. They’re easy to make, endlessly customizable, and guaranteed to impress anyone lucky enough to try one. Whether you’re baking for a bake sale, a Galentine’s Day celebration, or just to treat yourself, these brownies will make the day extra sweet. Happy baking, and may your Valentine’s Day be as delightful as these cute Valentine’s desserts!
Valentine Heart Shaped Brownies
Equipment
- 2 Piping bags 1 per color of frosting if you're also using frosting couplers
- 2 Frosting couplers 1 per piping bag
- Piping tips I try to use certain tips for certain frosting colors and not switch it up too much
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Ingredients
Brownie Ingredients
- 1 Brownie mix
- Eggs, water and oil However much your brownie mix calls for
Frosting Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-3 tsp milk optional, for adjusting texture
- food coloring I used red and pink for Valentine's day
- Valentine's Day themed sprinkles
Instructions
Bake brownies
- Prepare your brownie mix according to the package instructions
- Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper
- Spread your brownie batter flat in parchment-lined pan and bake according to package instructions
- Let brownies cool completely before moving on (you can also put them in the fridge to really help them cool and firm up)
Cut and Decorate Brownies
- Carefully remove your brownies from the pan. Spray your heart-shaped cookie cutter with a bit non-stick spray
- Cut your brownies into heart shapes using the cookie cutter. Try to cut your brownies as close together as possible to maximize the number of hearts you get.
- Beat together your butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a bit of milk to adjust for texture.
- Divide your frosting into as many bowls as you want for colors of frosting. Mix in food coloring. It's best to use an electric mixer to get even color distribution. If you're lazy like me, mix the lighter colors (e.g. pink) before the darker colors (like red) so that you don't really have to wash your beaters for each color.
- Add your colored frosting to piping bags with tips. Use frosting couplers if you want to use multiple frosting tips. *See note about couplers below
- Pipe pretty decorations and patterns on your heart-shaped brownies. Add sprinkles (f you want to) while the frosting is still fresh.
