Conversation Heart Brownies

These Conversation Heart Brownies are a rich, chocolatey mess of goodness with all of the cuteness of the classic Valentine candies, making them the perfect easy Valentine’s dessert. I really wanted to do something cute with Conversation Hearts this Valentine’s Day – but I really didn’t want to eat chalky tasteless Conversation Hearts.

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Conversation Heart Brownies Recipe

For these easy Conversation Heart Brownies, I used my classic brown butter brownie recipe for this conversation heart brownie, although my 3-ingredient brownies would be a great time saver.

You can substitute your own favorite brownie recipe for ours – though I think it’s pretty fantastic. The focus here is making them look like little candies, which is a fun touch but trickier if you’re making these with kids as I did. The nice part is that you can play off the original conversation heart idea yet you have the freedom to choose the quotes and colors which can make these brownies an even more special treat!

Ingredients for Conversation Heart Brownies

• 1 1/3 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips2 1/2 cups vanilla or white frosting
• food coloring

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• 10×10 baking pan
• Medium saucepan
• 3-4 microwave-safe bowls
• Whisk or wooden spoon
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Piping bag
• Spoons

Baking Tips

• I baked the brownies in a 10″x10″ square pan and cut them out with a heart-shaped cookie cutter after cooling.
• If you don’t have a 10×10, you can use a 9″x9″ pan, but you may need to increase the bake time a little as the brownies will be thicker.

How to Make Conversation Heart Brownies

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease or spray a 10×10 baking pan.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden brown. Small pieces of milk fat will turn a chocolate brown and that’s okay. Remove the pan from the stove and immediately stir in the white sugar with a wooden spoon.
2. Add in the cocoa mixture and then allow to cool to room temperature, about 5-8 minutes.

1. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and flour, beating thoroughly after each addition. Beat for 2 minutes before adding in the chocolate chips.
2. Pour/spread the brownie batter into the baking pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and tops are cracked. Allow brownies to cool in the pan to avoid breaking. Ue a heart shaped cookie cutter to get as many brownies from the pan as you can.

1. Place 1/2 cup of frosting into 5 separate bowls. Add one drop of food coloring to each bowl, depending on the color you want. For the red piping color, you will need about 6 drops of food coloring. If you prefer, you can leave the piping frosting white.

1. Roughly frost each brownie with desired color and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes.
2. After they have set, use an offset spatula dipped in warm water, wiped with a paper towel to smooth tops.
3. Fill piping bag or zipper plastic bag with red piping frosting. We used a Wilton #1 tip for piping the words. If using plastic bag, snip a small corner off the bag to pipe.

Adorable, right? These Conversation Heart Brownies would be a cute classroom treat or a special surprise for your friends at the office!

More Valentine’s Day Treat Ideas

• Valentine’s Day Heart Cupcakes
• Valentine Play Dough Cookie Pops
• Heart Oreo Truffles
• Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Red Velvet Lasagna
• Red Velvet Fudge
• Chocolate Chip Cookies for Two
• Conversation Heart Cookies

This post originally appeared here on Jan 27, 2017.