Peanut Butter Pretzel Love Bugs
Peanut Butter Pretzel Love bugs are an easy-to-make no bake Valentine's Day treat that's made with store-bought ingredients in only 30 minutes! A simple recipe that brings edible fun to February 14th!
Print
Pin
Servings: 20 bites
EQUIPMENT
- Small heat-safe bowl
- medium heat-safe bowl
- stirring spoon or small spatula
- parchment paper
- piping bag or ziplock bag with a hole cut in the corner
INGREDIENTS
- 12 ounces red candy melts
- 2 cups Reese’s peanut butter chips
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 20 milk chocolate-covered mini pretzels
- 3 tablespoons black icing
- 40 small candy eyes
- 40 large pink heart sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small heat-safe bowl, melt your Reese peanut butter chips according to the package directions. Once melted and smooth, transfer the melted Reese peanut butter into a piping bag or a zip lock bag with a hole cut in the corner.
- Pipe the melted Reese’s peanut butter into each of the 3 holes in your mini chocolate-covered pretzels. Do this over parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to your surface. Fill them enough to fill each hole. Set them aside for about 10 minutes to set (harden).
- In a medium heat-safe bowl, coat your red melting wafers with vegetable oil and then melt them according to package instructions. The vegetable oil will thin the red chocolate enough to smoothly coat the pretzel without being chunky.
- Once the red chocolate is melted and smooth, dip each chocolate-covered pretzel in leaving just a tiny bit of the bottom of the pretzel out. This will be the love bug’s head, so you don’t want to coat it in red.
- Let the excess red chocolate drip back into the bowl and then set the love bug aside on parchment paper.
- Before the red chocolate has completely hardened, place a large pink sprinkle on each side of the bug, and point toward the head.
- Using the back icing, “glue” 2 eyes to each bug where there is no red chocolate.
- Set your love bugs in a refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to harden, and then serve at room temperature or chilled.
NOTES
- Storage Instructions:
These Peanut Butter pretzel love bugs can be kept at room temperature, covered, for up to 24 hours. You can store them in your refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days, or a freezer-safe container in your freezer for up to 6 months. - Can I eat these warm or cold?
These peanut butter pretzel love bugs should be served at room temperature or chilled. Don’t warm them up or they will melt. - What is another variation I can make?
You can also make these love bugs with larger pretzels, however, you’ll need to double or triple the amount of Reese peanut butter chips and red melting wafers to cover the larger pretzels. - What are substitutions that I can make?
You can substitute the Reese’s peanut butter chips with butterscotch chips, milk chocolate, or white chocolate.
You can substitute the candy eyes with black icing dots
You can substitute the large pink heart sprinkles with any sprinkles you would like.
You can substitute vegetable oil with coconut oil or canola oil.
You can substitute the black icing with red icing or brown icing. - Do I have to use store-bought chocolate-covered pretzels or can I make my own?
You do not have to buy store-bought chocolate-covered pretzels for this recipe, you can make your own and use them to make these love bugs. You can cover pretzels in chocolate yourself if you prefer. I recommend covering them in milk chocolate. - Can I make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Yes, you can make these peanut butter pretzel love bugs ahead of time and freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. To thaw, you can leave them at room temperature or place them in an airtight container in your refrigerator until completely thawed.