Valentine’s Day Treats

By Amanda Mowery

It’s an old saying that to get to a man’s heart, one must go through his stomach. Extended research and surveys have questioned if this is also the way to a woman’s heart. So this Valentine’s Day grab some extra icing and heart shaped sprinkles to reach everyone’s heart.

Ombre White Chocolate Cherries

For the first recipe you will need:

• one pound of fresh cherries
• 22 ounces Ghirardelli white chocolate chips
• pink and red food coloring

Place a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet, rinse the cherries and split the chocolate chips into four small bowls. Heat a pot of water on medium until simmering. With a metal bowl overtop of the heat, pour in one of the bowls of white chocolate chips and let them heat up for two to three minutes until glistening. Stir until the chocolate is smooth and then remove the heat and put the concoction back into the original bowl.

After the white chocolate is back in the bowl, add a small amount of food coloring to serve as the palest color for the ombre dip on the cherries. Holding the cherry by the stem, dip it into the pale white chocolate color. Repeat the steps with the other bowls of white chocolate and increasingly add more food coloring as you go so when the cherries are dipped into the mix, the ombre design can be achieved. When you are finished dipping the cherries place them onto the wax paper and place them in the fridge.

Red Velvet Cake Truffles

For the second recipe you will need:

• A baked red velvet cake
• One cup of frosting
• White or dark chocolate

After the red velvet cake is baked and cooled, proceed to crumble the cake and mix it with the desired flavor of frosting until it has a cookie dough texture. When the cookie dough texture is reached, roll the concoction into balls and then freeze them for roughly an hour. After freezing them, take them out and dip them into the melted white or dark chocolate and add sprinkles if desired.

Strawberry Brownie Kabobs

For the third recipe you will need:

• One box of brownie mix
• Two large packs of strawberries
• A bag of marshmallows
• Two square bars of melting chocolate
• Halves of wooden skewers

After following instructions on the brownie box and the brownies are complete, proceed to cut both ends off of the strawberries during the process of rinsing them off. Stick a strawberry on one end of the skewer followed by a piece of mini brownie, a marshmallow and then another strawberry. For the final touch, melt the chocolate and drizzle it on top.

Cupid’s Crunch Popcorn Mix

For the fourth recipe you will need:

• Two bags of popcorn
• 12 ounces bag of Wilton candy melts
• Two cups of broken pretzels
• One and a half cups of M&Ms
• Sprinkles

For the last recipe, Cupid’s Crunch Popcorn Mix, keep in mind the more red and pink food color included, the more festive the treat will appear in the finished product. Pop the popcorn and take out any unpopped kernels, and melt the candy melts in the microwave in 30 second intervals. After this, mix the broken pretzels and M&Ms with the popcorn and pour one half of the melted candy on top. Place the mixture on a sheet of wax paper and drizzle the rest of the melted candy on top. When the chocolate dries, then Cupid’s Crunch can be broken up and shared with loved ones.

Whether or not someone must go through a stomach to reach someone’s heart, just whip up one of these recipes and you’ll be sure to reach some taste buds this Valentine’s Day.