This Pillsbury delight makes for a tasty Valentine’s Day (Courtesy of Pillsbury)
Instead of buying the clichéd heart-shaped box of chocolates this Valentine’s Day, prepare your own sweet treat. The recipes below incorporate flavors like chocolate, strawberry and cinnamon to give your dessert a Valentine’s Day-inspired flavor that you can make yourself. Additionally, many of these recipes can be great gifts for your significant other, friends or family, and making these treats yourself will definitely show them that you care.
Sweetheart Cinnamon Rolls (from Pillsbury)
Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a nine-inch round pan with cooking spray. Take a cinnamon roll from a can and unwind it, leaving the center together. Coil the unrolled end in towards the center and pull the middle of the strip down to a point, forming a heart. Place in pan with points towards the center and bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool for five minutes and then top with icing.
Easy Chocolate-Strawberry Cookies (from Pillsbury)
Bake a package of ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookies as directed on package. Let cool completely and then top each with a teaspoon of strawberry jam. Melt a half-cup of dark chocolate candy melts and then drizzle over the cookies. Repeat with a half-cup of white chocolate candy melts.
Valentine’s Day Hot Chocolate (from Cake-N-Knife)
Add one-and-one-quarter cups of white chocolate chips and one and one-quarter cups of heavy cream to a pan over medium-low heat and stir occasionally until chocolate melts. Add three-and-one-half cups of half-and-half and one teaspoon of vanilla to the pan. Cook until heated through and then add red food coloring to give the drink a pink tint, if desired.
Three-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse (from Tasty)
In a medium pot, combine five ounces of marshmallows and one-and-one-half cups of milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are melted. Put one cup of dark chocolate chips or chunks in a heatproof bowl and then pour the marshmallow mixture over them. After letting it sit for two to three minutes, whisk to combine until smooth. Divide between four serving bowls/cups and refrigerate for an hour. Top with whipped cream.
Cinnamon Fudge (from Betty Crocker)
Line an eight-inch square pan with foil. Melt two cups of white vanilla baking chips and then stir in one container of vanilla frosting. In a saucepan, heat two tablespoons of red cinnamon candies and three tablespoons of water to boiling. Lower heat and simmer until candies are melted. Whisk in one tablespoon of butter and then gradually beat this mixture into the frosting mixture. Spread in pan and top with heart-shaped sprinkles. When ready to serve, cut fudge into heart shapes.
Cookie Dough-Stuffed Brownie Truffles (from Tasty)
Prepare one box of brownie mix according to package directions. Once cool, roll out the brownies to one quarter-inch thickness and cut into 16 squares. Make the cookie dough by combining one half-cup of flour, one quarter-cup of brown sugar, four tablespoons of melted butter, two tablespoons of milk, one quarter-teaspoon of vanilla and one quarter-cup of mini chocolate chips and then freezing this mixture for 30 minutes to an hour. Form the dough into 16 balls and wrap a brownie around each ball of dough. Melt chocolate of your choice and then dip the balls into it. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Stephanie Santillo is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.santillo@uconn.edu.
