Gourmet Homemade Chocolates for Valentine's Day

Homemade Gourmet Chocolates for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you are looking to make a homemade treat for your love or trying to figure out what treat to send to school for you kids, chocolate covered pretzels and heart-shaped rice crispy treats dipped in chocolate can make the perfect indulgence! These gourmet homemade chocolates for Valentine’s Day are so easy, you may end up making them year round!

These homemade treats look festive and delicious. The best part is that they look fancy, but you won’t have to pay the expensive price tag that comes along with buying them from a gourmet shop. Here’s what you will need:
• Chocolate candy wafers
• Pretzel rods
• Rice crispy treats
• Assorted sprinkles
• Double broiler (or similar set up)
• Wax paper

Heart-shaped Rice Krispie Treats

Making a heart-shaped rice crispy treat is not as hard as it looks:

Cut larger corners off one side to form the point at the bottom of the heart
Cut very small corners off the other side to round the top edges of the heart
Cut a small “V” in the middle of the top
Use your hands to mold the rough edges

Set the heart-shaped krispie treats aside. Once the chocolate is melted, you can dip the top in or drizzle with the melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles.

How to Melt Chocolate without a Double Broiler

You don’t need to buy a double broiler to melt chocolate properly. All you need is a regular pot; fill it about 3/4 full with water and boil. Make sure you have a large, glass bowl that will sit on top of the pot without falling in, but the bottom of the bowl needs to fit down in far enough to touch the water as it boils. Pour the chocolate melts into the bowl. The boiling water will do most of the work, but you can stir occasionally to keep the chocolate melting evenly.

*You can also melt the chocolate wafers in the microwave at 50% power, in 30 second increments.

Once melted, the chocolate should look smooth and shiny. It should be free of any lumps and pour freely. Pour out onto a piece of wax paper. Dip the heart shaped rice crispy treats in the chocolate or drizzle with a fork. Sprinkle with festive Valentine’s Day colors before the chocolate starts to harden.

I decided to get creative with some of the leftover chocolate and make a heart-shaped chocolate wafer. Start with a small circle of chocolate and use a butter knife or toothpick to move it around into the shape of a heart. When the chocolate hardens and dries, it will peel off the wax paper easily.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Not much explanation needed here… you just dip the pretzel rods in the melted chocolate and top with sprinkles as desired. Of course, you can melt a different color of chocolate and drizzle over to decorate them too…

Chocolate Pops

Here’s another fun and easy treat to make for your kids’ Valentine’s Day parties! Not quite as “fancy-looking” as the chocolate covered Rice Krispie treats and chocolate covered pretzel, but, your kids will love these chocolate pops. These also make a fun treat for a Valentine’s Day party or just to attach to the cards your kids hand out to their classmates. I can make these chocolate pops for about $0.10 each! That is a huge savings from any ready-made candy that you might buy for your kids to hand out.