4 DIY Valentine’s Day sweets to melt the heart

Valentine’s Day is a day to express our love and appreciation for those we care about, but finding a romantic way to convey these loving feelings can cause a whole lot of stress.

Have you ever spent the days or even weeks before Valentine’s Day scrambling for the perfect gift or searching for a classy restaurant that isn’t already booked? It can challenge your sanity.

If you’re looking for an easy, stress-free way to impress your valentine, surprise him or her with a homemade sweet treat. You don’t need to be an experienced cook to make these fun, versatile desserts. All you need is love and little counter space.  

Conversation Hearts

Create custom-flavored candy hearts with personalized messages using this recipe created by pastry chef, Stella Parks. The recipe calls for freeze-dried fruit, which allows for softer textured hearts, so you won’t feel like your biting into cement. Once you taste these hearts, you’ll wonder why you ever settled for the factory-made version.       

Recipe: Conversation Hearts

Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark with Hazelnuts and Dried Apricots

Chocolate bark is one of those sweets that is so easy to make and so versatile, it’s impossible not to love it. Winnie Abramson shares her chocolate bark recipe on her food blog, Healthy Green Kitchen and shares alternative mix-ins to satisfy different palettes. Swap out the hazelnuts and dried apricots for almonds and dried mango or use the original toppings in addition to other toppings.

Recipe: Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark with Hazelnuts and Dried Apricots

Banana Split Cheesecake Bites

If you’re valentine doesn’t like chocolate (do these people exist?), try making these cheesecake bites created by food blogger, Katie Higgins. As Higgins says, this recipe is hard to mess up. Just throw all of the ingredients into a blender, pour the batter into cupcake liners and freeze. The combination of banana split and cheesecake takes this recipe to a delicious level. As an added bonus, each bite has only 30 calories.

Recipe: Banana Split Cheesecake Bites

Yin and Yang Chocolate Fondue

Fondue is a romantic dessert for Valentine’s Day because it’s meant to share. This particular fondue recipe from The Melting Pot is especially perfect for couples who can’t seem to agree on white or dark chocolate fondue. Heat up white and dark chocolate, pour them simultaneously into a pot and you have two different fondues that create a fun yin and yang shape. For the dippers, try cut up strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, rice treats, marshmallows, or brownies.

Recipe: Yin and Yang Chocolate Fondue