Valentine’s Day Treats You Can Enjoy With Anyone
Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion for baking up a storm and indulging in some delicious baked goods! There are so many treats you can enjoy on Valentine’s Day, no matter who you’re spending it with. Here are some festive recipes to try either on your own, with your friends, or with your Valentine!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate covered strawberries are such a romantic and delicious treat, which makes them perfect for Valentine’s Day! For this recipe, all you will need is a 10-ounce bag of chocolate baking chips and two pounds of fresh strawberries.
Start off by washing your strawberries and drying them well; if they’re wet, the chocolate won’t stick! After this, place your baking chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave it in 30 second intervals, stirring often. Once your chocolate is melted, grab a strawberry by the stem and dip it into the bowl. Place them on a pan lined with parchment paper, and then place that in the fridge once you’re done!
Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls
A sweet treat for breakfast on Valentine’s is the perfect way to kickstart the day. All you need for this recipe is a standard package of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and an air fryer.
First, spray the air fryer with some coconut oil or cooking spray and place the pre-made rolls (as many as you can fit) in the basket facing up. Once they’re in there, cook them for about 8 minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit. You can cook them for another minute or for a minute less, depending on how you prefer your cinnamon rolls.
Heart-Shaped Sugar Cookies
This aptly shaped treat is a must-eat on the day of sweets and sugar. With love in the air, heart shaped sugar cookies are definitely the way to go. Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need for this simple sugar cookie recipe:
Cookies:
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- ½ cup of light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
Icing:
- 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons of milk
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Red food coloring (optional)
Start by creaming the butter and sugar together until it is fluffy, and then add your egg, corn syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Make sure this is well mixed and then begin to add the flour one cup at a time to the mixture (while beating in between each addition). Put in the salt, as well.
Once your mix is done, roll it out on a countertop sprinkled with flour and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to get your shapes. Place these on a baking sheet and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-12 minutes.
When you make the icing, simply beat all the ingredients together until it is smooth. Wait for the cookies to cool, and then spread some glaze onto each cookie. Now you have some adorable, heart cookies to enjoy with the people you love!
Strawberry Muffins
Red is the color of Valentine’s Day, and since we’ve already included one strawberry-themed recipe, here’s another one in the form of muffins! These are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups of freshly chopped strawberries
- ½ cup of softened butter
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
You should begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lining a muffin tin with paper liners. Now mix your lemon juice and milk together in a bowl, and in a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. After they’re creamed, begin to mix the eggs in one at a time and add the milk and lemon mixture, as well as the lemon extract.
Now you can start to fold in the strawberries. In another bowl, whisk together all of the remaining dry ingredients. Once the strawberries have been folded in, add the dry ingredients and continue to stir. When the batter is ready, spoon some into each liner (about 2/3 full). Place a small strawberry slice on top of each muffin and sprinkle a little extra sugar on top; when they’re done, these will look like little hearts!
Bake for about 25-30 minutes and then let these cool; now you can enjoy this sweet and adorable treat on February 14th!
Heart-Shaped Brownies
Brownies are a classic treat, and you can theme them for Valentine’s Day by simply using a heart-shaped cookie cutter. You just need the following ingredients:
- 1 bag (12 ounces) of semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- 1 ½ cups of flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon of salt
First and foremost, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, either over the stove or in the microwave, begin melting the butter and chocolate chips together. No matter which method you use, make sure to stir intermittently and often so that the mixture doesn’t burn.
Once you’ve melted your butter and chocolate, mix in the sugar and vanilla. Then add in your eggs and make sure that each egg is fully mixed in. Now you can put in the flour and salt and combine it all together until you have smooth, chocolatey batter.
Pour the batter into a greased pan (either square or rectangular) and bake for about 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat down to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 10 minutes. Once you’ve let the pan cool, you can use your heart-shaped cookie cutter to get the cute shapes and enjoy your extra special brownies!
Bonus: Buttercream Frosting
If you want to make your brownies even more special and delicious, make a batch of frosting to top them with! You can even use some food dye to make it pink or red for extra theming. You’ll need the following ingredients:
- 7 tablespoons of butter (softened)
- 1 ¾ cups of powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons of heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Just mix all these ingredients together extremely well (and quite quickly) and you’ll have whipped up a super easy buttercream frosting that can go on your brownies, as well as anything else you’d ever need to frost!
