Sweet Treats for Your Valentine!
Ever wonder why Valentine’s Day, which celebrates love and romance and relationships, is marked by giving chocolate and other sweets? The ancient Aztecs considered chocolate an aphrodisiac, and by the 1840s the notion of celebrating love on Valentine’s Day had reached many countries. But it was Richard Cadbury, scion of the British chocolate manufacturing family, who recognized a marketing opportunity and produced the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for the holiday. 
In keeping with tradition, we rounded up some sweet ideas for your valentine – some dessert recipes to make and some to treats to buy!
Make and Bake Valentine’s Sweets
Remember sharing those heart-shaped message candies in elementary school on Valentine’s Day ? Talk about a marketing opportunity! If we remember right, the original conversation hearts weren’t our favorite sweets but we looked forward to giving and receiving them every February! Here’s a way to keep the sweet whimsy of love notes in a heart-shaped Sugar Cookie from Kelsey’s Kitchen. These cake-like cookies require message-in-a-cookie-cutter help with a tool like this one from Country Kitchen Sweet Art.
Pink valentine pancakes are sweet way to start the day and there is no shortage of ideas for these on the ‘net. Martha Stewart suggests filling a pastry bag with batter and “piping” heart shapes by drawing a V of batter and filling the rest. Her recipe is the from-scratch variety with butter, flour, sugar and baking powder. She doesn’t include a single drop of red food coloring – that was our idea! Or, instead of piping your own, you can pick up her collection of heart-shaped pancake molds at Macy’s at the nearby Orchard Town Center in Westminster. Two Peas and Their Pod whipped up some whole wheat heart pancakes with yogurt and brown sugar to the delight of lots of littles. Tip: spray the rings with oil to prevent your pretty pancakes from sticking!
Does your valentine avoid gluten? Then try this Flourless Chocolate Cake with butter, sugar, eggs and cocoa powder from Delish, topped with fresh raspberries. If flour isn’t forbidden, nothing says love like a Valentine’s Day Cookie Pie, like this one from Baker by Nature.
And if you’re short on time or don’t want a lot of leftover sweets laying around on the 15th, try this Red Velvet Cake for Two from Broma Bakery. Blogger Sarah says this is the holiday to express your love through chocolate, and if it’s just you two, this multi-layered treat only takes 30 minutes until you’re relishing every bite.
If your sweetheart is more of a savory aficionado, there are no rules you’ll break by making something you’d salt rather than sweeten. From a heart-shaped pepperoni pizza (Tip Hero shows you how), to a French tomato tart from Winos and Foodies made of puff pastry, or a heart-shaped grilled cheese sandwich from Make Myself at Home. You can ply your valentine with his or her preferences in lots of ways!
Slow and Pressure-Cooked Dessert Ideas
Another morning or brunch treat that you’ll likely eat till it’s GONE, is the Cinnamon-Pecan Breakfast Bread Pudding from Southern Living. Start this slow-cooker recipe the day before by covering and chilling slices of French bread in a deliciously spiced cream mixture for eight to 18 hours. You’ll want five hours for it to set in your slow cooker, so either set your alarm on Friday the 14th, or save it for a late breakfast on Saturday.
Karen at 365 Days of Crockpot experimented with this German Chocolate Bundt cake in her Instant Pot® and says while she usually makes everything from scratch, using cake plus pudding mixes make the best cake. The pecan coconut topping is really cream cheese chocolate frosting, and while you could call this “chocolate overload”, is that even possible?
Classy Treats to Buy
You don’t have to look very far to find stellar sweets to buy online. From Williams-Sonoma’s Valentine’s Day Macarons from Dana’s Bakery in New York, to Harry and David’s deluxe Valentine’s Gift Box with pears, cheese, crackers, cookies and chocolates — to which you can also add wine. Or go with the seasonal, always welcome personalize-able M&Ms™ and add your own message or photo. These eatable treats come in a heart-shaped acrylic box directly from MMs.com.
Valentine’s Day on the Hill
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill with neighbors, friends and family with one of resident Stephanie Golovach’s famous specialty cakes! If you haven’t yet, check out all the enviable amenities and tour the beautiful model homes brought to you by Colorado’s top builders: Century Communities, Meritage Homes, and Richmond American Homes. These brand new ranch-style or two-story designs are nestled in one of the fastest-growing communities north of Denver and priced from the high $300s.
