It’s February already, and that means Valentine’s Day is upon us. It’s the holiday to share the love you have for friends, gal pals, family, and of course your significant other. The stores are filled with candy, flowers, and stuffed animals in radiant pink and red colors. While these items are cute and sweet, some are excessively overpriced for this otherwise special occasion.

I think that a homemade gift is so much easier and much more personal than anything store bought. This next recipe is for beautiful chocolate hearts. If you have that one friend or family member that is hard to shop for, a co-worker you just don’t know what to gift, or just don’t want that stuffed animal you gave your partner lingering in the closet for years, then these are perfect. You can purchase a small silicone mold literally anywhere for a few dollars, even cents.

I purchased mine at Walmart for $1.52 which I love because I can reuse it every year.

For these chocolate hearts you can use any festive sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit or rose petals, basically any topping you’d like. I would not use anything too liquidy so that the chocolate hearts set quickly. Crunchy or solid toppings work best.

I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips, and white melting chips which are a good quality chocolate but any other brand will work.

This type of recipe is one where you can get creative and even go all out gourmet. Fancy Valentine!

How sweet would it be for the people you love to know you took the time to make something for them instead of just buying it. Priceless.

Here is the recipe:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes (depends on batch quantity)

Total Cook Time: Varies

Servings: Varies

Ingredients:

• Silicone heart mold
• Ghirardelli chocolate chips
• Ghirardelli white melting chips
• Festive sprinkles (I used tiny heart ones)
• Dried rose petals
• Gold decorating sugar
• Red decorating sugar
• Fine Himalayan Pink sea salt
• Pacific Blue flake salt
• Pink, red or favorite food coloring

Directions:

1. Place your silicone mold on a baking sheet or a cutting board so it is easy to carry to the freezer. You may need to tap the tray against the countertop to remove any air bubbles from the molds once you add the chocolate.
2. Make sure you have all your toppings ready to use. I like to use extra small glass bowls for each topping and set up work station close to the stove.
3. Now fill the silicone hearts with toppings. I do one set of toppings at a time.
4. Time to melt the chocolate. I used the double boiler method. I prepared two double boilers, one for each chocolate.
5. Use a shallow medium size pot and add water. About ⅓ full (about 4 cups)
6. Then place a glass Pyrex bowl over the pot and set to low heat.
7. Add the packages of Ghirardelli chocolate to each double boiler bowl. Melt the chocolates, slowly stirring frequently until smooth and ready to use.
8. If you don’t feel confident about handling the two double boilers at the same time, work on one at a time.
9. Add the sprinkles and toppings to your hearts. Don’t overfill.
10. Now spoon in (use the smallest spoon you have available) the melted chocolate to each heart. Tap the baking tray on the countertop to remove any bubbles (though I like the imperfections myself). Using the bottom of a spoon handle works great too.
11. If you want a different color heart, add the food coloring to the melted white chocolate and stir to desired color, then add to the silicone mold hearts. Repeat step #10 if necessary.
12. Take the mold to the freezer and careful place it on a flat surface. Let the mold sit for 15- 30 minutes per batch.