Have no fear – I’m not slowing down on Valentine’s Day content. I love Valentine Snack Ideas!

Looking for Valentine Snack Ideas? Heart Pretzel Candy is easy to make and super cute to eat and serve just in time for your Valentine's Day celebrations!

It’s not high tech like Valentine’s Day Mini Ombre Cakes, but it’s last minute stuff!

And that’s what we need right now. Speaking of which, we had a great and relaxing weekend. We did a lot of valentine making, cookie baking, and resting. In fact, I’m glowing from that and also from my Cane+Austin Miracle Pads. This is a company I’m super into, and I’m absolutely loving using my peel pads twice a day. That, drinking more water, relaxing more, and doing some therapeutic baking or making heart pretzel candy has been where it’s at this weekend! I had to share!

And now, the recipe. Heart shaped pretzel candy is super easy to make, and is kid-helping-hands friendly. They’ll love making it, and it’s virtually impossible to screw it up. Pretzels + melting chocolate + sprinkles = happy. Spread the love.

Valentine Snack Ideas: Heart Pretzel Candy:

What You Need:

Mini Pretzels
White chocolate candy melts
Milk chocolate candy melts (optional)
Candy colors – make sure you don’t use regular food coloring or icing colors. Also, note that you get a much nicer shade of pink using pink candy color rather than just mixing in red candy color to your white chocolate
Sprinkles (optional)
Toothpicks
Spoons & small bowls
Parchment paper or waxed paper
Small cutting board or tray

What You Do:

1 – Melt about 4 ounces of chocolate per package directions (typically you microwave it for 1 minute at 50% power, and then stir and continue to heat it for 30 second intervals until it’s smooth) Note: If you’re using milk chocolate, it’s important to temper the chocolate – stir in un-melted pieces to the hot melted chocolate mixture. This will help the chocolate remain shiny after it hardens

2 – [For white candy skip this step] Dip a toothpick in the pink candy color and stir it into melted white chocolate

3 – Repeat with a clean toothpick until you get your desired shade

4 – Put a strip of parchment paper or waxed paper onto a small cutting board, and set a pretzel down on it

5 – Spoon the melted candy onto the pretzel as shown. Then, use the toothpick to sweep around the edges forming a heart shape. It may take you a few pretzels to get the hang of it. If they look ugly you’ll just have to eat them!

6 – Tap the cutting board on your work surface to spread the candy out further and to get the air bubbles out

7 – If you want to decorate with sprinkles, add them before the chocolate hardens. Since these are pretzels, you can even decorate with a little kosher salt or extra coarse salt from a salt grinder – just use it in moderation. Yum!

8 – Repeat with several more pretzels. When your cutting board is full, put it in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden

9 – If you want to drizzle on stripes in a contrasting color, melt some additional chocolate as in steps 1 & 2 above

10 – Lay the candy pretzels out on waxed or parchment paper and drizzle melted chocolate across it with a small spoon. It helps to start the drizzle on the paper and then continue across the candy to the paper on the other side

What are you doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

I’m definitely needing some accolades for my Valentine’s Day Mini Ombre Cakes!

Nothing shows love like Valentine's Day Mini Ombre Cake. You can make them for your sweetheart and blow them away with a romantic dinner & dessert together!

Wow, it’s been a week, huh? This one has been one of those weeks in which I’m convinced it’s already Thursday when it’s only Tuesday. Now it really is Thursday, though! I’ve had anxiety-inducing things this week – like my annual doctor’s exam (went well!), a meeting about Scarlet going away with the school for THREE nights next year (sob), as well as a mid-week sleepover with our adorable neighbor because her parents were in a jam. I’m happy it was all way smoother than expected.

Now I celebrate with cake – mini ombre cake, in fact!

Valentine’s Day Mini Ombre Cakes for One:

What You Need:

Cakes:
Boxed Yellow Cake mix
Ingredients for the cake mix (example: 3 eggs, 1/3 C oil, 1 C water)
Red food coloring
Pink food coloring
Round cookie cutter
2 sheet pans/cookie sheets
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
Vanilla buttercream frosting (ingredients below)

What You Do:

1 – First, preheat oven to 350°F and line pans with parchment paper and then spray with cooking spray

2 – Then, prepare cake mix according to box

3 – Evenly divide into 4 bowls (3 bowls plus the one you mixed in is fine)

4 – Next, leave one the way it is, and color the remaining 3 different tints of pink and red

5 – Pour one color onto one half of a pan, pour another onto the other half, and spread until they meet in the middle

6 – Then, repeat with the remaining two colors in the remaining pan

7 – Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through and cake starts to pull away from edges

8 – Lastly, allow them to cool completely and use a cookie cutter to cut circles out of each color

*Amount of cakes you will get depends on the size of the pan and the size of the cookie cutter you use

Frosting:
2 sticks butter, softened
4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs milk
Red food coloring
Pink food coloring

1 – In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), whip butter for 2 minutes

2 – Add vanilla, sugar and milk and whip for another 2 minutes

3 – Then, separate into different bowl and color each with different tints of pink and red

How to assemble mini cakes:

1 – Place the darkest color down on a plate and evenly spread a little frosting

2 – Repeat, using the next 3 cakes in color order from darkest to lightest

3 – Crumb coat the cake (use a little icing over the whole cake) and place in the freezer for a few minutes

4 – Add your frosting and decorate!

And that’s it! It gets easier with practice, but they are just so adorable. And the surprise of finding ombre in there is worth every second! I’m going to surprise both kids and Cassidy with these on Valentine’s Day. Magic!