Valentine's Day Sweets and Treats

Why buy processed sweets from who knows where, when you can delight your loved ones with homemade candies and cookies made right in your own kitchen?

Whip up a batch of luscious treats for your favorite Valentine sweets in only minutes. These treats are perfect for handing out at school, work or even just to family and friends. Wrap your sweets in clear bags, tie with ribbon and add a tag with a quick note to let the recipients know how much you care.

Heart Pops

Make your favorite cookies into cookie pops. Prepare any roll out cookies as directed on the recipe. Roll the dough out on a hard surface. Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookie dough. Bake as directed on the recipe. Remove the cookies from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully, insert a popsicle stick into the edge of each cookie. Let the cookies continue to cool. Use canned frosting and Valentines Day sprinkles to decorate the heart cookie pops.

Red and White Cookies

Create a twist on the simple black and white cookies of days gone by. Prepare and bake a batch of refrigerated sugar cookie dough as directed. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Prepare a glaze of 1 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Mix another batch of glaze in a second bowl. Add 4 to 6 drops of red food coloring to one bowl of glaze. Dip one side of a cooled cookie into the white glaze. Dip the opposite side of the cookie into the red glaze. Repeat with each cookie. Allow the glaze to harden before serving.

Pink Fudge

Be festive and make your fudge match the season instead of preparing just plain chocolate or peanut butter flavors. Mix 2 cups white chocolate chips and 2 -1/2 cups white frosting together in a large bowl. Add 6 to 8 drops of red food coloring to the mixture and stir. Add more or less food coloring until you get the color you desire. Line an 8 inch by 8 inch pan with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray or grease with shortening. Pour the fudge mixture into the pan. Refrigerate until firm. Easily remove the fudge by pulling the foil from the pan. Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out the fudge or cut it into 1 inch squares instead.