With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this week I decided to experiment with chocolate, pretzels, and sprinkles to create a quick, inexpensive gift for family and friends. Chocolate and Valentine’s Day just go together, but add in pretzels and you have that whole salty/sweet thing going on. With the help of Dove hearts, not only is the chocolate delicious, but cute, too. I had so much fun making these this week. I am a little sad I don’t have little ones at home any more, because this would be a great project to do with your kids as it is so easy. They look great on a white plate altogether to set out at a party or you can package them up in individual containers to give as gifts.
It took me all of about 2 minutes to put them together, and then 4 more minutes to bake them so the chocolate melts and becomes soft and creamy. Just be sure you put down parchment paper on the cookie sheet before assembling them. Also, it is important to place them on a plate immediately after baking. When I didn’t do that the first time, the chocolate continued to melt because of the hot pan, and the heart shape became a little lopsided.
If you only cook them for 4 minutes and remove them from the pan right away, the chocolate holds its shape and doesn’t melt all over the place. You can stick them in the refrigerator for a couple of minutes to set the chocolate up after baking if you are in a hurry to package them.
I love coming up with different ways to package treats. These smaller decorative Chinese food boxes worked perfect to hold just a few pretzel hearts. I found these particular boxes at Cost Plus, but have seen them at Michael’s.
I don’t know about you, but I’m still kind of tired from Christmas. Am I the only one who feels that way? The idea of thinking about another holiday, and investing a lot of time on a cooking project is not very appealing at this point. Mostly I just want to do some cleaning to get my house on back on track after being neglected for awhile. That is why I love these. They don’t take all day, but taste fantastic, and still have that cute factor you want for Valentine’s Day. Don’t forget to save a few for yourself as well. They make a great reward after a long day of cleaning!
Chocolate Pretzel Hearts
- mini pretzels (Snyder’s look more like hearts but any can be used)
- 8.87 package Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts
- 3.25 oz. Wilton Jumbo Heart Sprinkles (found in cake decorating section of Wal-Mart or craft store)
- parchment paper
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unwrap chocolate hearts.
- Place pretzels on parchment paper.
- Place a chocolate heart on each pretzel, lining the pretzels and hearts up so that the heart shape matches.
- Place a heart sprinkle on top of each chocolate heart.
- Very carefully put the pan in the oven making sure to not jostle the heart sprinkles out-of-place.
- Cook for 4 minutes. Do not overcook or the chocolate will melt too much and lose its heart shape.
- Immediately remove the pretzels from the pan to a plate to cool. Otherwise the chocolate will continue to melt and lose the heart shape.
- Place the plate of chocolates in the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Package as desired or cover plate with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Recipe from Cook AZ I Do, idea inspired by The Paper Piñata
I’ve never heard of Valentines day pretzels before, but they’re definitely a great idea!
Thank you, Louise! I love that salty, sweet combination. I appreciate you stopping by to comment!
I have made similar treats using Hershey kisses, but Dove dark sounds much better! It IS a perfect project to do with little kids. They love to unwrap the candy and it makes for great conversation time together. Beautiful presentation on the plate or in the box!
Thank you, Kay! What a fun surprise to see you here this morning. You are the one that introduced me to the pretzel, kiss, M&M combination at your house when we visited years ago. I’ve been making them ever since. So, thank you for that. I hope you have a great week!
What a great idea.
Thank you, Chrissie! I was pleased with how the Dove hearts melted. I had tried Hershey’s kisses before but never those. I appreciate you dropping by!
Aw, these are so cute, simple, and cheery!
Thank you so much! There is just something about food in the shape of hearts that I just love. I really appreciate your comment!
How cute–these are so yummy-looking! 🙂
Thanks a lot, Nancy! They are so much fun to make. I appreciate you stopping by!
These are so cute, Shari. I’ve made them with Kisses and Rolos before with an M&M on top. I love your little hearts on top. Super cute!
Thanks so much, Diana! I have never made the ones with the Rolos. They sound really good. I appreciate you stopping by!
I love these fun Valentine hearts! The sweet/salty combo is one of my favorites…Yum!
Thank you, Lori! So fun to see you here this morning. I didn’t know you liked the sweet/salty combo. You would love these then. They would be fun to make with Carly. I hope you have a great week and thanks for your comment!
Adorable Shari!
Thanks so much, Julie! Aren’t heart shaped things fun? I appreciate you dropping by!
They’re beautiful and I’m sure they’re delicious too!
Thank you, Connie! Anything heart shaped seems to turn out cute. Hope you are doing well. I appreciate your comment!
Hi Shari, very clever, these look delicious! I’m still playing catch up!
Thank you, Cheri! I had a lot of fun making them. I’m glad I’m not the only one playing catch up. I appreciate you stopping by!
I love this idea…but…for me, the problem is I’d be snacking on all the ingredients. Not sure how many chocolate pretzel hearts I’d actually give away!
I also like the previous commenter’s idea about using Rolos. Mmm! Now that would make a lovely snack – er, I mean, a lovely gift.
These hearts look beautiful in the polka-dot box you’ve chosen. People must always be so excited to receive your gifts.
Thanks so much, Ruth! I had that same problem, snacking on the ingredients that is. The Rolos idea sounds yummy, doesn’t it? I’ve seen where they add a pecan to it, and it ends up tasting like a chocolate turtle candy. I appreciate your comment and hope you have a great weekend!
Pretty! ❤
Thanks, Mila! Heart shapes are always fun to photograph. Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Reblogged this on Children Are Our Future Now!.
Thank you, Paulette! I really appreciate the support. It is such a fun activity and so easy. I appreciate you letting me know!