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It’s only the first week of January and I’m already looking ahead to the next holiday – Valentine’s Day. I usually make tasty treats to give out, especially since my bank account has been drained with the past Christmas shopping spree. Yet, for all the people on my love list, I still give them individualized attention to what their tastes are.

This will be 3-part post series in these food categories: Sugar Addicts, Hot and Spicy Addicts, and Drinker’s Delights.

For The Sugar Addicts:

Cookies on a Stick

If time is a factor, I’d suggest buying the packaged sugar cookie mix. Otherwise, The Decorated Cookie has a sugar cookie recipe with many other clever cookie ideas.

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After cookies are cooled and decorated, get a Valentine coffee mug (a Dollar Store buy) and fill it half way with Styrofoam. Push your cookie sticks into the foam, add some confetti or gift bag filler to cover the foam.Tuck in any loose pieces or use a mini hot glue gun to secure small pieces. Optional: add ribbon to the handle or on the sticks themselves.

Homemade Peanut Butter Balls: If your valentine really digs peanut butter cups, this is the recipe for you. Since they are so tasty, I use them for Halloween(as eyeballs) and Christmas too. You’ll find the recipe in my post An Eye For All Seasons.

Copy Kat Mounds Candy

Ingredients:  1 – 12 oz. Bag of Flaked Coconut

1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT EVAPORATED MILK)

½ cup Margarine or Butter

One or a mix of: Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, A brick of the chocolate version of Almond Bark, Chocolate Melting Discs.

THIS IS A MUST: After mixing first 3 ingredients, refrigerate overnight or place covered in freezer for at least 3 hours. Once your mix is chilled sufficiently, roll coconut mixture into small balls or mini-candy bar sized pieces.

Melt chocolate and dip each piece, placing them on wax paper on cookie sheets and put them in the refrigerator to speed the hardening process. Optional:  Decorate with tubed frosting or while chocolate is still wet, toss sprinkles on top. Finished Coconut Balls must be kept refrigerated.

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Chocolate Covered Edibles

Ingredients:

A choice of one or more:  Animal Crackers, Oreo Cookies, Pretzels, Large Marshmallows, or Strawberries

Almond Bark Chocolate, Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Discs (see above recipe for links)

You can heat the chocolate 3 different ways:  In a double boiler, in the microwave, or in a chocolate warming pot. This CAN NOT be done in a chocolate fountain. The consistency needed in the fountain doesn’t allow for the chocolate to dry.

Always make sure there is no moisture in your pot prior to adding the chocolate since even the smallest amount with seize the chocolate, making it useless.

After the chocolate is to a melted state, dip your edible and lay the piece on wax paper.  Add sprinkles while still wet or use tubed frosting to decorate.

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Love Fortunes

These are basically fortune cookies with love notes placed inside instead of fortunes. Alpha Mom has a good step-by-step recipe. After they are made, place them in a decorated mason jar.