These days Valentine’s Day is more about the kids than a romantic dinner for two. I view this holiday as a fun time to make some sweet treats in the kitchen that my kids can enjoy and I can give to friends. Of course, as a professional event planner I make sure the treats are gorgeous to look at and look beautiful when packaged. It just makes everything look that much more special!
The first thing I like to make is cracker bark candy. We often make this at Christmas time and everyone loves it. Today I gave it a Valentine’s Day twist by adding white chocolate, pink melted chocolate, and lots of cute decorations. I’ll break up the bark and bag it for my kids to give to their teachers.
Chocolate dipped strawberries are my personal favorite Valentine’s Day treat. I make sure to select the prettiest, juiciest strawberries in the shop and rinse and dry them really well before I begin. I dip them in melted milk chocolate and dark chocolate, then decorate them as I like. I don’t package these up, instead I serve them to people when they come over.
The most fun treat to make with my kids are these pretzels. To make it a little bit easier I pour the chocolate into a tall glass and dip the pretzel rods that way. Then I decorate them and let them chill completely before packaging them. I bag them in pretty narrow cello bags and tie them with a ribbon. These are ideal for handing out to classmates and colleagues. Everyone loves a chocolate dipped pretzel!
VALENTINES TOFFEE BARK
This delicious toffee bark is a very popular recipe. Today I’m giving it a Valentine’s Day twist by making it with white chocolate and decorating it with pinks and reds!
Makes 1 - half baking sheet or roughly 20 servings
Timing: 5 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking, plus time for resting
Ingredients
Roughly 50 club crackers
1 cup unsalted butter (two sticks)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 - 12 oz bag white melting chocolate
4 oz pink melting chocolate
½ cup festive sprinkles
½ cup holiday MMs
Instructions
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the crackers in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Place the butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
Pour the brown sugar mixture over the crackers and spread with a spatula to coat.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until bubbling.
While the pan is in the oven, melt the white and pink chocolate.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pour the white chocolate over the top. Spread the chocolate evenly over the top.
Using a spoon, drizzle the pink chocolate over the white to create a fun design. scatter the sprinkles and MMs on top of the chocolate. Place the sheet pan into the fridge to set, ideally overnight or at least for one hour.
Remove from the fridge and cut into pieces and serve.
Enjoy!
Nikki Glekas is the owner of Nikki Glekas Events, a full-service catering and events company located in Stamford, CT. She is currently operating with COVID-safe procedures and is happy to discuss your event and catering needs with you. To discuss further please contact team@nikkiglekasevents.com or call 203.658.8659.
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