Happy Valentine’s Day chocolate lovers!  This year I am not depending on cupid to bring me a valentine, I am celebrating the holiday with my one true love…chocolate.  Chocolate is the Valentine’s Day staple that you can depend on, so I decided to make Valentine’s Day chocolates the theme for my post this week.  There are tons of chocolate treats that appear on the shelves and in our kitchens each year for the holiday, but I am going to highlight my favorite four.

1. Chocolate Covered Strawberries: This heart day classic is one of my personal favorites.  You can buy them premade or if you are on a college student budget, like me, you can make your own.  I found this great recipe Chocolate Covered Strawberries on the Hershey website.  Since fruit is one of the main parts of the recipe that make this one a health food, right??? 😊
2. The Chocolate Heart: Go into any store in January and February and you will see shelves full of Valentine chocolate heart candy boxes.  Even if you don’t have a sweetheart you can treat yourself to one of these assorted candy boxes for the big day.  For instance, I just look up the options that Target offers and there were 431 results, you can see all your options from Target here.
3. Hot Cocoa Bombs: I know that hot cocoa bombs are not a valentine specific treat, but they can be!  This hot item is perfect for this cold winter season and you can make or buy heart day themed cocoa bombs.  If you are good in the kitchen you can try to make some of your own hot cocoa bombs, this recipe from the “I am Baker” blog looks good and there is also a video to follow.  If you don’t have a culinary inclination you can just go the retail route.
4. Chocolate Cake: Again, I know that this one is not Valentine’s Day specific, but there are tons of recipes out there that give this classic a holiday twist.  I really enjoyed a recipe that I found for a “Broken Heart Chocolate Cake” on the Food Network.  Perfect for those of you that hate the holiday but would still love some chocolate cake.

Romantic relationships come and go when you are in college, but I always know that I can count on my chocolate on Valentine’s Day.  I hope you have a sweet day and check out some of my recommendations to make your day a bit sweeter #crazyforchocolateblog.

Citations:

Food Network (2017). Broken Heart Chocolate Cake. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/broken-heart-chocolate-cake-4481795.

Hershey’s (n.d.). Chocolate Covered Strawberries Recipe.  Hershey’s Kitchen. https://www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/chocolate-covered-strawberries.html

Rettke, A. (2020, December 17). Hot Chocolate Bombs. I am Baker Blog. https://iambaker.net/hot-chocolate-bombs/#wprm-recipe-container-99920. Retrieved Feb. 13, 2021.

Target (n.d.). Valentine Chocolate Heart Search.  Target.  https://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=valentines+chocolate+heart&category=5xt0b&categoryName=Chocolate+Candy&tref=typeahead%7Cterm%7C0%7Cvalentines+chocolate+heart%7Ccategory%7C0%7C5xt0b%7Cservice%7C6%7C2%7C0%7Cspellcorrect%7Econtext&searchRawTerm=valentines+chocolate+heart.  Retrieved Feb. 13, 2021.

#chocolate