Homemade Valentine's Day Chocolate Hearts Recipe

By Michelle D.

Valentine’s Day is upon us!

For as long as I can remember my mom has always made chocolate dipped strawberries for every special occasion; especially for weddings and Valentine’s Day. This year my sister chose to continue the tradition and made a batch for her beau. After she finished, I grabbed the chocolatey double boilers and decided to try something new. I present to you, homemade Valentine’s Day chocolate hearts! I wanted to do a new twist on our family tradition and to make something truly personal to give thanks to all the wonderful people around me.

This is a fun and easy to make treat that melts in your mouth. I made these delicious hearts for my family and friends alike. They are a great way to creatively express your love to those around you.

To make these Valentine's Day Chocolate Hearts, I first laid a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. This is where my creations will come into existence. I then set up my double boiler by adding water in the bottom pot. The upper bowl should rest on the rim of the pot. NOTE: The bowl should not be floating. If it feels floaty, drain some of the water.

To start melting the chocolate, I placed the double boiler on medium heat and added a half a bag of chocolate chips and 1/2 tablespoon of shortening to the double boiler bowl. Using the scraper, I stirred fairly often. The shortening helps the chocolate chips dissolve and makes the final chocolate hearts less likely to crack.

Once the chocolate is thoroughly melted, I stirred the chocolate mixture a few times using a teaspoon. This helped heat up the teaspoon and made the next step easier.

To form the hearts I loaded the warm teaspoon with about 3/4 full and with smooth sure strokes, made a V shape. This stage takes practice and patience but everyone in my family is happy to eat the “less than perfect” hearts, haha. What is really neat about this recipe is that anyone making the chocolate can drip it to make whatever design they wish. This recipe is extremely versatile.

To add a different flavored chocolate drizzle to the top, I simply made all of the base shapes first. Then I cleaned the double boiler and added a fresh round of the alternative chocolate and shortening. Here I have drizzled semi-sweet dark chocolate over milk chocolate. To get fine stripes, after the dark chocolate has melted, I dipped a fork into the mix and stirred. Then I used the fork to quickly flick dark chocolate on to the base shapes. For thicker doodles I used a small spoon. Feel free to experiment with chocolate combinations! They all turn out delicious.

Next, I set the tray of finished hearts aside to cool. After 30 minutes or so they were firm enough to peel off the parchment paper. If the hearts do not want to come off easily, I give them a bit more time to set up.

After I removed them from the parchment paper and placed them on a plate, they were ready to enjoy.

To make your own Valentine's Day chocolate hearts here are the tools and ingredients you will need.  You can then download the recipe by clicking the image below and saving it to your computer.

Tools:
1 Double Boiler
1 Scrapper
1 Teaspoon
1 Fork
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet

Ingredients:
1-2 Bags Chocolate Chips
Shortening

njoy your delicious homemade Valentine’s Day hearts!