21 cute Valentine’s Day-themed treats

A classic for a reason. Red velvet is an easy enough recipe for most average bakers, combined with a tasty buttercream frosting and decorations of your choice for a great Valentine's dessert.

You don’t need to rely on store-bought cookies in cute shapes this year. Just make any sugar cookie recipe and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make them more festive. Top with pink frosting and sprinkles!

If your loved one is a cheesecake fan, try making one with a raspberry swirl. Not only is this a nice break from a lot of the cookie and chocolate-heavy recipes that dominate this holiday, but it’s nice to look at as well!

Yes, you can make homemade marshmallows! All you need is water, gelatin, salt, vanilla, cornstarch, and sugar! Add just a little red food coloring to get that pink color, and voila — the perfect addition to hot chocolate, s’mores, or just a fun snack bar. 

Thumbprint cookies are popular across holidays, but this fun spin is perfect for February. Use chocolate heart candies and press them into the middle of a cookie dough ball. Just don’t bake too long, or the heart will start to melt and lose its shape.

A different flavor from the sweetheart thumbprint recipe mentioned above. Instead of chocolate hearts, use heart-shaped peanut butter cups for a nice spin on this fun cookie idea!

The season of peppermint has passed, and now it’s time to move on to something more appropriate for February. This chocolate bark recipe is similar to one you might make for the December holidays, but instead of candy canes, it has pretzels, almonds, peanuts, and caramel. Feel free to add or remove ingredients to your taste.

If you have a dark chocolate lover in your life, this rich cake recipe is a must-bake. The airy and darker appearance is just the beginning of this amazing dessert.

Make your favorite gooey chocolate cake recipe with a raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. It’ll delight your special someone with the internal raspberry surprise in what appears to be a simple cake.

You don’t need to special order truffles from a pricey shop. Just try making them yourself. Warm up heavy cream (be careful not to burn), pour over chopped chocolate, and mix. Then, refrigerate for a couple of hours before rolling the mix into balls and covering in sprinkles or a topping of your choice.

These fun, bite-sized treats that Starbucks popularized are no longer just for kids. You can use boxed cake or make your own one-layer cake; let it cool. Then, make frosting, roll and crumble the cake into frosting until it’s ball-shaped, dip it in melted chocolate, decorate, and enjoy!

If you want a little extra celebration, try this recipe. The rolled sponge cake is made out of reduced sparkling wine and vanilla for a unique, not-too-sweet flavor.

This French classic may not be as exciting to present as some of the other recipes. But, for those who dreamt of a romantic trip to France, this is a great way to transport your taste buds to another continent.

If you want a more bite-sized taste of red velvet, try making cookies! Use cake flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, butter, vanilla, an egg, and various sugars (brown and granulated), as well as red food coloring for the batter. Roll out the dough on more sugar before refrigerating for at least 20 minutes, then bake for about 11-14. For a nice combo, make cream cheese frosting or filling, or add white chocolate chips.

Blondies are great for decorating because the lighter color makes a bit of coloring go further than with a brownie. Add a bit of coloring, but not too much — just enough to make the blondies go pink. After they’ve baked, use a cookie cutter to cut them into heart shapes!

You don’t need to give Hershey any more money this Valentine's Day season! Instead, make your own cups and choose the nut of choice. It’s super easy. Just melt chocolate (dark, milk, or white) and drop it into lined muffin pans. Add a teaspoon of nut butter and cover with a bit more melted chocolate. Sprinkle sea salt on top and freeze!

February is a bit cold for ice cream, but you can still enjoy the Neapolitan flavors using this cookie recipe. All you need to do is make one batch of dough, then separate it into three balls, adding chocolate to one and freeze-dried strawberries to another. Then, stack the vanilla over the strawberry, add the chocolate, and press together. Place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Cut into rectangles and bake for about 13 minutes.

More of a snack than a dessert, you can also use these as a sweet appetizer before your big V-Day meal! Just melt any type (or types) of chocolate you’d like, then drizzle over pretzels. Add food coloring for a more holiday-appropriate feel. 

If your loved one isn’t a huge fan of chocolate, try this fruit-focused dessert! Combine strawberry jam, chopped strawberries, and shaved coconut with a cheesecake filling. For extra flavor, top with coconut or use it in the crust.

A classic dessert for a reason, these delicious berries are also super easy to prepare. Similar to the pretzels, melt the chocolate of your choice, dip the strawberries, and refrigerate until it’s time to serve. You can also add sprinkles or other decorations or use other fruits such as pineapple or oranges.

Make any brownie recipe and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter after baking. For added fun, whip up a pink-colored frosting and top with sprinkles.