There are some holidays that are meant to be celebrated all month long. For example, Christmas is only one day in December but the joy and spirit of it is celebrated all month long. Even though Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated to that extent you just feel like the entire month of February is oozing with love! Some embrace the holiday with open arms while others cringe at the sight of red teddy bears, chocolates, and cheesy cards. However we believe that Valentine’s Day is a day for you and your loved ones, and not necessarily only your significant other. It can be your best friend, sibling, and even your parents that you want to show an immense amount of love for on this holiday. The point is to spread love and celebrate the reasons why you love the people in your life – and let’s face it, the love of food comes pretty close to the love of the people in your life, so what’s better than combining two loves on this holiday! Getting the perfect gift is extremely tricky especially on Valentine’s Day, so why not make a little added effort by baking something from scratch! Like they say, the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach and we can totally vouch for it. Take a look at the recipes we found – Cupid-approved of course!
Sweet and Salty Valentine’s Party Mix
Ingredients:
1 cup of your favorite salty chips or trail mix
1 cup mini pretzels
1 cup popcorn
½ cup Salted Al Rifai Peanuts
½ cup dark chocolate chips
½ cup a mix of candy (of your choice)
1 tablespoon of Valentine’s Day sprinkles
Directions:
- Line large cookie sheet with cooking paper, spread your chips, pretzels, and peanuts on your cookie sheet.
- In a separate bowl, microwave your candy in 1-minute intervals and stir each time until melted.
- With your spoon, drizzle melts over cereal mixture. Top it off with candies and sprinkles and wait for about 10 minutes until the drizzle is set in order to break into pieces.
Chocolate Dipped Almond Marshmallow Bars
Ingredients:
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 bag of miniature marshmallows
½ teaspoon almond extract
6 cups of Rice Krispy cereal
7 oz. Al Rifai Almonds chopped into small pieces
10 oz. dark chocolate chips
Candy Sprinkles
Directions:
- Line baking dish with cooking parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add almond extract and slowly stir in cereal and almonds until evenly coated. Pour into baking dish and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Remove from baking dish and use heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut into hearts for that final touch
- Microwave chocolate and dip the hearts halfway into chocolate -sprinkle with sprinkles, and place back on parchment paper. Place in freezer a few minutes until chocolate hardens and then you are ready to go!
Peanut Butter M&M Cookie Pie
Ingredients
2 ¾ cups flour
1teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 ½ -cup butter softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of melted Al Rifai Peanut Butter
1 cup of M&M chocolate candies (white and pink)
8 Heart shaped chocolates to put on top for decoration
Directions:
– Heat oven to 170C and spray the bottom of the pan with cooking spray
– In large bowl, mix your flour, baking soda, baking powder, 1 cup of butter and 1 egg until smooth.
– Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate candies and the 1-cup peanut butter. Press dough in bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle remaining 1/4-cup chocolate candies over top. Press heart-shaped candies lightly into dough.
– Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until center is set and edges are golden brown and enjoy!
Red Velvet Pecan Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened coca powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
¾-granulated sugar
1 ½ cups buttermilk
½ cup melted butter
2 teaspoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup of chopped pecans
Directions:
- Whisk the cream cheese, sour cream, milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in another bowl until you have a pale yellow color. Beat in the buttermilk, melted butter, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and fold just until incorporated. Transfer some of the batter to a squeeze bottle with a 1/4-inch opening.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Lightly coat the hot skillet with melted butter and squeeze some of the batter onto it in the outline of a heart or hearts of the desired size. Flip until both sides are cooked and keep repeating to your desired amount
- Lastly, drizzle the cream cheese mixture and maple syrup on top of the pancakes and sprinkle with pecans. YUM!
Almond Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoon of date syrup
2 teaspoons of cocoa
1 teaspoon almond butter
Marshmallows optional!
Directions:
Simply stir in all ingredients into a saucepan until warm and all ingredients are blended enough and enjoy! Add a few marshmallows on top for the sake of love!
There you have it, the ultimate Valentine’s Day guide to win over your loved one’s appetite. Wishing you not just one day, but a full year of love and happiness!
