Happy Valentine's Day!
When I was little, Valentine's Day meant making a 'mailbox' out of a milk carton and then hoping that someone would sneak a Valentine in. You see, 'back then', you only made Valentines for those children that you were friends with (or you made one for the person you liked and then didn't sign it). Valentines were made from those paper lace doilies, construction paper, paste from a jar, and glitter - LOTS of glitter - and we made them in art class.
Today there are many ways of having Valentines to send - you buy them in a box from the drugstore, you can buy candy at Target that has a convenient spot for you to write your name on it and give to the rest of the class, or you can make them....but the best thing is that you have to make them for EVERYONE in the class, thus sparing the bruised egos of small children.
This is my last year of having a child that brings in Valentines for the entire class. I'm sad about that. Copious amounts of coffee this morning have not made it any less so, but it has gotten me to the restroom more frequently where I can check my makeup and reapply the mascara that runs off my eyes when I think about the magnitude of that! My kids do Valentines old school - we make them. I have no judgement for the drugstore kind, for the candy kind...for my kids though, I think they appreciate a holiday a bit more when they have to work for it. So we make them.
This year we made two Valentines (it being the last year and all) and they are winners. The first are Candy Cane Chocolate Heart pops - totally inspired by Family Fun Magazine. LOVE Family Fun and have been using them as a craft resource for 15 years (ack).
Tomorrow I'll give you a LOOK at our other craft (that was a hint, people!)
Candy Cane Chocolate Heart Pops
Materials needed:
Small candy canes (unwrapped); Lollipop/sucker sticks; nonpariels/sprinkles in red, pink, white; almond bark or wilton melty disks or bag of white chocolate chips with a bit of shortening.
Place a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Arrange candy canes in a heart shape around the lollipop stick.
Melt the chocolate your favorite way (in a microwave, a double boiler on the stove, the hood of your car...) and pour into a freezer-type zip top bag. I like the freezer type because they are a bit thicker and sturdier and have less a tendency to burst like the 'regular' zip top bags.
Snip the very corner, just a bit, of the bag and pipe the melted chocolate in between the candy canes and around the stick. You don't have to rush, the chocolate will stay smooshy for a little while. In between filling, rest the tip on a small piece of wax paper - it will leak a bit. Smooth the top of the chocolate with a knife, offset spatula, or your finger (shhhhh)
Sprinkle with nonpareils and put in the fridge or freezer (or deck if it happens to be four degrees out) until the chocolate is firm.
Peel off the wax paper/parchment and store in an airtight container, wax paper between the layers, in a cool and dry place. You can also put them in cellophane lollipop wrappers to separate them.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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