VALENTINES DAY WEEK: RECIPE 1
Make Valentine’s Day more personal by making these Homemade Conversation Hearts.
Making Homemade Conversation Hearts are the new thing!
Do you remember when you were younger and every year in your class you would have a Valentines Day Party? There would be cupcakes, chips, and several other sugar inducing foods (that you wouldn’t eat at home) and you would pass out Valentines Day Cards? Aww! That was such a good time in life. You usually pick out the Valentines of your favorite crush or cartoon Character. I remember picking out Barbie Valentines once. That is one of the best Valentines memories I have. But what about Valentines candies? Of course you have your chocolates but one of America’s favorite Valentines candy are Conversation Hearts. You know what they are. Those cute little heart-shaped candies with cute little message written on them such as: Be Mine, Yours, Kiss Me, etc.
So where am I going with this you’re wondering? Well I got my monthly issue of Food Network Magazine and I saw a recipe of “Almost- Famous Homemade Conversation Hearts”. The first thing I thought was “Heck naw! There is an actual at-home recipe for this?” I had to try it! I thought it would be awesome to make them and write my own personalized messages on them and give them out as Valentines this year. Isn’t that a cute idea? I bet you are wondering about the taste. Do they taste like the actual Conversation Heart candies? Well…….YES! They really do! I couldn’t believe it! I was expecting them to taste like something else but they are pretty accurate. This is a messy recipe but they are super cute to make if you want to personalize them.
Recipe adapted form Food Network Magazine
Homemade Conversation Hearts
- Yield: 50+
Ingredients
- • 1 package Unflavored Gelatin, 1/4 Oz. Packet
- • 1 Tablespoon Corn Syrup
- • ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- • ⅛ teaspoons Salt
- • ½ cups Boiling Water
- • 16 cups Powdered Sugar
- • Assorted Food Coloring, For Tinting
- • Assorted Extracts (such As Peppermint, Strawberry, Or Almond), For Flavoring (optional)
- • Cooking Spray
- • Food Decorating Pens, For Writing
Instructions
- Whisk gelatin, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, and 1/2 cup boiling water in a stand mixer bowl until gelatin dissolves. Using the paddle attachment, beat in the powdered sugar on medium low speed, 1 cup at a time, to make a stiff, sticky dough.
- Note: I would only add up to 4 to 5 cups of powdered sugar into the standing mixer and mix it in. Then turn the dough out onto a powdered sugar covered surface and knead in the rest. The dough gets way too tough for the mixer to stir all the dough. Trust me, when I tried to do this it gave me a scare that I broke my precious mixer.
- Transfer the dough to the clean, powdered sugar coated surface and knead, adding more powdered sugar as needed (up to 1 cup) until the dough is smooth, pliable and slightly tacky, about 5 minutes.
- Note: After every cup of powdered sugar I kneaded into the rest of the dough, I added 1 tablespoon of water. The end result of the dough should be smooth.
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten 1 piece into a disk. (Cover the rest with plastic wrap). Add a few drops each of food coloring and extract to the center of the dough; fold in the sides and pinch closed, then knead until the color is distributed.
- Lightly coat a large piece of parchment paper with cooking spray lined on a baking sheet. Set aside. Roll out the colored dough on a separate sheet of parchment paper until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into hearts using 1-inch cookie cutters. Transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sections of dough, using different colors and extracts. Let the hearts sit at room temperature, uncovered, until dry and hard, about 24 hours. Write messages on hearts using food decorating pens. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Category: Candy
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