25 Best Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 01, 2012
Blaine Moats
Valentine dessert recipes include decadent cakes, glazed Valentine treat cookies, easy truffles and chocolate souffles.
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Gâteau au Chocolate

Blaine Moats
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This exceedingly moist and rich (but so simple!) cake is all about chocolate and butter; if you can swing it, choose top-quality brands.

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Valentine’s Day Marshmallow Treats

Dress up rice cereal hearts with frosting, pretzels, peanut butter, chocolate and other toppings for Valentine's Day sweets. Valentine's Day Marshmallow Treats

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Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

Top these gooey-center, intense chocolate desserts with powdered sugar. Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes

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Red-Hot Velvet Brownies

These cinnamon-spiked red velvet bars taste just like red-hot candies-with a layer of luscious cream cheese frosting on top! Red-Hot Velvet Brownies

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Mini Chocolate Soufflés

These warm, bittersweet puffs have coffee in them, but you'd never know it. Performing culinary sleight of hand, the hidden ingredient just helps chocolate taste more chocolatey, like a capful of vanilla would, but with a darker intent. Mini Chocolate Soufflés

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White Chocolate-Cherry Shortbread

Dip these cookies in melted white chocolate, then roll in nonpareils and edible glitter for Valentine color. White-Chocolate-Cherry Shortbread

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Cookie canvas

Whip up flavored icing for cookies, sweet rolls, cakes or coffee cake in minutes. Just mix 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons liquid, then drizzle away. For a Valentine's Day treat, try maraschino cherry juice for pretty pink color.Maraschino cherry juice, coffee and creme de menthe add color as well as flavor. Most other liqueurs and citrus juices yield white or cream-color icing. For unflavored drizzle, use milk.

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Three-Tiered Chocolate Cake

Few foods say "celebration" like cake, especially chocolate. We challenged our Test Kitchen to come up with a fresh, delicious twist on this all-time favorite. The result is a decadently rich dessert. The recipe includes variations such as Hot Chocolate Cake, Spice is Nice Chocolate Cake and Mocha Chocolate Cake. Three-Tiered Chocolate Cake

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Cake Bites

Candylike tiny cakes require just a basic recipe using a mix, frosting and candy coating. Customize to suit your tastes with extra flavor and toppings! Cake Bites

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Fudge Brownie Hearts

These Valentine treats combine bittersweet and semisweet chocolate with plenty of butter, eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar for a moist, rich dessert. After the brownies have cooked and cooled, you can cut them into bars or use 3-inch heart-shape cutters. Drizzle with a vanilla glaze.Fudge Brownie Hearts

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Valentine's Day Chocolate Trail Mix

Sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy-this trail mix has everything you want in a snack. Plus chocolate, of course! Valentine's Day Chocolate Trail Mix

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Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

Use a basic sugar cookie dough to create any of four heart-shape designs for this sweetheart of a Valentine cookie. Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

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Red Velvet Cheesecake

We took the red velvet cake we love and gave it a creamy twist. Don't let the red color fool you: The flavor is all chocolate. Red Velvet Cheesecake

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Candy-Box Caramels

Make packaged caramel squares a perfect, easy Valentine treat by dipping them in sprinkles, crushed nuts and bits of candy. Drizzle with dark or white chocolate to add even more color. Candy-Box Caramels

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Red Velvet Pots

For a cake that comes together in minutes, just mix and microwave. Top with a powdered sugar heart.Red Velvet Pots

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Cocoa and Brown Butter Shortbread Bites

Browned butter infuses irresistible nuttiness into these four-ingredient cookies without sullying their essential simplicity or sandy texture. Dip them in satiny chocolate for effortless glamor.Cocoa and Brown Butter Shortbread Bites

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Creamy Peanut Butter Truffles

Minnesota's Saint Paul Hotel features truffles similar to these at its annual Chocolate Lovers' Tea.Creamy Peanut Butter Truffles

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Salted Almond Truffle Tart

One of our testers described this tart's filling as "chocolate butter." We couldn't agree more. It's fantastically rich, with roast-toasty salted almonds in the crust and flaky sea salt on top to balance the sweetness.Salted Almond Truffle Tart

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Vanilla Pudding with Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

Put a twist on old-fashioned cookies and milk with this creamy vanilla pudding topped with crispy-buttery cookie bits. Vanilla Pudding with Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

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Valentine's Cocoa Angel Cake

Flavored with cocoa powder and generously frosted with sweetened whipped cream, this tender Valentine's Day dessert from our Test Kitchen was featured on a Midwest Living® cover. Valentine's Cocoa Angel Cake

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Mocha Meringue Kisses

These light-as-air sweet kisses, flavored with cocoa and espresso powders, are fat-free and just 32 calories each. Mocha Meringue Kisses

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Double Thumbprint Cookies

Fill these pretty Double Thumbprint Cookies with cherry or raspberry preserves for a Valentine dessert. Double Thumbprint Cookies

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Puffed Heart Lemon Cookies

A lemon-flavor glaze, colored white or pink, adds a sweet-tart topping to these cakelike confections for a Valentine's dessert. Puffed Heart Lemon Cookies

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Ebony and Ivory Cupcakes

Drizzle this chocolate cupcake with Powdered Sugar Glaze and then rolled in chocolate shavings if you want it to look like ours. Or top the glaze with nuts, hard candies, chopped chocolate or colored sugar. Ebony and Ivory Cupcakes

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Heavenly Devil's Food Cake

This moist and rich creation includes unsalted butter, eggs, cocoa powder, two kinds of sugar and buttermilk. Serve with whipped cream and berries, if you like, or your favorite flavor of ice cream. Or frost with desired cake frosting. Heavenly Devil's Food Cake

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Tinted Angel Cake

The many colors of Kool-Aid, a Nebraska invention, mean there is an array of choices for this angel food cake that starts with a mix. Pink lemonade Kool-Aid adds pastel Valentine dessert prettiness and a delicate flavor to Tinted Angel Cake. Tinted Angel Cake

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The Original Chocolate Fondue

Fondue stars at the Melting Pot restaurant in Indianapolis. We offer The Original Chocolate Fondue recipe as well as versions based on s'mores and caramels. Dippers include fruit, angel food cake, pound cake cubes and marshmallows. The Original Chocolate Fondue

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Honey and Poppy Seed Hearts

Honey gives these cinnamon-spiced cookies great flavor and a slightly soft texture. Honey and Poppy Seed Hearts

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com