8 Valentine's Day Desserts

When you think of Valentine's Day food, do you automatically think of chocolate? To me, Valentine-themed food has to be sweet. That's why I make it my mission each February to test out some new Valentine's Day desserts! Here are a few cute Valentine's food ideas that will be a hit with your family.


1. Pink Lemonade Gooey Butter Cookies from Tasty Kitchen

If you're looking for red food ideas for Valentine's Day, then try these pink-hued cookies. I first made these back in 2015, and at the time, I couldn't find a box of Pink Lemonade Cake Mix, so I used a Strawberry Cake Mix. Same color. Same great result.

At the time that I made this red food recipe, I was not lactose-intolerant, so I had no problem putting in cream cheese. However, if you need to make this dairy-free, substitutions will be needed! And, unfortunately, I don't think I've ever seen a gluten-free Strawberry Cake Mix.

2. Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction

But speaking of Strawberry Cake Mix, you can use it to make these yummy (and pink-hued) cookies! These were easy to make dairy-free, however, if you need them gluten-free, you could make Sally's Cake Batter Sugar Cookies using gluten-free flour and red food dye to make the cookies pink. Either way, you've got two good Valentine's Day food ideas right here!


3. Heart-Shaped Cake from Katie Brown Home Workshop

What would a list of Valentine's Day recipes be without something in the shape of a heart? (Stay tuned! More to come!) This was a doozy of a project that I undertook back in 2019. I'm not the world's greatest cake icer, though I have learned some tips since then. Don't worry - you don't need a heart-shaped cake pan. You simply bake a square cake and a circle cake, cut the circle cake in half, and use frosting to attach the halves to either side of the square, forming a heart!


4. Heart-Shaped Brownies 

This is a Valentine's recipe that you can use all year-round. In fact, I've used the general idea of it to make gingerbread man brownies during the Christmas season! While I made these heart-shaped brownies using this recipe from Love and Lemons, you could easily use your own brownie recipe or a brownie mix from the box. Once you make the brownies, let them cool (you can even place them in the fridge to chill and firm up a bit), and then grab a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out brownie hearts! Snack on the leftover edge pieces while you decorate them with whatever your heart desires.

5. Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches from Pamela's

You'll definitely want to add these heart-shaped ice cream sandwiches to your Valentine's Day menu! For this recipe, I used Pamela's All-Purpose Artisan Flour (which is gluten-free) to make the heart-shaped cookies. The ice cream in the middle is Haagen-Dazs raspberry sorbet. I chose it because it was pink (and milk-free), but you could easily substitute in your own favorite ice cream!


6. Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies from Closet Cooking

I've been trying out some new recipes for Valentine's Day this year, and one of them was this delicious shortbread cookie recipe. If you mistakenly make these cookies on the larger size, as I did, then keep in mind that they will take longer to bake. But the combination of chocolate chips and maraschino cherries tastes so good! Plus, the cookies turn out pink!


7. Strawberry Heart Cakes from This Vivacious Life

I had a lot of fun last year making different Valentine recipes, and these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes were one of them! I used marbles to help form the cupcakes into the heart shapes, then covered the tops of the cupcakes with strawberry jam and melted chocolate. Ooo la la! It was a bit messy, but the flavors together were really good.

8. Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies

There is a record of me having made these cookies, however, I have zero idea what recipe I used or where I got the idea. Seems to me like you could make your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and just throw in some red and white sprinkles. Serve the cookies on a heart-shaped plate or platter, and you're set to serve these at your Valentine's Day party!


I hope you have fun making these Valentine's Day recipes this year! If you're looking for more Valentine's Day food ideas, check out everything that I've got pinned on my Valentine's Day Pinterest board! Let me know which one of these Valentine's Day desserts is your favorite!

Comments