31 Valentine's Day Candy Recipes
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen1/31Giant Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Turn their favorite candy into an elegant tart to impress your Valentine's Day date.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks2/31
Caramel Corn Clusters
Homemade caramel corn is so delicious you might be tempted to skip the Valentine’s Day dinner menu and skip to the end.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott3/31
Boozy Grapefruit-Pomegranate Gummy Candies
No, they're not precious gems, these sparkly crunchy treats are prime for mixing and matching your favorite flavors (with a splash of booze for good measure).
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Molly Baz4/31
3-Ingredient Peppermint Rocky Road Candies
To crush candies easily, minus any peppermint shrapnel, place them in a resealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, meat mallet, or the back of a large spoon.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen5/31
Giant Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars
Buttery pat-in-pan shortbread takes the place of mass-produced cookies and gets smothered in from-scratch caramel and silken chocolate in this jumbo version of a classic candy.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Diana Yen6/31
Two-Ingredient Truffles
All you need is chocolate and cream to make this easy Valentine’s Day treat.
- Photo by Evi Abeler7/31
Chocolate-Almond Butter Cups
This is a perfect little bite-size Valentine’s Day dessert that is a much healthier take on our favorite name-brand treats.
- 8/31
Salted Chocolate Halva
Salt and bittersweet chocolate lend a savory, sophisticated edge to this typically saccharine-sweet dessert.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell9/31
Candied Kumquats
A simmer and soak in sugar syrup glazes kumquats and liquifies their interiors so they taste like delicious shots of marmalade.
- Photo by Chris Court, William Meppem, Anson Smart, Ben Dearnley10/31
Raw Peppermint Slice
With a wheat-free coconut-date cookie crumb–like crust, a creamy coconut layer, and a rich chocolate topping, these bar cookies will remind you of your favorite candy but taste so much better.
- Photo by Bobbi Lin11/31
Saffron–Rose Water Brittle with Pistachios and Almonds
This brittle recipe is a riff on an Iranian candy known as sohan. Its snappy texture and fragrant flavor pair well with bitter tea.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen12/31
Giant Chocolate Candy Bar with Peanuts and Nougat
The iconic chocolate bar filled with peanut-studded caramel and nougat is all about chewiness. Here, we put all of those flavors into a bar that's big enough to eat with a fork.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova13/31
Chocolate-Covered Peanuts
These easy-to-make peanuts will make you feel like a chocolatier assembling a world-class candy bar.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova14/31
3-Ingredient Maple-Pecan Fudge
This decadent, pecan-studded fudge is all about the flavor of pure maple syrup.
- Photo by Alex Lau15/31
Sour Candied Citrus Peels
These are like homemade sour candy and we can't stop eating them. Here’s an idea for the leftover citrus flesh: Use the juice to make curd, then gift it in jars.
- Photo by Leigh Beisch16/31
Brigadeiros
Somewhere between a fudgy chocolate truffle and a Tootsie Roll is the Brazilian confection known as the brigadeiro.
- Photo by Alex Lau17/31
Ube (Purple Yam) Candies
Traditionally made with ube (Filipino sweet potato), this recipe will work with any purple or orange sweet potato or yam.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott18/31
Salted Black Licorice Caramels
People who love black licorice will flip for these assertively flavored candies. They’ll be not-quite-black without the food coloring but still very cool looking.
- Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott19/31
Free-Form Chocolate Candies
Known as mendiants in France, these adorned chocolate bites are perfect for any holiday.
- Charles Masters, food styling by Suzanne Lenzer20/31
Ghostly Chocolate-Nut Bark
This perfectly chocolatey, perfectly crunchy bark will be the hit of any Valentine's Day gathering.
- Romulo Yanes21/31
Salted Pistachio Brittle
Here, a coarse sea salt like fleur de sel or sel gris plays a few important roles: It tempers and cuts the richness of the nuts and butter, it adds a concentrated crunch— and it makes the brittle look divine. Break this vibrant green pistachio brittle on top of ice cream or crumble it over rice pudding. Or, do what we do, and eat it straight off the baking sheet.
- Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott22/31
Salted Honey and Chocolate Bark
Salted Honey and Chocolate Bark is a sweet-and-salty confection that everyone would be pleased to nibble on—or make. No cookie cutters, sprinkles, or icing necessary.
- Marcus Nilsson23/31
Bourbon-Sea Salt Caramels
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt gives these chewy caramels a little crunch and a lot of flavor.
- Joseph De Leo24/31
Green-Tea Truffles
You say you don't like white chocolate? Clearly you've never tasted it rolled in green tea.
- Romulo Yanes25/31
Peppermint Meringues
It's amazing what a few drops of peppermint extract (and a dash of red food coloring) can do to an ordinary meringue.
- Zach DeSart26/31
Candied Grapefruit Peel
Feel like taking these bittersweet candies over-the-top? Dip them in chocolate.
- Romulo Yanes27/31
Cherry-Pistachio Nougat
Is it possible to have it all? This chewy, crunchy, sweet-tart nougat suggests yes, yes it is.
- Joseph De Leo28/31
Milk Chocolate Cup-of-Fluffs
Warning: These may have you rethinking the chocolate-peanut butter cup.
- Marcus Nilsson29/31
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Pumpkin seeds add a surprisingly sophisticated edge to this toasty, crunchy brittle. But if you're a fan of another nut or seed, feel free to use it instead.
- Rachel Been30/31
Five-Minute Marzipan
Shape this almond paste confection into a heart, a teddy bear—or, for a slightly less cute option, into squares or balls.
- Kat Teusch31/31
Almond-Cherry Chocolate Bark
Melt chocolate. Sprinkle on dried fruit and nuts. Break into shards. Done!
Genevieve Ko
Gabriella Vigoreaux
