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The sweetest way to say "I love you" is with one of these heartfelt, homemade Valentine's Day desserts. Whether you're looking for a treat for your partner, your Galentine's crew, or the co-workers who adore your home baking, you'll find plenty of inspiration in this collection, filled with heart-shaped cakes, cupcakes, and cookies—plus, easy chocolate truffles and decadent mousses and parfaits. Our recipes include desserts for two to share and sweets that feed a crowd. We rate them all above a bunch of red roses any day.
Chocolate-Mousse Parfaits
There's nothing more romantic than a decadent chocolate dessert on Valentine's Day. This make-ahead parfait, which serves two, uses semisweet chocolate and cocoa. A touch of espresso powder enhances the rich chocolate flavor.
Sweetheart Thumbprint Cookies
Show someone special just how much you love them by giving them these sugar cookies with a sweet, jammy filling. They're easy to make, but your sweetheart will never know!
Easy Chocolate Truffles
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Love saves the day, but these quick truffles will save you a whole lot of time (and rolling). Rather than scooping and shaping each truffle from a rich ganache made with heavy cream and semisweet chocolate. Pour the mixture into a pan, chill it, and slice it into bite-size squares. Toss them in cocoa powder and box them up for a homemade treat your friends will adore.
Coffee Crème Caramel
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Opposites attract in this elegant Valentine's Day dessert. While the vanilla custard is delicate and creamy, the espresso-inflected caramel sauce comes on with stronger flavors. One silky spoonful, and you'll agree they bring out the best in each other.
Vanilla Heart-Shaped Cake with Raspberry-and-Custard-Filling
A homemade vanilla pastry cream and fresh raspberries are sandwiched between the layers of this cake. They're also used to artfully decorate the top, along with ethereal shredded coconut.
Iced Heart Cookies
It's amazing what you can do with a batch of simple sugar cookies and some pink-and-white royal icing.
Raspberry and Chocolate-Hazelnut Crepe Cake
Consider this the dessert equivalent of holding up the boombox. Paper-thin crepes are stacked between layers of chocolate-hazelnut spread and a raspberry mousse for our romantic Valentine's Day dessert.
Mini Pear-and-Cranberry Amaretti Crisps
Share one of these individual fruit crisps with your partner. The combination of pear with cranberry and the crunchy almond flavor of amaretti cookies is just sublime.
Meringue Letters and Hearts
Have a way with words? Spell out your love by hand-piping meringue cookies and baking them until they're set.
Handwritten Valentine Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze
Spread the love with these double chocolate cupcakes that include a special message written in white chocolate. They're the perfect dessert for celebrating Valentine's (or Galentine's) Day.
Dark- and White-Chocolate Shortbread Hearts
More heart cookies! The chocolate flavor in these shortbread cookies is enhanced by the addition of instant espresso powder.
Whoopie Hearts with Raspberry Meringue
Make kid-friendly whoopie hearts a Valentine's Day special by mixing frozen raspberries into Swiss meringue and pipping it between spongy chocolate pies.
Mini Chocolate Cupcakes With Multicolored Frosting
Create a festive spread of cheerful Valentine's Day cupcakes by decorating them with various colors of frosting and arranging them in the shape of a heart.
Chocolate-Pistachio Tartufo
Two kinds of ice cream—chocolate and pistachio—are layered in this frozen, Italian-inspired dessert that's just right for Valentine's Day. It looks fancy but is easy to make and doesn't require any cooking. Plus, you can replace the ice cream flavors with your sweetheart's favorites to customize it.
Baked Alaska with Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Ice Cream
Win the heart of your partner or pal with this showstopping dessert. There's toasted meringue on the outside and, inside, chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream await.
Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies
Sugar cookies are a year-round favorite. To make them Valentine's Day-ready we've added cocoa powder to the mix, cut them into heart shapes, and sandwiched them with a cream filling.
Chocolate Eclair Hearts
We've turned this favorite French pastry into a heart-shaped dessert for Valentine's Day. Use good-quality chocolate as it makes all the difference.
Rice Pudding with Sea Salt-Caramel Sauce
This old-fashioned, timeless treat is just the thing to honor a love for the ages. A sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top contrasts the sweet caramel and rich pudding.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Glaze
Instead of the usual graham cracker crust, this luscious cheesecake has a crust made with finely ground chocolate wafer cookies. The filling is half peanut butter and half chocolate, and is swirled together for the ultimate marbled dessert.
Couscous Crunch Bar
No one would ever guess that Israeli couscous provides the secret crunch in this chocolate bar. Life is full of surprises, isn't it?
Chocolate-Dipped Luxardo Cherries
Swap the usual chocolate-dipped strawberries for rich, syrupy Luxardo cherries dunked in chocolate.
No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Bars
This is one of Martha's favorite desserts for Valentine's Day. All you need to make this indulgent treat is peanut butter, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, and bittersweet chocolate.
Chocolate-Caramel Truffles
It's not really Valentine's Day if you don't indulge in chocolate, right? Wow your sweetheart with these handmade truffles; they're rolled in an assortment of red, white, and pink sprinkles.
Chocolate-Peppermint Hearts
Our charming heart-shaped peppermint patties strike the perfect balance between decadent and refreshing.
Peanut-Butter-and-Jam Heart Cookies
Anyone who loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will fall for these cookies. All you need is a handful of ingredients to make these basic peanut butter cookies, which are filled with raspberry jam.
Alexis' Heart Cake
Martha's daughter Alexis loves to make this banana and coconut cake for Valentine's Day. For festive flair, it's frosted with a cream cheese buttercream and covered in flaked coconut.
Coconut Meringue Cakes
Falling in love is like floating on cloud nine, which makes this light-as-air dessert just right for Valentine's Day. Generous scoops of coconut sorbet are layered between individual coconut meringue discs for a simple dessert that makes a big impact.
Molten Chocolate-Espresso Cakes
With their gooey centers and chocolate ganache topping, these mini molten lava cakes make a delightful indulgence for Valentine's Day.
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Does your sweetheart like to eat healthy? Then these vegan truffles are the Valentine's Day dessert recipe you need. They're made with coconut oil instead of the usual heavy cream and dare we say, they're better than ever.
Chocolate Heart Cupcakes
These adorable, heart-adorned chocolate-cherry cupcakes are topped with vanilla-bean frosting. They're perfect for Valentine's Day.
Tartlets with Yogurt Pastry Cream and Strawberries
If there's one fruit that's so very right for Valentine's Day, it's strawberries. Here, we layer sliced berries over a lightened-up pastry cream and store-bought, all-butter puff pastry.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Snowballs
Easy to make and easy to love, that's these irresistible treats. They only require five ingredients—semisweet chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, pure vanilla extract, toasted hazelnuts, and shredded coconut.
Almond-Rye Heart Cookies
Sometimes the most understated things are the most special. You won't be able to help falling in love with these deeply flavored cookies. A delicate dusting of powdered sugar is the only decoration they need.
Biscotti Bites
Inspired by classic Italian biscotti, these mini bite-sized cookies are dipped in chocolate for a Valentine's Day dessert that's both cute and delicious.
Cherry-Raspberry Semifreddo
Cherries and raspberries create a vibrant red hue for this make-ahead Valentine's Day dessert. A few tablespoons of elderflower liqueur adds a bouquet of floral flavors.
Conversation Heart Cookies
Since the nostalgic candies always have a place in our heart, we decided to turn them into a batch of sugar cookies that are as sweet as can be. Use our recipe for Royal Icing for colorful, precise icing in an array of colors.
Brownie Heart Cupcakes
These individual desserts marry two in one—brownies and cupcakes. They're guaranteed to take your breath away.
Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cakes
If there's one day that's made to impress, it's Valentine's Day. So, why not serve a dessert that will knock someone's socks off? This sweet recipe needs to be made at least four hours in advance, which gives you plenty of time to spend with your loved ones during the holiday.
Chocolate-Flecked Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Go big or go home on Valentine's Day. That's why we recommend baking this multi-layered cake stuffed with finely chopped chocolate and topped with a lighter chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Pots de Crème For Two
Make this romantic French-inspired dessert for Valentine's Day. We've scaled down the serving size so that it makes enough for just you and your sweetheart.
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