Make Your Own Candy Hearts

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching which means it’s time to get going on your craft projects. If you want your home to be thoroughly decked out with red and pink hearts and all things cherub, now is the time to start gathering your materials and plans. One way to really make a statement–literally–is to make your own candy hearts. Not only will they be tasty, they can be customized to include whatever messages you’d like.

There are many recipes out there for making conversation hearts that include corn syrup but we really like the recipe over at Instructables that uses clear soda instead. It’s inventive and makes the whole thing a lot less messy, in our opinion.

Ingredients and Supplies

3/4 tablespoon powdered gelatin
1/4 cup clear soda in any flavor
3 cups powdered sugar
Food coloring
Flavored extracts
Small heart cookie cutter
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Letter stamps
Small paint brush

Directions

Boil a pot of water and turn it down to a simmer.
Combine gelatin and soda in a small bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before placing bowl over the pot.
Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar a bit at a time using a hand mixer.
Dust powdered sugar onto counter and knead dough on the surface until it’s smooth.
Divide dough to as many portions as you would like to create different colored and flavored hearts.
Press your hand into the center of a portion of dough to form a bowl and pour in food coloring and flavored extract (vanilla and peppermint are popular choices). Knead dough until color is uniform.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Cut out heart shapes using your cookie cutter.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the hearts there to dry for 48 hours. Be sure to make your candy hearts well enough in advance for them to have proper drying time. Otherwise, the all-important messages you write on them will blur and run.
Brush out a thin layer of food coloring into a shallow dish. Press letter stamps into the coloring then press them onto the candy hearts. Stick with the traditional messages like “Be Mine” or “XOXO” or write something completely personalized. It’s up to you.