I Love You Candy Bars

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Monday to you!  I felt a little bad about my lack of Valentine's Day spirit last week with my "Un-Valentine's Chocolate Broken Heart Treats" post.  Therefore I made up for this weekend.  I somehow got into the romantic spirit to make my loved ones the following treats - giant candy bars and red-swirl cupcakes. 


I even became a bit carried away and wrote "I Heart U" using dried fruit I had in my pantry.  If you like this idea, feel free to take it and make it for your loved ones today or later in the week.  It's very easy and requires only a few basic ingredients. 


Well I say it's easy when I actually burnt the white chocolate on my first try.  Have you ever had burned chocolate in your home before?  It's awful - just like any typical burnt smell in your house.  I did have fun with learning how to remove the terrible odor though and will share that tip later this week in a new "Learn With Me" segment. 


Anyway, here's the recipe for you:





I Love You Candy Bar
(Makes Two Giant Size Bars)

11 oz (1 bag) of chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli all natural white chocolate chips)
2 tbsp orange juice (optional)
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
About 30 pieces of dried cranberries
2 large dried apricrots


Place parchment papers into two greased bread loaf (9 inch) pans.  Keep them close by. 

Line up your dried fruits on a piece of napkin or paper plate.  Write out the letters for "I" and "U."  Take the dried apricrot which is normally oval shaped and shape it into a heart.  Carefully use a knife to cut that apricot into a heart.  I made a small sliver down the top center and trimmed the edges at the bottom to form the triangle.  Set all the dried fruit pieces aside.





In a small sauce pan, pour the chocolate chips.  Melt the chips over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning or sticking.  As the chocolate is mostly melted, add in the orange juice, water and extracts.  Continue stirring until completely smooth.


Pour the melted chocolate onto the parched baking pans.  Use a spatula to spread out the chocolate evenly, making it the size and shape of the bread pan (a rectangle - large candy bar size). 



Once the chocolate is spread, grab the dried fruit pieces.  Line them up to spell out your "I Love (Heart) You" message.  I made mine go verticle (downward), like this:




Repeat this for the second candy bar too. Place bars in the fridge for at least two hours to harden.  Then serve to your special someone. 


Candy bars should remain in the fridge until ready to serve.  Leftovers should be stored in an air-tight container.  Or you can freeze the chocolate for up to two months and eat again later.  Enjoy!

On Saturday, I also made a batch of marble swirl red velvet cupcakes as well.  They turned out very pretty so I took a photo of them:




I followed this recipe exactly to make them.  Try them out too!


Happy Valentine's Day to you!  Do you have anything special planned? 

I woke up early and made my husband a breakfast bagel (homemade I should add!) with scrambled egg and cheese.  Tonight he's bringing home dinner for me so I don't have to cook.  Not a bad trade-off, I think!  Enjoy your day!