Easy Valentine’s Day Treats

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – a day to tell those you love how much they mean to you. The holiday dates back centuries and though many think it’s a Hallmark holiday, it’s really something so much more. I shared a post on The Lake Country Mom about things you can do for the holiday with all of your loved ones. And this week, I experimented and made some simple chocolate treats with my mom.

There are a variety of Waukesha businesses that also have chocolate dipped items–cookies, pretzels, strawberries, and more. But if you are crunched for time, or you want to make something so it’s more special, this could be your option.

These treats are so easy to whip together, it almost takes longer to preheat the oven or melt the chocolate in the microwave than make the actual treats. And the mess was very minimal and clean up was quick and easy.

We started with chocolate Rolo pretzels. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and while that is happening, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Start with a layer of square pretzels and then place a Rolo chocolate candy on top of each pretzel. Then place in the oven for just three minutes so the chocolate gets a little melty. Push an M&M into the top of each–and push down just enough to mush everything all together. (Aren’t these seasonal M&Ms so cute?!?!)

In addition to the pretzel treats, we melted some chocolate in the microwave to dip cookies. If you don’t want to purchase a lot of items, you can buy these grab cups and seasonal M&Ms. Usually those cookie cups are in the 10 for $10 bin at Pick ‘n Save.

We tried to “fork” or “toothpick” the cookies to help with the dipping, but the cookies wouldn’t stay together or fell off in the chocolate. We settled for dipping half the treats.

My mom and I also figured out the calorie content of each treat, and honestly, they aren’t that bad. (If you don’t eat too many.)

Each treat is under 40 calories, except the regular size Oreos. Those didn’t work the best in the chocolate but I just had to dip one of the new Most Stuf Oreos (that have 110 calories each before the chocolate dip!!!)

My mom and I had a great time experimenting and making some treats. She took some home for my dad and I have some to share with Jake this week for a quick sweet treat for my sweetie. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, no matter what you do.