40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (2024)

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.

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Chocolate-Mousse Parfaits

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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.

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Sweetheart Thumbprint Cookies

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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!

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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.

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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.

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Vanilla Heart-Shaped Cake with Raspberry-and-Custard-Filling

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (5)

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.

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Iced Heart Cookies

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It's amazing what you can do with a batch of simple sugar cookies and some pink-and-white royal icing.

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Raspberry and Chocolate-Hazelnut Crepe Cake

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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.

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Mini Pear-and-Cranberry Amaretti Crisps

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (8)

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.

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Meringue Letters and Hearts

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Have a way with words? Spell out your love by hand-piping meringue cookies and baking them until they're set.

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Handwritten Valentine Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (10)

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.

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Dark- and White-Chocolate Shortbread Hearts

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More heart cookies! The chocolate flavor in these shortbread cookies is enhanced by the addition of instant espresso powder.

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Whoopie Hearts with Raspberry Meringue

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Make kid-friendly whoopie hearts a Valentine's Day special by mixing frozen raspberries into Swiss meringue and pipping it between spongy chocolate pies.

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Mini Chocolate Cupcakes With Multicolored Frosting

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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.

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Chocolate-Pistachio Tartufo

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (14)

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.

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Baked Alaska with Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Ice Cream

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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.

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Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies

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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.

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Chocolate Eclair Hearts

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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.

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Rice Pudding with Sea Salt-Caramel Sauce

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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.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Glaze

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (19)

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.

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Couscous Crunch Bar

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (20)

No one would ever guess that Israeli couscous provides the secret crunch in this chocolate bar. Life is full of surprises, isn't it?

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Chocolate-Dipped Luxardo Cherries

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (21)

Swap the usual chocolate-dipped strawberries for rich, syrupy Luxardo cherries dunked in chocolate.

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No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Bars

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (22)

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.

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Chocolate-Caramel Truffles

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (23)

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.

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Chocolate-Peppermint Hearts

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Our charming heart-shaped peppermint patties strike the perfect balance between decadent and refreshing.

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Peanut-Butter-and-Jam Heart Cookies

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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.

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Alexis' Heart Cake

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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.

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Coconut Meringue Cakes

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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.

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Molten Chocolate-Espresso Cakes

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With their gooey centers and chocolate ganache topping, these mini molten lava cakes make a delightful indulgence for Valentine's Day.

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Dark Chocolate Truffles

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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.

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Chocolate Heart Cupcakes

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These adorable, heart-adorned chocolate-cherry cupcakes are topped with vanilla-bean frosting. They're perfect for Valentine's Day.

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Tartlets with Yogurt Pastry Cream and Strawberries

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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.

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Chocolate-Hazelnut Snowballs

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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.

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Almond-Rye Heart Cookies

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (33)

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.

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Biscotti Bites

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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.

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Cherry-Raspberry Semifreddo

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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.

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Conversation Heart Cookies

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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.

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Brownie Heart Cupcakes

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These individual desserts marry two in one—brownies and cupcakes. They're guaranteed to take your breath away.

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Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cakes

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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.

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Chocolate-Flecked Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (39)

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.

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Chocolate Pots de Crème For Two

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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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40 Valentine's Day Dessert Recipes That You'll Fall in Love With (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular Valentine's treat? ›

Chocolate covered strawberries are a classic treat on Valentine's Day but the store-bought variety are often pretty expensive. Luckily, they're easy to make at home and you can even get creative with decorating them: sprinkles, chopped nuts, or crushed freeze-dried strawberries!

What is the 250000 Valentine's dessert? ›

So what do you get for your quarter of a million dollars? The dessert is covered in Austrian crystals, 23K edible gold, edible glitter, and even edible diamonds(?). It also comes with an 18K white gold ring featuring a pink heart-shaped diamond, a blue pear-shaped diamond, and a white diamond.

What is Valentine's Day food? ›

A good-quality steak with a potato side is a timeless choice, but couples craving a lighter romantic meal may go for fish like sea bass or salmon. And naturally, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan picks for Valentine's Day. Italian dishes, like pasta, are also a classic Valentine's Day choice.

What are the top 3 items consumers buy for Valentine's Day? ›

“With consumers prioritizing their spouse or significant other this year, retailers expect to see a shift in spending for certain gifting categories.” The top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (39%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (22%), clothing (21%) and gift cards (19%).

What is the number one gift given on Valentine's Day? ›

If you're unsure about what to get your special someone for Valentine's Day, the survey says that the most traditional gifts are the most desired: 48% want a nice dinner at a restaurant. 34% want chocolates. 31% want flowers.

What is the purple in love dessert? ›

“Purple in Love” ($8.99) is the signature award-winning dessert here. Condensed milk coats a bowl carefully piled with crushed ice topped with grape syrup and evaporated milk for a light purple colour, mochi ice cream cut into pieces, rice cake, and grapes.

What is the most lavish dessert? ›

What is the most expensive sweet in the world? The most expensive dessert is The Frrrozen Haute Chocolate ice cream sundae costing $25,000, which was added to the menu of the Serendipity 3 restaurant, New York, USA on 7 November 2007.

What is a good Valentine candy? ›

Lindt chocolate is known for its classic, small chocolate truffles, which come in a variety of different flavors, including milk, dark and white chocolate, caramel and strawberries and cream. Whether they prefer to mix up flavors, or go with the more familiar options, there's plenty for loved ones to choose from.

What is the most eaten candy on Valentine's Day? ›

Everybody Wants Chocolate

According to CandyStore.com, 37 out of 50 states in the U.S. prefer some kind of chocolate to any other sort of Valentine candy. Chocolate is the most popular candy for Valentine's Day for a reason.

What is the favorite Valentines candy? ›

Reese's Hearts and Minatures

When it comes to crowd-pleasing Valentine's Day candy, nothing beats a good old-fashioned Reese's peanut butter cup. This sharable assortment includes heart-shaped chocolates to give and classic mini cups to keep for yourself.

What is sold the most on Valentines Day? ›

Candy: As the saying goes, “Candy for the win!” It comes as no surprise that candy tops the list, with 57% of people purchasing sweets for their loved ones on Valentine's Day. Chocolates, in particular, are a timeless classic and a symbol of romance.

What is the most popular Valentines candy? ›

Chocolate is the most popular candy for Valentine's Day for a reason. These delicious treats pair perfectly with any gift. Give chocolates alongside flowers or stuffed animals. You could also gift them as a dessert after a fancy dinner, or to go with a nice bottle of wine.

What is the most common Valentine's candy? ›

Here's how it breaks down: Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates win the day, taking the top spot in 15 states. Hot on the heels of this Valentine's Day cliche are those chalky little conversation hearts, which ranked in first place in 13 states.

What are the two most popular candies on Valentine's Day? ›

You typically go with something heart-shaped or something chocolate… because a box of Nerds or a Kermit the Frog Pez dispenser may not send the right message. And so, two types of candy seem to shine on February 14: conversation hearts and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, at least according to CandyStore.com.

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