Candy is dandy

According to the National Confectioners Association, chocolates and other sweets are at the top of the list of gifts that hit your sweetheart’s stomach and their heart—about 90% of Americans that celebrate the holiday pick candy as the gift to give, with a nice dinner out, a blooming bouquet, and even beauty and self-care items trailing behind. I’m a chocolate first girl—and while I enjoy the old standby conversation hearts, I favor twists on the original version, like these Brach’s hearts that combine novel flavors with modern messages. This is because in middle school I correctly guessed in a contest how many hearts were in a jar; the prize was all the hearts in the jar (1,906), and that’s enough to last most people a lifetime.

Courtesy of Pillsbury

Take-and-bake valentines

I enjoy baking cakes, pies, and other sugary treats, but (and I imagine a lot of you can relate to this) sometimes I run out of steam after a tough day and end up lacking the energy to whip up a from-scratch baked gift. That’s why I’m a fan of cake mixes, ready-to-bake cookies, and other offerings like Sweet Loren’s BFY heart-shaped Barbie cookies (available year round) and Pillsbury’s cutout sugar cookies, also shaped like hearts. The beauty of these is, after the cookies have cooled, you can take a moment to decorate the cookies and give your easy-bake offering a personal touch.

Courtesy of Hain Celestial

Savory over sweet

It might be hard for the sweet-toothed people of the world (including me) to believe, but many people would step over towers of pink-frosted goods, and every heart-shaped box full of finely crafted chocolates, in favor of something on the savory side. Hain Celestial recently released heart-shaped chips—with the snack coming in a multi-carton filled with individually portioned pouches, they’d be perfect for giving out to school classmates or coworkers, or sneaking into your honey’s lunchbox or commuter bag for the holiday as well as the days after.

What are some of your favorite snacks or bakery items to give or to get for Valentine’s Day? Share your top heart-covered treats for the holiday by sending to me at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com. I’d love to hear from you—see what I did there?