Family Best Time >> Home & Garden

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Introduction

You may find that getting smart in 10 letters or less is harder than you thought, but you'll have fun trying. Typing on these little hearts will make a 140-character tweet look like a novel.

Step 1

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Collect Materials

Conversation hearts are a pretty simple candy to make, but Valentine's Day treats come to life when the sweet things are personalized with the use of food-safe markers. DIY bonus:the homemade versions are much tastier than the store-bought variety when flavored with your favorite extracts.

Step 2

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Mix the first three ingredients

Combine 1/4 oz. Unflavored gelatin, 3 teaspoons light corn syrup and 1/2 cup boiling water in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until completely dissolved.

Step 3

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Add sugar

Add 8 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat using the paddle of the stand mixer between each cup until the sugar is fully incorporated. The batter will thicken with each cup added.

Stage 4

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Blend until fluffy

Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, continue beating until the fudge batter reaches a thick, fluffy consistency. The dough will be sticky, but when pierced, the indentation will remain.

Step 5

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Knead + Fold

Turn the dough out onto a flat surface generously dusted with powdered sugar. Knead the dough by pressing it flat, folding it in half and repeating for several minutes until it is flexible and easy to handle.

Step 6

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Separated by color

Divide the dough into as many colored pieces as you like and roll it up. Make an indentation in the center of each ball and add a few drops of flavor extract and food coloring to each, then knead each ball until the color is uniform.

Step 7

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Display each color

Roll each ball to about 1/4" thickness.

Step 8

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Cut Hearts

Using heart shaped cookie cutters, stamp out hearts from the dough. Although they can be made any size, a 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" candy is closest in size to the familiar candy. We use 1-3/4" and 2-1/2" cutters to create our homemade hearts.

Step 9

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Let's put for a day

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the candies on the sheet and set aside in a cool place to dry. Depending on the size and thickness, the candies should be ready to decorate in about 24 hours.

Step 10

How to Make DIY Valentine Conversation Hearts

Write a message

Using edible colored food markers, write your personalized Valentine's message on each heart. Cute, sincere, or even raunchy, your personal chat hearts are sure to captivate your friends, classmates, or that special someone.