Make Your Own Box of Chocolates

As Forrest Gump famously noted, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”  While that might be true for life, I personally like to know what I’m going to get when I bite into a chocolate treat!  Valentine’s Day is almost here, and those boxes of mixed chocolates are piled ceiling-high in almost every store.  I don’t know about you, but I usually like 1-2 pieces of those chocolates at best.  Then the box just sits on the counter for another 2 weeks until either someone throws it away or some unsuspecting soul decides that the leftover chocolates are better than no dessert at all.

The problem is solved!  Forget the pre-packaged box of chocolate and the map to the different flavors (which always gets turned upside down and confuses everyone hunting for that last peanut cluster).  Go to Michael’s and pick up a candy box, and then make your own box of favorite chocolate bites!  Sure, this requires a bit more effort than picking up a box of premade chocolates, but let’s be honest…you wouldn’t be reading this post if you didn’t at least like the idea of cooking/baking/making at home.  No matter what choices you go with, your loved ones will absolutely appreciate the thoughtfulness of this gift!  So from everyone here at Spiced: Have fun, Be creative, and Have a great Valentine’s Day!

Here is a list of some of our favorite truffles and mini-desserts to use in your Valentine’s box of treats:

{1.} Truffle Stuffed Brownie Pops: Brownies covered with a chocolate shell–you can’t go wrong with this delicious combination!  source: Crazy for Crust

{2.} Chocolate-Covered Pretzels: I love the combination of chocolate and salt–the two flavors go so well together!  These chocolate covered pretzels are easy to make and will add a great touch of color to your box of goodies.  source: Love from the Oven

{3.} Chocolate Peanut Clusters: Whenever I open a box of mixed chocolates, peanut clusters are the first variety to disappear.  Fix that problem by making your own peanut clusters…but make extra so you don’t run out!  source: Burn Me Not

{4.} Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies: These shortbread cookies are topped with homemade marshmallow and then glazed with chocolate.  Sounds like a tasty gourmet s’more!  source: Tartelette

{5.} Heart-shaped Valentine’s Cookies: These cookies just look amazing.  You can’t go wrong with adding a few cookies to the box, too! source: Glorious Treats

{6.} Blackberry Truffles: I loved picking wild blackberries as a kid (and blackberry is still one of my favorite flavors).  Check out these unique truffles that feature a blackberry filling.  source: Annie’s Eats

{7.} Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Bars: Red velvet brownies and Oreos and a layer of chocolate on top?  Seriously…you can’t go wrong with these!  Just cut them into little bit sized pieces to include in your treat box.  source: Pizzazzerie