Basket of Valentine Treats

Gil and I were invited to the beach last weekend to spend some time with our friends Mimi and Ken. I wanted to take them something, and since it was getting close to Valentines Day, I decided to theme it as such.

Reynolds makes foil cups in different shapes which are fun and simple to bake in. I used the star in a previous post. This time I used the heart shape:

I placed the hearts on a cookie sheet and sprayed them with cooking spray:

Then I filled them with brownie batter from a boxed brownie mix. I added 6 oz of semisweet chocolate morsels and 3/4 cup of pecans to the batter. I baked them for about 25 minutes at 350. After cooling, I frosted them with canned chocolate frosting. Homemade would always be better, but time was of the essence because I had been busy. I topped them with some cute Wilton sugar hearts that I found at the grocery store.

After the frosting had hardened a little, I placed them in clear acrylic bags and tied them with red and white ribbon. These will come out of the foil cups easily for serving, but I left them in for the trip.

I also included some pistachios and conversation hearts:

I completed the basket with some really nice cheddar cheese, Carr's crackers, and a Hershey's Symphony bar, which is Mimi's favorite. I found this neat white basket in the floral department at Western in Mountain Brook. A bottle of sparkling cider or wine would also be a nice touch.

So, if you need an idea for your Valentine, or a hostess gift for Valentines Day, make them a basket of treats.