Make Chocolate Heart Lollipops from Candy Canes

Ah, Pinterest. It's the biggest time-waster in the world, but it's oh-so-inspiring, right?

I saw these clever candy cane heart pops via Pinterest on Bird's Party Blog and I knew I had to try them. I had a case of candy canes in my cupboard from Christmas and they were red and pink - it wasn't even debatable!

They were a lot of fun to make, and Little C was the official "sprinkler". I had the candy canes, sprinkles and paper straws on hand so the only thing we had to purchase for the project were the chocolate wafers. Little C picked the pink chocolate wafers, of course.

Supplies:

• candy canes
• chocolate wafers
• sprinkles
• paper straws or lollipop sticks
• waxed paper or parchment paper

Directions:

Unwrap the candy canes and cut a couple of inches off the bottoms with kitchen scissors. Don't freak out if you break them - I broke about half of them (argh!), but the chocolate inside will act as a glue to keep them together. Phew!

On the waxed paper or parchment paper, arrange two candy canes side-by-side as pictured to make a heart shape, cut the straws in half (or just use a lollipop stick) and place them in the bottom center with about ½" inside the "heart".

Melt the chocolate, and then spread it into the heart shapes carefully with a spoon. Make sure it covers the straw well so that it will hold when cooled. Have your little one sprinkle the hearts to their heart's content before the chocolate cools.

If you have leftover chocolate, you can spread it out (about ½" thick) on a piece of waxed paper, crush the remaining pieces of the candy canes, and sprinkle them on the chocolate to make "Valentine Bark".

Once cool, the candy cane heart pops are ready to enjoy or give as a fun gift!

Here's the bark from the leftovers:

What's your favourite Valentine's Day themed treat?