Hot Chocolate For the Best Valentine’s Day Ever!

I’ve been a big fan of Morning Glory Confections for years now. I love the fun and unique brittle flavors they make and I love giving them as gifts. If you catch them at a farmer’s market or artisan food show you have to make a stop and enjoy one of their delicious baked goods, especially the brownies. So what this is really is a little love story just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s a love story about my love of Morning Glory Confections.

And perfectly timed for Valentine’s Day, they came out with two new drinking chocolates (classic and spicy) that you guessed it, I LOVE! I used their classic drinking chocolate to create the ultimate Valentine’s Day indulgence. Enjoy it in the morning with a shot of espresso or to get cozy at the end of your romantic evening (it goes great with a shot of whiskey).

This is the perfect indulgence for these chilly days and nights. To add to the goodness I whipped up some homemade marshmallows to go on top. If this intimidates you let me tell you right now that marshmallows are easy to make. They are. Not scary. Just takes a bit of planning. They can be made the night before or in the morning to enjoy in the evening. A few simple steps and some time for the marshmallows to form and you’ve got yourself a tasty topping for your drinking chocolate. Check out the recipe below. And if you head over to Morning Glory Confections online shop you can get 20% off your order with my code LMEC20!

Homemade Heart Marshmallows

Adapted from Martha Stewart Homemade Marshmallows
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup honey (note honey is used in place of corn syrup, but does impart a lot of flavor. you can always go back to corn syrup if you are flavoring this)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.
2. Put granulated sugar, honey, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.
5. Sift 1 cup confectioners’ sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners’ sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat.
6. Using a heart shape cookie cuter, cut out marshmallow heart shapes.