By Emily Bunsold

With Valentine’s Day approaching quickly, the list of ideas on what to do is getting shorter. The epitome of V-day is going out to dinner, maybe seeing a movie, and spending time with that special someone. But what’s even better than going out to eat and spending hundreds of dollars on nice meal? Making your own Valentine’s Day treats with those you love the most. And the best part: I purchased everything that was required to make these three recipes for just under $20! So whether you’re single or taken, these yummy treats can be enjoyed by everyone.

The first recipe took no longer than 10 minutes, and it’s just a bit healthier than the other two recipes as well: The Pink Parfait

What you’ll need:

• Whipped cream
• Vanilla Greek yogurt
• Pink food coloring
• Raspberries, strawberries, any kind of “pink” fruit
• Pink sprinkles of any kind

 

Steps:

1. Squeeze the pink food coloring into the whipped cream until you get it to a color you’re satisfied with.

2. Start layering your parfait in a clear cup of some kind (so that you can see all the layers) starting with the pink whipped cream, then the vanilla yogurt, then your fruit, and repeat until the glass is full.

3. Then add regular white whipped cream and top it off with some holiday-appropriate sprinkles!

The second recipe is a scrumptious spin-off of one of my favorite snacks: white chocolate popcorn.

What you’ll need:

• Popcorn (preferably un-buttered)
• White chocolate chips
• Sprinkles

Steps:

1. Pop the popcorn and pour it into a large bowl.
2. Melt about ¾ of the white chocolate chips into a separate bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir when done. Repeat for 15 second intervals until the substance is thin.

3. Pour white chocolate onto popcorn and stir with a spoon gently until entire bowl of popcorn is covered.

4. Add sprinkles and you’re done!

The third and final Valentine’s Day treat is by far my favorite, but will take you a little more time to complete. Totally worth it in the end though: Mini Pink Cakes.

What you’ll need

• Vanilla cake mix
• Strawberry frosting
• White chocolate chips
• Pink food coloring

Steps:

1. Preheat oven and make cake mix according to the directions on the box.
2. Stir in pink food coloring and put into cake pan.

3. Put cake in oven to bake.
4. When the cake is finished baking, let it cool for about 10 minutes and then start mashing it up with a fork.

5. Put about 3 heaping spoon full of frosting into the mashed up cake mix. This will help the cake stick together when rolling them into balls.

6. Melt the white chocolate chips the same way as in the popcorn recipes, except just leave it in the bowl instead of pouring it on anything.

7. In another small bowl, pour sprinkles.

8. Begin forming balls in your hands with the cake mix.

9. Dip them in the frosting bowl, and then dip them in the sprinkles bowl.

10. Lay on wax paper.

11. Repeat until all of cake mix is gone.

13. Let set for about 5 minutes and stuff your face!