Celebrating Valentine’s Day? Forget the romantic dinner for two. Start your love fest off right with these Valentines breakfast ideas.
Since I’m the Chief Breakfast Maker at my house, here are a few ideas I’m going to try –
Homemade Pop Tart Hearts – Yes, my kids have eaten the original pop tarts, but making my own buttery, jam-filled pastries is a better expression of LOVE in my mind. Full recipe below.
Berry Mango Smoothie by CitronLimette – My kids love smoothies and mango adds a great zing!
French Toast Heart Cut-outs from ZiggetyZoom.com – You can cut the heart out before or after cooking. We fill our hearts with raspberry jam.
Heart-Shaped Muffins – Use your favorite muffin mix and insert a marble between the paper and the side of the tin. No need for a special pan!
Egg In the Hole from Shannon – Another way to fill that hole in your heart.
Heart-shaped Pancakes – One easy way to make these is using a pancake mold. Don’t have one? Make a regular circle and cut out your heart with a cookie cutter. Still not convinced? Fill up a zip-top bag with batter and trim a corner. Squirt your own heart shape by hand. Or pour your batter into a plastic squeeze bottle and let the pancake art begin.
Heart-Shaped Hard Boiled Egg by Anna the Red – A cardboard milk carton, a chopstick and some rubber bands and your breakfast guests will be amazed.
Maybe a stop at Starbuck’s or McDonald’s is a Valentine’s treat? Package up the gift card with a printable Valentines gift certificate so they know you put some thought into it.
Homemade Biscotti from Better Homes & Garden is a fun treat to share with the “coffee-IS-breakfast” crowd.
Pack up breakfast to go in a valentine lunch bag with a big heart on the front. The breakfast burrito, banana or yogurt never had such a cute message to share. It is what it is has the free printable.
Still not sure where to start? Here’s the Homemade Pop Tart Hearts recipe –
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, sliced
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
9 tablespoons filling
1 egg, beaten
Filling Options
Raspberry Jam – Thicken 1/2 cup jam by cooking in a small sauce pan and adding 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Allow to cool.
Nutella – Straight from the jar.
Cinnamon & Pecan – Blend together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup chopped pecans until crumbly
In a food processor or in a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter using a pastry blender or pulse the processor until the butter is blended into pea-sized bits. In a measuring cup, whisk together the egg and milk. Pour into bowl and stir just until blended or pour through feed tube on processor and pulse on dough setting until dough is moistened.
Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead minimally until dough is smooth. Cut dough in half. Roll out the first piece into a rough 10-inch circle. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut bottom layer of the heart tarts and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Rolling dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and using a 2 1/2-inch heart cutter will yield approximately 1 dozen tarts. Gather your scraps and roll out a second time if needed. If you still have scraps, gather together and chill in the fridge until you are ready to work the second half of dough.
Assemble the tarts by brushing the bottom layer of tart with the beaten egg and scooping a heaping 1/2 tablespoon onto the center of each heart. Leave a thin edge of dough around the edge to allow the top layer to seal to the bottom.
Roll out the second half of dough as the first and place the tart tops over the bottoms. Gently press and pinch the edges to seal the tart. Using a fork, press the edges of the tart. Don’t forget to poke a few holes in the top layer of the tart to allow any steam to escape. Since my heart tarts were fairly small, I used a toothpick and poked out letters. Lucky us! A dozen tarts and twelve letters in my three kids names — perfect fit until Mom needed a bite.
Chill the finished tarts for up to 30 minutes to allow the butter in the dough to firm up again before baking. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Store your tarts in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Short on time in the morning? Make your dough and assemble your tarts the night before, then pop them in the oven for breakfast.
Craving more? Check out the recipe inspiration from Smitten Kitchen and her regular-sized and rectangle Homemade Pop Tart recipe.
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