So, I have quite a few candy canes left from my holiday decor.  I love decorating with them, but I don’t really eat them!  Now that the holidays are behind us, I was trying to come up with some ways to use the leftovers!  Using them to stir hot cocoa is always fun!  I have pushed them into chocolate covered marshmallows which is also a fun way to use them.

I have never though, tried to melt them…until now!  After some experimentation, I discovered my candy canes got nice and soft, but not very hot, after being in a 250 degree oven for 5 minutes.  The softness made them flexible.  Since Valentine’s Day is approaching, I decided to make some hearts by putting two candy canes together.  I simply put the candy canes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper in the basic shape I wanted.  After 5 minutes, I took them out of the oven and gently pinched the ends together.

Deciding to add chocolate – they are for Valentine’s Day after all and mint and chocolate go great together, right? – I took the hearts off the parchment paper and drizzled some dark chocolate onto the parchment.  I put the baking sheet into the fridge for a little bit to set the chocolate.  After taking the baking sheet out of the fridge, I set my candy cane hearts on top of the chocolate drizzle.

Next, I filled the hearts I created with melted white chocolate and popped the baking sheet back into the fridge to set.

After the chocolate was set, I took the hearts off the pan and ended up with some pretty drizzled peppermint/chocolate hearts!  A great recycling of my leftover candy canes!

There are so many variations possible with this simple procedure.  The drizzle can be pink or red if you prefer.  Or, forgo the drizzle and write a name on the heart when the chocolate is set.

I hope you  are inspired!  Set your oven to 250 degrees and start getting creative with those leftover candy canes!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie