You may find that getting smart in 10 letters or less is harder than you thought, but you'll have fun trying. Typing on these little hearts will make a 140-character tweet look like a novel.
Conversation hearts are a pretty simple candy to make, but Valentine's Day treats come to life when the sweet things are personalized with the use of food-safe markers. DIY bonus:the homemade versions are much tastier than the store-bought variety when flavored with your favorite extracts.
Combine 1/4 oz. Unflavored gelatin, 3 teaspoons light corn syrup and 1/2 cup boiling water in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until completely dissolved.
Add 8 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat using the paddle of the stand mixer between each cup until the sugar is fully incorporated. The batter will thicken with each cup added.
Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, continue beating until the fudge batter reaches a thick, fluffy consistency. The dough will be sticky, but when pierced, the indentation will remain.
Turn the dough out onto a flat surface generously dusted with powdered sugar. Knead the dough by pressing it flat, folding it in half and repeating for several minutes until it is flexible and easy to handle.
Divide the dough into as many colored pieces as you like and roll it up. Make an indentation in the center of each ball and add a few drops of flavor extract and food coloring to each, then knead each ball until the color is uniform.
Roll each ball to about 1/4" thickness.
Using heart shaped cookie cutters, stamp out hearts from the dough. Although they can be made any size, a 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" candy is closest in size to the familiar candy. We use 1-3/4" and 2-1/2" cutters to create our homemade hearts.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the candies on the sheet and set aside in a cool place to dry. Depending on the size and thickness, the candies should be ready to decorate in about 24 hours.
Using edible colored food markers, write your personalized Valentine's message on each heart. Cute, sincere, or even raunchy, your personal chat hearts are sure to captivate your friends, classmates, or that special someone.
