Fruit and Chocolate Valentine's Treats
This Valentine’s Day, show your people some love with these simple fruit and chocolate treats featuring the abundance of perfectly sweet fruit we rescued this week! From apples to watermelon and everything in between, whatever variety of fruit you receive can be made even more delicious with a little melted chocolate.
You don’t need fancy equipment, exotic ingredients or lots of time to make food festive and fun. A simple heart- or flower-shaped cookie cutter transforms cut fruit into something almost too pretty to eat. Topped with a drizzle of chocolate or white chocolate and a few sprinkles, they’re sure to delight all of your valentines. These I Heart Fruit Kebabs are the perfect family-friendly weekend activity. Slice fruit like watermelon, pineapple or apple, then let the kids use cookie cutters to make shapes and dress them up. We’ve also included simple recipes for making Orange Cupid Hearts and Fresh Raspberry Swirl Bark below!
We love that you love perfectly imperfect fruits as much as we do! Show us how you’re celebrating with whatever sweet treats you received this week, and be sure to tag us @perfectlyimperfectproduce so we can spread the love and inspire others with your creations! Happy Valentine’s Day, PIP fam!
I Heart Fruit Kebabs
Fruit is even more fun when it’s skewered on a stick! A great activity for the kids, these kebabs make use of a wide assortment of fruits you may have received. If you don’t have a small cookie cutter, simply cut the fruit into cubes! Be sure to help kids skewer the fruits, especially the apples and plums.
Ingredients/Supplies:
Perfectly Imperfect apples, pineapple, plums, and/or watermelon
Small heart, flower, or circle cookie cutter
Paper towel or a clean dish towel
Melted dark chocolate and/or white chocolate
Toppings: Sprinkles, flaked coconut, crushed nuts, crushed dehydrated fruit, etc.
Wood skewers
Instructions:
Slice the fruit into 1-inch thick pieces. Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes, or use a paring knife to cut it into cubes.
Dab the fruit with the paper towel or dish towel to remove some of the juice (this will help the chocolate stick). Alternatively, you can freeze the cut fruit for 10 minutes.
Dip part or all of the fruit in chocolate, or use a spoon to drizzle the tops. Sprinkle with toppings, then transfer to the fridge to set for 10 to 15 minutes.
Carefully skewer the fruit pieces and enjoy!
Orange Cupid Hearts
Citrus and chocolate is a heavenly combo! Transform orange segments into heart shapes, secure them with toothpicks, then drizzle with chocolate. Or, dip half of the orange segment in the melted chocolate.
Ingredients/Supplies:
Perfectly Imperfect oranges
Melted dark chocolate
Toothpicks
Instructions:
Peel the oranges and break apart into segments. Pair similarly sized orange segments together. Cut the bottom corner off each orange segment, then secure them together with the toothpicks. Drizzle with melted chocolate, then transfer to the fridge to set for 10 to 15 minutes.
Fresh Raspberry Swirl Bark
Chocolate bark is such a pretty and impressive dessert, but it couldn’t be simpler to make! We use a fine-mesh strainer to make fresh raspberry puree, then drop it onto a thin layer of melted white chocolate. A toothpick pulled through the puree will make a chain of little hearts!
Ingredients/Supplies:
12 ounce bag white chocolate baking chips*
⅓ cup Perfectly Imperfect raspberries
Toothpicks
*Feel free to use regular chocolate/dark chocolate. Note: the darker the chocolate, the less visible the raspberry puree will be.
Instructions:
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Mash the raspberries through a fine-mesh strainer using the back of a spoon. Keep mashing until you’re left with mostly seeds/pulp in the strainer (enjoy this in your oatmeal or yogurt!). You should have a heaping tablespoon of raspberry puree; set aside.
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler on the stove top. Whisk 1 tablespoon of the melted chocolate into the raspberry puree, then spread the remaining melted chocolate in a thin layer on the baking sheet (about ¼-inch thick).
Using a small spoon, drop the raspberry puree on top of the melted chocolate. Drag a toothpick through the center of each drop to connect the dots, which will make a string of hearts in the chocolate.
Refrigerate for at least 20 to 30 minutes, or until the white chocolate is set. Break into pieces. Store in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
