Valentine's Day Gummy Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day!

Since 49 out of the 50 states in the US have some sort of snow accumulation, I'm assuming most of your Valentine's Day plans have been affected by this storm! No worries! I have a simple idea for a creative gift that is sure to be a hit! While I was snowed in yesterday, I decided to scour my kitchen and Pinterest for ideas on what I can do for a fun, creative Valentine's Day idea. As most of you know about me already, I'm pretty obsessed with the holidays! Nobody gets into the holidays more than the Desiderio family! Over the years of working in the restaurant business I've become extremely passionate about incorporating alcohol with the holidays. "Holiday Spirit" at it's finest! My latest festive project involves just a few ingredients, moments of time, and something us gals love. WINE! A simple gift for a boyfriend/girlfriend or the PERFECT thing to bring to ladies' night.

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1 cup of wine

Note: you can use either red or white whichever you prefer but the red is more fitting for Valentine's Day. I'd recommend using whichever wine you enjoy drinking because the gummies are going to taste just like the wine you used!

• 4 tablespoons plain, unflavored gelatin. You can get this at any supermarket right by the flavored Jell-O.

• 1-2 packets of Stevia-a natural sweetener or you can use Splenda or sugar if you prefer.

•  Heart shaped cookie-cutter if you want them to be in the shape of a heart

• Pie pan

-Pour the wine into a saucepan and keep it on very low heat. Make sure you have all your ingredients ready to go because it's important to do this process fairly fast. Start adding your gelatin to the wine. The gelatin I used required me to use the whole box. Stir the wine and the gelatin with a whisk to get them mixed together. The gelatin will dissolve quickly and you can then add in your sweetener. The reason I tell you to speed through this process is because you do not want to lose the alcohol in the wine by it being on the stove too long! That's the most important part isn't it, the alcohol? I added 2 packets of Stevia to the red gummies and 1 packet of Stevia to the white (because it was Riesling and it's already a sweeter wine)

-Once your mixture is ready just pour it into the pan and put it right into your fridge! They become jello-like very quickly! I left mine to set for an hour or so. It was easier for me to make them into hearts that way!

To me, presentation is always the icing on the cake! I love bringing something to a party or giving something as gift that is perfectly packaged. I've saved the Godiva hearts that my stepfather gives me each year and they worked perfectly to package these gummies! I put tissue paper inside the box and then put each heart inside a pink and red cupcake liner. I personally would much rather receive a heart-shaped box of wine gummies over a box of chocolates any day! They have less calories and are more enjoyable in my book! They are definitely cheaper than those chocolate Godiva hearts!

Whether you're single, involved, or just love wine and gummy bears, these are sure to be a hit this Valentine's Day!