What is Valentine’s Day? A day where we are given the chance to express our love, and feelings to a person who may know, or not know about us. It is a day where people flock to stores to buy boxes of chocolates, flowers and cards. We are brought to think that we have to buy things to show our love when we should just do things to show our love. Valentine’s Day should be a day to spend with your loved ones. It is having tea with your grandparents, going to the gym with the person that cares about you.  It is cooking dinner from scratch with everyone!!! Not just you in the kitchen. It is going for a jog and then going for brunch. It is so many things…

It does not have to be fancy as long as it is with your loved ones, as long as it is planned.

Valentine’s day at our house was not fancy … We did not dress up. We did not buy fancy things..

I spent my week-end making things for my love ones. I made Raspberry, Banana, Pistachio Macarons for my in-laws, Pralinés and Marzipan chocolates for my husband. And my husband and I, we shopped together for what we were going to cook together.

My husband most favorite thing to eat, besides POTATOES ( kidding lol), is marzipan. It is very hard to find good ones in the States. And if you do find some,they are very expensive. Do you know that it is actually very easy to make some. So I actually decided to make some heart-shaped chocolate truffles for today. I thought I would share.

Ingredients for about 30 truffles:

• about 4 oz. of ghiradhelli dark chocolate chips of coating
• about 3 oz. of ghiradhelli White chocolate for decoration
• 1½ cup blanched almond 
• 1½ cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tbsp quality pure almond extract
• 1/2 tsp rose-water
• 1 egg white 

1. Warm up the chocolate into a small bowl for 90 seconds and with a pastry brush, brush the sides of each heart.
2. place the tray in the fridge so that the chocolate will cure. Meanwhile prepare the marzipan.
3. Place the almond in the chopper and chop them until you have a powder mixture.
4. Add to it the powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined and any lumps are broken up.
   
5. Add the almond extract and rose-water and mix to combine.
6. Add the egg white and process until a thick dough is formed. If the dough is still too wet and sticky, add more powdered sugar and ground almonds. It will firm up once it is refrigerated however.
7. Take the marzipan dough onto the roul’pat and knead a few times.
8. Form it into a log, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
   
9. Take the log out, cut some pieces out.
10. Place one piece in each opening. Press down so that the marzipan is filling completely the chocolate heart.
11. Place the tray in the fridge to cool.
12. Warm the chocolate and close up the chocolate heart.
13. Place the tray back in the fridge.
14. gently remove the heart from the tray.
15. You may need to trim the edges of the heart with a knife for smoother edges.
    
16. For added decoration, decorate the chocolate with colored chocolate.
    
17. Place the chocolate onto the roul’pat together.
    
18. Place about 3 oz. of white chocolate of Ghiradhelli into a small bowl. Place it into the microwave and melt it for 90 seconds. Add some coloring of your choice. I used a dot of burgundy Wilton.
19. Place the chocolate into a small plastic bag and drizzle over the chocolates.
20. Let the chocolates cures before touching them. 
21. Package the chocolates at your likings. Et voila!!!