Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and everyone is gearing up to surprise their significant other with a special treat to show their love. Even if you don’t have a significant other, V-Day can be great for a girls’ night out or staying in to bake and watch romantic movies. For anyone looking for sweets to make, heart shaped pie pops are the way to go! I got this recipe from a pin on Pinterest and thought they were a perfect gift. These small treats are super easy to make and are a tasty snack to enjoy with your lover and friends. The ingredients are simple and so is the baking process below:

Ingredients:

• Any pie dough of your choice
• Flour to roll out the dough.
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 large egg, with a hint of water
• Cherry jam (or any other jam/filling of your choice)
• Lollipop Sticks (oven-safe)
• Heart shape cookie cutter

Directions:  Start off by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Next, roll out the pie dough until you get it smooth and about ¼” thick (you can put flour on the rolling pin to keep it from getting stuck to the dough). Once you have rolled out the dough evenly, use the heart shape cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as possible. Collect the scraps, recombine them, and then repeat the whole process until you have cut out as many hearts as possible. Next, get the filling of your choice and place a spoonful in the center half of the dough hearts you cut out. To make a traditional pie you can use assorted jams like cherry or blueberry, but if you have a sweet-tooth, Nutella is the way to go. Put as much filling as your heart desires but be sure to leave room around the edges so that the filling doesn’t spill out. You’re going to need the other half of the hearts to use as tops. Take your lollipop sticks and place them on the hearts with filling. Be sure to press the stick down so that it stays stuck to the dough, but don’t push it down to the point that you tear through the other side of the heart. Next you’re going to beat an egg with a splash of water and use a pastry brush (or your fingertips) to spread the egg wash around the edges of each  heart. The wash will help the two hearts seal together nicely. Now you can place the top of the hearts over the jam filled ones and use a fork to pinch the edges together. The fork markings will make the hearts looked stitch together and it gives them a super cute and authentic look! Use the egg wash once more to cover the heart pops and dust each one with white sugar. Now they’re ready to bake! Place each pie pop on a baking tray and put them in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Once these pops are out of the oven, let them cool down and they’re ready to eat! Now you have a Valentine’s Day treat that is sure to please. You can give them to your significant other and they’ll think you’re sweeter than pie!