These Conversation Hearts Mendiants just might be the easiest and cutest treat you can make for Valentine’s Day. They’re simply rounds of dark chocolate that are topped off with conversation hearts, so they are not only sweet, but they deliver a sweet message to your Valentine!
I used Sweethearts – the original conversation hearts - in these treats and found that they actually pair very well with chocolate! They’re sugary, but they have distinct flavors to them (orange, strawberry, green apple, etc.) and those flavors were actually highlighted by the chocolate – which meant that these candies were much more delicious with a little dark chocolate than they were without it.
Before I started, I sorted through a big bag of Sweethearts to identify the hearts that had the cutest messages on them and that were the most clearly printed. I set these aside to be featured messages. When I encountered hearts with illegible messages, I simply put the message side down when I placed that heart. You can use regular hearts or jumbo sized conversation hearts for these – or mix it up between the two. You’ll definitely want to spend some time sorting the candies in advance, however, since it can be difficult to have to sort through them once you’re already working with the chocolate.
I used tempered chocolate to make these. Tempered chocolate is very glossy, has a firm finish and melts smoothly. It also sets up quickly when you’re working with it, which means that the process of making mendiants can be done very quickly. Untempered chocolate takes a very long time to set up (and often must be set in the fridge) and, because of that, it is likely to develop a whitish “bloom” on the surface instead of having a clean, shiny finish. You can find my instructions on how to temper chocolate here to walk you through the process, which is easier than you might think and well worth practicing if you, like me, love to work with chocolate!
Chocolate Mendiants
8-oz dark chocolate, melted and tempered*
Sweethearts or other Conversation Hearts Candies
Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
Place your conversation hearts in a small bowl near your parchment-lined baking sheets.
Pour tempered chocolate into a piping bag or large ziploc bag. Snip a small hole as a tip in the bag and pipe rounds of chocolate about 3/4-inch in diameter onto prepared parchment paper.
Pipe 6-8 rounds of chocolate, then add toppings to them before they set up. Gently tap the baking sheet on the counter to encourage the chocolate to spread slightly into a neat circle.
Repeat with remaining chocolate until all of it has been used up.
Makes 3 dozen, depending on the size of the candies.
*Note: You can simply melt your chocolate and still make mendiants with it, but the chocolate will bloom after a little while. Mendiants made with untempered chocolate should be stored in the fridge (to minimize bloom) and eaten quickly, but still make a fun no-fuss snack if you’re planning to just munch on them yourself at home.