Edible Valentine's Day Gifts

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.  In our opinion, it’s not Valentine’s Day or a noteworthy holiday, for that matter, without the ritual sweets.  Besides, February 14th isn’t just for lovers. It’s for anyone who loves a good excuse to eat!  Forget roses and jewelry, there’s a number of Valentine’s Day edibles, from  handmade marshmallows at Three Tarts to Kyotofu’s heart-shaped miso chocolate brownies. Look out cupid, we’re skipping straight to the sweet stuff.

Kee’s Chocolates
Address: 80 Thompson Street (multiple locations)
Phone: (212) 334-3284
Nothing says February 14th quite like chocolate.  For the chocolate lover who’s seen it all, there’s a selection of truly unique chocolates from this jewel box-size chocolate shop.  Owner Kee Ling Tong handcrafts her chocolates daily with a variety of exotic flavors and fillings, like fennel, cognac, honey kumquat, elderflower, pepper, and Thai chili.  If we had to pick a favorite, we’d probably opt for the creme brulee-filled dark chocolate bon bons. But for Valentine’s Day, we suggest the Black Rose – a dark truffle infused with black tea infused with rose petals.

Mariebelle
Address: 484 Broome Street between Broadway and Wooster 
Phone: (212) 925-6999
It’s not enough to taste one of the delicate chocolates from Mariebelle, so we suggest an afternoon date at this stylish SoHo boutique.  That way you can sample this European-style shop for yourself.    There’s lots to see and sample and plenty of chocolates created just for the occasion, like chocolate pinup bars, each wrapped in pinup portraits, or tropical chocolate bars flavored with everything from blueberries to bananas.  That’s just the beginning. There’s guava caramels, toffee chocolate bars, and even chocolate olives.  When you’re through shopping, head to the Cocoa and Tea salon for a cup of Mariebelle’s signature and famous spicy hot chocolate with subtle hints of ancho chilies, chipotle and nutmeg.

Vosges
Address: 132 Spring Street between Greene and Wooster (multiple locations)
Phone: (212) 625-2929
Bacon and chocolate, beer and chocolate, champagne and chocolate…all perfect couplings for Valentine’s Day. At Vosges, you can find all of the above, but let’s start with bacon. The “Grande Bacon Tower” includes a 16-piece bacon truffle collection, a quarter pound of bacon caramel toffee, and the bacon mini-bar library, which is as great a gift for a man as it is for a woman. If you want champagne and chocolate, which is a great way to kill two birds with one stone (so to speak), Vosges offers a Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvee with a 9-piece set of exotic truffles.

Dean and Deluca
Address: 560 Broadway at Prince Street (multiple locations)
Phone: (212) 226-6800
For one-stop Valentine’s Day shopping, there’s Dean & Deluca. This SoHo store has something for everyone, including your co-workers or kids.  Where to begin? How about with the brownie and blondie hearts or the heart-shaped marshmallows?  Dean & Deluca doesn’t limit themselves to sweets.  If you’re celebrating with dinner at home, they’ve crafted heart-crusted lobster pot pies or even heart-shaped goat cheese. For old school romantics, they’ve got strawberries dipped in white, milk, and dark chocolate.  There’s even a canary diamond candy ring. The lemon-flavored, edible diamond is set on a handcrafted ring gilded with 24-karat edible gold.  Yes, seriously.

Li Lac Chocolates
Address: 40 8th Avenue and Jane Street
Phone: (718) 567-9500
It’s hard to argue with 84 years of tradition…so we won’t.  Turning out mouthwatering chocolates since 1923, Li Lac offers handmade chocolates and other confections  ideal for February 14th.  Almost everything sold in the store makes a good gift, but they’ve designed a few boxes just for the occasion, like Giant Lace Heart.  It’s filled with 208 pieces of Li Lac’s French assortment, which includes chocolate mousse, rum, praline, truffle, dark mocha, and plenty more. For something different, check out the cameras, chess sets, the Empire State Building, motorcycles, and guitars all made out of chocolate.

Francois Payard Bakery
Address: 116 West Houston Street between Thompson and Sullivan Streets
Phone: (212) 995-0888
You can find chocolate truffles in dozens of shops this time of year, but champagne pop rock truffles? That’s another story. Francois Payard has dreamed up dark chocolate truffles filled with champagne infused chocolate ganache and coated in Pop Rocks, which come in a heart-shaped box. If you’re not the truffle type, try Payard’s “Sweetly Divine” heart-shaped cake layered with fresh vanilla bean mascarpone, pound cake and vanilla bavarois, with a homemade raspberry jam infused with rose petals. Divine indeed.

Kyotofu
Address: 705 Ninth Avenue between 48th and 49th Street
Phone: (212) 974-6012
If you’re tired of the traditional box of truffles, Kyotofu has several creative Japanese-inspired sweets. For starters, there’s their award-winning chocolate souffle cupcakes or the miso chocolate brownie gift box.  Kyotofu makes sweetheart shortbread cookies all year round, but they happen to make great gifts for Valentine’s Day and come in yuzu citrus, toasted brown rice, strawberry and matcha green tea.  There’s even a “Be My Valentine’s” gift assortment with a little of everything.

Three Tarts
Address: 164 9th Avenue at 20th Street
Phone: (212) 462-4392
The verdicts still out whether marshmallows are set to become “the new cupcakes,” but we are sold on Three Tarts homemade selection.  It’s not often that marshmallows can function as a standalone treat, but these pillowy puffs aren’t just any other marshmallows.  These come in creative flavors, like cinnamon, raspberry,  espresso, mango, chocolate-rosemary, and chocolate-rosewater.  If you’re sick of chocolates, a stack of these homespun sweets are the perfect alternative.

Bee Desserts
Address: 94 Greenwich Avenue between Jane and W. 12th Streets
Phone: (212) 366-6110
Honey for your honey? Couldn’t resist, but why not?  Especially when they taste as moist and delicious as the honey cakes from Bee Desserts.  Each cake is handmade with honey instead of refined sugar, encased in chocolate, and 100% natural.  There are four flavors to choose from — original chocolate honey, marshmallow chocolate honey, liqueur chocolate honey, and almond chocolate honey.  Or just get the assorted box, so you can taste them all!