Chica and I were browsing through IKEA again last month and saw another one of the silicone ice trays we used to make our recycled crayons. This tray made cubes in heart shapes.  I went ahead and bought it, knowing that I needed to come up with something to do with it for Valentine’s Day.  I brought it home and promptly forgot about it until this past weekend.

Then I remembered Chica talking about pressed sugar in the past.  (Yes, we have weird, random conversations that involve pressed sugar, when we aren’t talking about The Bachelor, of course!)  Apparently, you can make decorations for cakes, etc.  by using pressed sugar.  I wondered if I could press the sugar into the mold to make little sugar hearts.  Sounds promising, right?

The supplies are very simple: sugar, water, meringue powder (optional), silicone ice cube tray, edible markers, a bowl, and measuring spoons.

Little Jo enjoyed doing this project for me.  She loves to measure ingredients and put them in the bowl.  And this is such a forgiving project that I let her do it all on her own.

Put 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of water in a bowl, and optionally add a pinch of meringue powder.  The meringue powder just makes the final pressed sugar heart a little stronger for handling, and I advise it if you are going to let 4-year-olds decorate the finished hearts.

Once you’ve mixed it thoroughly, it is just like playing with wet sand.  Press the sugar mixture into your silicone ice cube tray.  Be sure they are full and pack the sugar in firmly. Once you fill all the cavities and smooth out the tops, place the mold in the freezer.  I can’t tell you exactly how long you should wait to take them out.  I forgot about them so we didn’t pop them out of the mold until the next day.  I am certain it doesn’t take 24 hours for them to harden.  Just try pressing them out.  If they don’t easily pop out, stick them back in the freezer!

Now for the fun part!  We used our edible markers to draw and color on the hearts.  Little Jo had a great time designing them for Daddy, who was away on a business trip.

While she colored the hearts, I made up a batch of brownies to highlight them.  I chose brownies because I love brownies.  Brownie batter is one of my all time favorite things to make.  I could eat the entire bowl of batter and be sublimely happy while just a little bit ill!  Anyway, we decorated my husband’s welcome home brownies with M&M’s, crushed up candy canes and the sugar hearts.  What a beautiful plate of treats for a Valentine’s Day party.

They would also make a wonderful gift for the coffee or tea lover in your life. Just put a dozen or so into a clear bag, tie it up with a ribbon, and you have the perfect gift of lovely little sugar bombs, ready to drop right into a mug!