February 14th is coming up and you know what that means – lots of hearts, the color pink, cute cards, and delicious cookies and candies. It can be tricky for people with braces to navigate a dessert table, especially when it’s unclear what’s inside the tasty treats. Small nuts, sticky candies, and any other hard substances could all potentially damage your braces, which would disrupt your smile’s progress. Because we want our patients to enjoy Valentine’s sweets, while also keeping their braces safe, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite Valentine’s themed recipes that are braces friendly.
Heart Shaped Brownies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
- Melt the half cup of butter, and combine with sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Beat in the rest of the ingredients, and spread in the pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes; the brownies are done when you can stick a wooden toothpick into the brownies and remove it without a lot of batter left on the pick.
Have kids (or yourself!) decorate the brownies with pink, red, and white frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles. To add to the Valentine’s theme, you can cut the brownies into hearts and bring them to your next Valentine’s party.
Hot Fudge Strawberry Milkshake
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup of milk
- 2/3 cup of strawberry ice cream
- 2/3 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries
- Warmed up hot fudge, as much as you want!
Combine the milk, ice cream, and strawberries in a blender until smooth. Pour hot fudge into a tall glass and then pour the contents of the blender into the glass. For chocolate addicts like us, you can top the shake with more fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry. Watch that the seeds from the strawberries don’t get stuck between your brackets. If you want to really get into Valentine’s Day, you can add red, pink, and white sprinkles on top.
Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 ¾ all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl
- In a larger bowl, combine the butter and sugar and blend until smooth. Then add the egg and vanilla. Then blend in the dry ingredients bit by bit.
- Roll teaspoons of the batter into balls and place a few inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are golden. Wait for the cookies to cool, and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make the sugar cookies into Valentine’s sugar cookies.
These cookies are also fun and easy to decorate with your favorite frosting. Our favorite is pink buttercream frosting with lots of sprinkles!
With these simple and easy-to-make recipes, you will be all set to enjoy Valentine’s Day while keeping your braces safe. Your stomach and smile will thank you!