Valentine’s Dessert Shooters

Looking for a light, easy Valentine’s dessert after a decadent meal? These five minute shooters are a simple, fresh and sweet treat!

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, Jeff and I don’t take it too seriously. We *maybe* get each other cards, if we remember. But if somebody forgets, there’s no hard feelings.

I can’t remember the last time we got each other gifts, although one time Jeff did stop at a flower shop and buy me discounted flowers that WERE LEFT OVER FROM A FUNERAL (true story). Ah, romance.

So it should come as no surprise that we also usually avoid restaurant meals, figuring we can go out to eat (and get better service and not a stupid prix fixe menu) any other day of the year.

We usually just consider the day an excuse to cook something more delicious for dinner than usual, like salmon pasta made with sockeye salmon, or lasagna cottage cheese.

Or sometimes even just a board filled with Valentine’s Day snacks and a couple of rosemary cocktails is all we need for “dinner”.

And if we want something sweet but ridiculously easy, I’ll make something like these Valentine’s dessert shooters.

The ingredients for this quick Valentine’s dessert recipe are available at any grocery store:

• raspberry or strawberry jam – store-bought is perfect for this easy Valentine dessert, of course! I also use strawberry jam in my Halloween cupcakes, believe it or not!
• fresh raspberries – chopped strawberries work, too. Extra berries can be used in a beet berry smoothie.
• angel food cake – you can make it yourself, but just about any grocery store or bakery sells it.
• whipped cream – buy the kind in the can, or make small batch homemade whipped cream for this Valentine’s dessert or a chocolate brownie pie.
• fresh mint leaves – optional, but adds a colorful garnish to this Valentine’s Day dessert, if you want.

These light dessert shooters are perfect for two or two dozen.

While I’ll always make something at least a little special for dinner, I like to keep Valentine’s dessert stupidly simple.

Something that takes five minutes or less is right in my wheelhouse, especially after putting energy into making salmon stuffed with crab. Something that mostly involves store bought ingredients is even better.

One great thing about these cute and festive five minute Valentine dessert shooters is that they are perfect for a party of two, or two dozen.

So whether you’re having a quiet couples night, or a big friends get together, just make as many of these Valentine’s Day dessert shooters as you need, and you’re all set.

Yes, this is a Valentine’s Day dessert without chocolate!

Gasp, I know! I like chocolate, honestly I do! But sometimes it feels too heavy after a big, special dinner.

So, like my heart jam cookies and lemon curd cake, these Valentine’s dessert shooters are chocolate-free. BUT, if you are itching to add a touch of chocolate, you absolutely can.

The easiest way to add chocolate to this Valentine’s Day dessert would be to sprinkle in some mini chocolate chips. You could also makes small batch chocolate whipped cream, and use that in place of the traditional whipped cream.

The dessert for Valentine’s dinner doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming.

Start this Valentine’s dessert by putting a spoonful of jam into the bottom of each glass. When I say “jam,” I mean raspberry or strawberry jam, jelly or preserves. Whatever!

Or, swap the jam out with lemon curd (or even the curd from my cranberry curd pie) for a little tartness if you’re into that sort of thing.

Then, you’ll be putting some crumbles of angel food cake over the jam. I just buy the angel food cake at the grocery store.

It’s almost always out near the berries, or at the bakery. Or, if you want to make homemade angel food cake, go for it.

Then, grab a handful of fresh raspberries (wash them first!) and divide between the glasses. You can also use chopped fresh strawberries for this Valentine’s Day dessert.

Now it’s time to top everything off with whipped cream. Make your own, or just squirt in the stuff from the can! Like I said, the focus is on E-A-S-Y for this easy Valentine dessert.

That’s it! You’re done. If you want to garnish each glass with a fresh mint leaf for color, go for it. If not, skip it! Extra mint can be used to make tequila mojitos.

This is my favorite easy Valentine dessert, but you’ll need some small spoons.

Unlike doing tequila shots, you can’t just tip these Valentine’s dessert glasses back and have everything fall into your mouth.

And the giant spoon you use for cereal each morning sadly may not cut it for this particular Valentine’s Day dessert.

If you’re anything like me, you have a random set of teeny tiny spoons in your kitchen that you have no idea where you got or why (Ikea, maybe?).

But if not, you’ll want to look for something called an “iced tea spoons” or “demitasse espresso spoons” to use for this easy Valentine dessert.

Or, simply make this easy Valentine’s Day dessert in larger glasses!

Honestly, who doesn’t want a larger portion of something sweet? Especially when it’s light and fruity like this.

If you don’t have shooter glasses or don’t want to mess around with finding tiny spoons (I get it), go ahead and make this dessert in any small glasses you have around the house, just like you would Halloween dirt cups.

I find that stemless wine glasses work great for Valentine’s dessert when I don’t already have them filled with blood orange sangria.

You can easily double or triple this Valentine’s Day dessert recipe so that you have more of each ingredient to fill the larger glasses.

Or, use the same recipe below, but divide it between just two glasses instead of four.