by Allrecipes Staff

Sweet treats for your sweetie! We’ve gathered these top-rated favorites for you and your sweetheart.

Chocolate 101
Use the highest-quality chocolate and cocoa you can buy. Good chocolate has a glossy sheen and a smooth taste. Here’s a quick primer on different varieties and their uses:

• Unsweetened (chocolate liquor): Made with about 50 percent cocoa butter, this is pure, unadulterated chocolate. Use it in cooking and baking, but don’t bother eating it straight.
• Bittersweet: Made by adding cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla to chocolate liquor, bittersweet chocolate has a dark, rich taste. Use it in baking.
• Semisweet: This variety is made the same way as bittersweet, but with more sugar. A classic for chocolate chip cookies.
• Milk chocolate: Sweet and creamy, this chocolate is made with milk solids, which give it its light color. For some people, milk chocolate is a clear winner over dark.
• White chocolate: Because it’s made with cocoa butter and not chocolate liquor, white chocolate isn’t strictly chocolate. Use it in baking, but don’t expect a chocolatey taste—it’s sweet and mild.

Chocolate Recipes

• Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
• White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
• Walnut Brownies
• Chocolate Lovers’ Favorite Cake
• Too Much Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies II
• Chocolate Eclair Cake
• Chocolate Trifle
• Hot Fudge Ice Cream Bar Dessert
• Aunt Teen’s Creamy Chocolate Fudge