The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Spoon University.
Just because Valentine’s Day is over, doesn’t mean the festivities have to end. Love is in the air all February long! So, get some friends together, grab a pen and paper, and read on if you’d like to learn how to host your very own Valentine’s Day baking party!
Step 1: Prepare
First things first, you need to brainstorm! Come up with a plan for what you want to bake, when you’re going to host the party, where it’s going to be, and who you’re going to invite. Once that’s done, you can start getting ready.
For our party, my friends and I decided to do customizable cookie decorating so that everyone could join in crafting their own unique cookie. This way, the baked goods could be personalized and proudly posted on social media. Also, we wanted to hold the event a little bit after Valentine’s Day so that anyone who already had plans wouldn’t have to miss out. We chose to do it on campus so that all our friends could have easy access to the kitchen, and once that was settled, we knew it was time to get the word out. To do this, we made an infographic with all the details and RSVP form so we knew how many people were coming and we sent it off to a massive group chat.
Next, as you patiently await the responses to roll in, you’ll have to start getting materials ready. So, put together a shopping list and head to the cheapest grocery store you can find!
We ended up gathering lots of ingredients: for the cookie doughs, frostings, cookie mix-ins, and toppings. We chose to do three kinds of dough (matcha, red velvet, and vanilla), two kinds of frostings (vanilla and chocolate), and a plethora of add-ons.
Step 2: Get Baking
Now that you’ve done all your preparation, it’s time for the fun part: putting everything together and getting set up. This is an important step because it ensures that your guests will have an easy, relaxing time and the most fun possible.
For us, this meant mixing the dough, preparing the frostings, and laying out all the ingredients. Before the official start time of our party, my friends and I got everything ready so that guests could get right to work when they got there.
Step 3: Get the Party Started
The last and best step is to get baking, of course. Throw on some of your favorite pop songs about love, maybe nibble on some heart-shaped snacks, and have fun!
With the dough and frostings made, the ovens preheated, and our friends starting to arrive, we got baking! Everyone took their dough of choice (some even got creative and mix-and-matched), scooped up some mix-ins, and started forming their cookies in whatever shape their hearts–no pun intended–desired. As the first batch of cookies went in the oven and more people started to arrive, we continued to prepare other batches. Eventually, the cookies were done baking and it was time to eat!
In no time at all, we were able to sit down with our college friends–who really are more like our family away from home–to enjoy our creations. We finished off the night celebrating the many kinds of love in this world: between friends, between partners, between family members, and of course, between bakers and their cookies.