This is the one time of year when grownups are allowed to indulge in a love for candy. The candy at Halloween, Easter and Christmas is for kids, but on Valentine’s Day it’s for adults.

This is the time of year when it is accept­able to sit on the couch graz­ing through a giant heart-shaped box full of choco­late cov­ered cher­ries while cry­ing over a chick flick.

It is per­fectly fine to have a lol­lipop in the shape of a cupid for lunch and lit­tle Hershey’s kisses for dessert. Everyone’s breath smells like cin­na­mon from all the com­pli­men­tary bowls of spicy cin­na­mon hearts set out all over the office.

We all love candy, from jujubes to pep­per­mints, but it isn’t some­thing we usu­ally make at home. That gets left to the pas­try chefs and pro­fes­sion­als. Many of whom will be com­pet­ing in a Candy Battle tonight at the Drake Hotel. Taste can­dies from Yummy Stuff, Wheelie Sweet, The Sweet Escape, She’s Baking & The Gabardine, then vote for your favourite. A fun indul­gence on a Monday night!

This year why not try to make your own candy for Valentine’s Day?

Here are a few sim­ple recipes from Saveur & Martha Stewart to try if you’re a com­plete begin­ner, easy enough for a child to make.

Fruit Jellies, Homemade Marshmallows, Chocolate Truffles, Dark Cherry & Orange Peel Bark

and here are some for those who are com­fort­able using a candy thermometer.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cordials, Pistachio-Cranberry Torrone, Lollipops, Twig Taffy

Pistachio-Cranberry Terrone by Martha Stewart

A candy made with your lov­ing hands says so much more than one that’s mass-produced and sit­ting on a shelf wait­ing to be marked down on February 15th. This is your chance to try some­thing new in the kitchen, learn a great skill and show a spe­cial some­one how much you care.

Here’s our favourite candy recipe, they look like lit­tle rubies when you put them out in a glass dish.

Cinnamon Hard Candy