Cat Valentine Donuts

No matter who you're celebrating Valentine's Day with, your day is sure to be off to a sweet start with these easy cat donuts! And with just a few supplies from your local grocery store, these sweet guys come together in no time.

There are Valentine cookies, Valentine cakes, Valentine chocolates and then there are VALENTINE DONUTS. I mean, why confine your Valentine culinary activities to just the desserts when you could be feeling the delicious sprinkle-filled love all day long?

In case you needed it, consider this your official pass to enjoy some sweet Valentine goodness for breakfast.

And best of all, these sweet little guys are every bit as easy to make as they are delicious.

Now let's talk sprinkles for a hot minute here because, let's be honest, you're going to want the very best for these sweet cat donuts. And in this case I think we can all agree that the very best is the jaw-dropping gorgeousness that is the Heart's Desire Sprinkle Mix. Not only does this mix have the perfect combination of reds, pinks and golden-coated pieces of bling, but it's got those sweet little heart sprinkles that we're going to pull out later for the cat to hold. Like I said, perfect for this project.

You will need:

• 12 donuts and donuts holes
• 48 almonds
• 10 oz red candy melts
• 5 oz white candy melts
• 1 oz black candy melts
• Heart's Desire sprinkle mix
• 1/4 cup frosting or icing
• Black food gel coloring

Step 1: Prepare your donuts

First, make or buy your donuts and donut holes. If you're looking for a doughnut recipe, I personally like this one. If you're buying donuts, make sure they're unglazed, unpowdered and unfrosted.

Step 2: Melt the candy melts and coat the donuts

Melt your red candy melts in the microwave using 10 second increments. Dip your donuts into the candy melts, shaking the excess back into the bowl. Immediately roll the sides of the candy coated donuts in Sprinkle Pop's Heart's Desire Sprinkle Mix.

Combine the black and white candy melts in a small bowl and melt in a microwave using 10 second increments. Using a small pairing knife, cut two slits on the top (ears) and two slits on the front of the donut holes (paws/arms). Dip the wide end of the almonds in the grey candy melts and stick them in the slits. Allow to set until the chocolate is hard.

Dip the front of the donut holes into the remaining grey candy melts, gently shaking the donut holes so that the excess runs off into the bowl.

Step 3: Decorate

Finally, tint the frosting/icing black and use it to pipe the cat's face onto the front of the donut holes. Grab some of the heart sprinkles out of the sprinkle mix and use the leftover icing/frosting to "glue" the hearts between the cat's arms/paws.

A couple of quick tips for donut success:

• If the candy melt coating is too thick to "glaze" the donuts, you can thin it with a teaspoon of vegetable shortening.
• The secret to a perfectly smooth candy coating is gentle tapping or shaking so that the coating becomes a smooth. Don't be afraid to gently tap the bottom of your donuts against the counter until the coating has a smooth finish.
• Leftovers: If you end up with leftovers, the best way to store them is in a paper bag. Whatever you do, don’t refrigerate them or put them in plastic.
• Reviving stale donuts: If you wound up with leftovers and they’ve gotten stale, no worries! You can soften them back up by microwaving them in 5-10 second increments until soft. Just watch out for melting icing.

Sweet wishes and happy Valentine's Day,