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    Home » Recipes » Homemade Bagels

    Heart Shaped Bagels

    Published: Jan 22, 2023

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    Looking for a fantastic bagel for Valentine's Day? Try these Heart Shaped Bagels! Fun to make, cute to serve, fun to eat - and tasty!

    A plate of heart shaped bagels, topped with coarse sugar.

    Valentine’s Day is coming up, so I thought it would be fun to design a bagel for the occasion!

    These heart shaped Valentine’s Day bagels are a nicely sweet bagel, with a hint of vanilla.

    The hot pink food colouring we used - and the heart shape itself - made them a fun departure from my normal bagel making, which seldomly involves fun colours or shapes!

    We topped these homemade bagels with pearl sugar, which gives you a nice burst of crunchy sweetness as you’re eating it - more on that in a bit, though!

    Anyway the flavour of these heart shaped bagels works really well with either a plain cream cheese, or pretty much any “sweet” flavour of cream cheese spreads.

    We tend to go with plain and slice up some strawberries on top, but a strawberry or raspberry cream cheese would also be really nice.

    If you’re looking for a fun, themed breakfast for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or a wedding anniversary, you should definitely consider making a batch of these!

    Let’s get to it...

    A sliced open pink heart shaped bagel on a plate, with a serving platter of valentine’s day bagels behind it.

    Ingredients

    This recipe uses only a handful of really simple ingredients. You likely already have all of them, if you do much baking at all!

    The basics you will need:

    All Purpose Flour
    Granulated Sugar
    Active Dry Yeast
    Pure Vanilla Extract
    Salt

    .... not much to say, here!

    There are two other ingredients that I’d like to talk about, though:

    Food Coloring

    You’ll need some food colouring if you want to tint your bagels pink. Food coloring comes in 3 main formats:

    Liquid food coloring: Generally found in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

    Paste food coloring: Usually Wilton brand, you can find this style in craft supply stores and cake decorating supply shops.

    Gel food coloring: Comes in a few brands, also found in the larger craft supply chains (sometimes), and in cake decorating shops.

    I always use gel colors, as they give the most intense colour, without adding a ton of liquid. This is especially important when dealing with baked goods.

    Specifically, I recommend Americolor (what I used when I was in the USA), or ChefMaster (Which is the option more readily available here!).

    It is MUCH easier to get uniform colour if you introduce the food colouring with the other liquid, right up front - so try to use as much food colouring as you think you’ll need.

    If you have to add it after the dough has come together, it’ll need a LOT more kneading... and may still not come out totally even!

    Coarse Sugar

    I like to have some coarse sugar - generally sold as Pearl Sugar - on hand at all times.

    It’s a fun finishing ingredient for a lot of baked goods - you’ll probably be most familiar with its use on things like my Homemade Apple Turnovers, or on some of the muffins you can buy in bakeries.

    I use it on things like my Gingerbread Scones and even sprinkled on my Perfect Pie Crust sometimes. It brings a nice, sweet crunch to whatever you sprinkle it on.

    When it comes to bagels, I use it in place of coarse salt, when making certain sweet bagels - you may have seen it on my Gingerbread Bagels or Banana Nut Bagels, before this recipe.

    Because it’s more of a garnish - and not structural - you can definitely skip it, if needed.

    A plate of heart shaped bagels, topped with coarse sugar.

    How to Make Heart Shaped Bagels

    The full recipe follows - in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here is a pictorial walk through:

    Make the Dough

    Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

    A 2 part image showing the yeast water, before and after foaming up.

    In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, vanilla extract, and some food colouring stir well to combine.

    A 5 part image showing the dough ingredients being mixed into a shaggy dough.

    Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.

    Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

    A 5 part image showing the pink bagel dough being mixed in a mixer, from shaggy to smooth.

    Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

    A 2 part image showing a ball of pink dough in a metal bowl, before and after rising.

    Form the Bagels

    Once dough has doubled in size, divide it out.

    We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 12, 10, or 6 equal sized pieces.

    There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though.

    A 5 part image showing the dough being divided into 8 pieces and formed into smooth balls.

    Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.

    A 5 part image showing one of the pink dough balls being formed into a round bagel, then 8 formed bagels.

    Once you have all of your bagels formed, use a chopstick to make a hard indent from the side of a bagel.

    Directly across from that indent, pinch the outer edge of the bagel to form a peak - forming a heart shape, in the process.

    A 2 part image showing a chopstick being use to form a bagel into a heart shape.

    Repeat with remaining bagels, then set them on lined baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.

    Heart shaped bagels on a parchment lined baking pan, before the boil.

    Boil and Bake!

    Preheat oven to 350F.

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.

    2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.

    A 5 part image showing pink heart shaped bagels being boiled in water, then lifted out with a slotted spoon.

    Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet, and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.

    A 2 part image showing a pan of unbaked pink heart bagels, before and after being sprinkled with coarse sugar.

    Bake for 35-40 minutes if you made 8 bagels. Otherwise, aim for 32-35 minutes (small) or 40-42 mins (large), until golden brown.

    A 2 part image, showing the two pans of bagels before and after baking.

    Allow to cool slightly before cutting. Serve with cream cheese, jam, and/or fresh fruit.

    A close up view of a pan of freshly baked valentine’s day bagels.

    Leftovers

    Leftovers can be cooled to room temperature before being stored in an airtight container - we like freezer bags - in the fridge for up to 5 days.

    They’ll still be ok after 5 days, they just won’t taste as fresh.

    A sliced pink heart shaped bagel with cream cheese and sliced strawberries on it.

    More Valentine's Day Ideas

    Looking to do something a bit different for Valentine's Day? Here are a few ideas!

    6 Inch Cheesecake
    Baklava Cheesecake
    Balsamic Mushroom Baked Brie
    Booze Bouquet Tutorial
    Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova
    Chocolate Ravioli
    Dark Chocolate Truffles
    Deviled Strawberries
    Fondant Chocolate Leaves Cake Tutorial
    Heart Shaped Beer Pretzels with Jalapeno Jack Dip
    Heart Shaped Pavlova
    Mini Eclairs
    Mushroom Goat Cheese Braid
    Pepper Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Cream Sauce
    Phyllo Crab Triangles
    Red Velvet Bagels
    Red Velvet Brownies
    Savory Tomato Shortcake
    Traditional Raspberry Mousse
    Valentine's Day Deviled Eggs

    Special Diet Treats

    Need it gluten free* or low carb? Check out these Valentine's Day recipes on my other blogs:

    Gluten-Free Crab Cakes
    Gluten Free Crepes
    Gluten-Free Fried Brie
    Heart Fruit Skewers with Raspberry Cheesecake Dip
    Keto Creme Brulee
    Low Carb Chocolate Mousse
    Keto Crab Cakes
    Low Carb Tiramisu
    Keto Cheesecake
    Seafood Cobb Salad

    * Some of the recipes in the first link section are inherently gluten free, too!

    A plate of heart shaped valentines day bagels, topped with coarse sugar.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

    A plate of heart shaped valentines bagels, topped with coarse sugar.

    A plate of heart shaped valentines bagels, topped with coarse sugar.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 2 votes

    Heart Shaped Bagels

    Looking for a fantastic bagel for Valentine's Day? Try these Heart Shaped Bagels! Fun to make, cute to serve, fun to eat - and tasty!
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time40 minutes mins
    Rising Times1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
    Course: Bread, Breakfast, brunch
    Cuisine: American, German
    Diet: Low Lactose
    Servings: 8 Bagels
    Calories: 287kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    2 Baking Sheets
    Parchment Paper

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 cups warm - not hot - water
    • ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar
    • 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
    • 3 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
    • Pink Gel Food Colouring
    • Coarse sugar Pearl Sugar

    Instructions

    • Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl. Stir in sugar and yeast, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
    • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, vanilla extract, and some food colouring stir well to combine.
    • Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
    • Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
    • Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
    • Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.
    • We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for medium-large bagels – but you can make them smaller or larger by dividing into 12, 10, or 6 equal sized pieces.
    • There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though.
      Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole.
      Personally, I prefer the latter.
    • Once you have all of your bagels formed, use a chopstick to make a hard indent from the side of a bagel.
    • Directly across from that indent, pinch the outer edge of the bagel to form a peak - forming a heart shape, in the process.
    • Repeat with remaining bagels, then set them on lined baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.
    • Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
    • Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
    • 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
    • Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet, and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.
    • Bake for 35-40 minutes if you made 8 bagels. Otherwise, aim for 32-35 minutes (small) or 40-42 mins (large), until golden brown.

    Notes

    These are great served with cream cheese, fresh berries, and/or fruit jams.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 443mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 3mg

    A sliced open pink heart shaped bagel on a plate, with a serving platter of valentine’s day bagels behind it.

    A sliced open pink heart shaped bagel on a plate, with a serving platter of valentine’s day bagels behind it.

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    Marie Porter


    Evil Cake Overlord, All -Around Kitchen Badass!

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