Reinterpreting Cupid's Arrow: A Valentine's Day Party on a Stick

Oh, Cupid — always sticking sharp objects where they don’t belong. But if reckless stick-play has led us to cupcake pops and corn dogs, it can’t be all bad, right? Snack food takes on a celebratory edge when served on a stick, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to take aim. Just don’t go pointing skewers at your sweetheart. There are better ways to command affection.

Related: Pucker Up with These Delicious Valentine’s Day Cocktails

Bleeding Heart Martini

Cupid revels in uniting unlikely pairs, and we’d say pickled beets and gin qualify. Think of it as a hipster Bloody Mary.

2 ounces dry vermouth
8 ounces premium gin
Ice cubes
4 Pickled Baby Beets, each placed on a cocktail skewer

1. Chill 4 martini glasses in the freezer or fill with ice water and let sit until frosty, about 5 minutes (pour out water). Add the vermouth, dividing evenly; swirl to coat the glasses, then pour out. Add gin to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled; divide among chilled glasses. Garnish each with a skewered pickled baby beet, and serve immediately.

Sour Cherry Old-Fashioned

Love isn’t all sweet, and neither is this not-quite-traditional cocktail. Bonus points for a garnish to nibble during cocktail hour. Sour cherry old fashioned, you get us.

24 frozen sour cherries
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup whiskey
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kirsch
Thin lemon-zest strips (from 1 lemon)

1. Place cherries in a heatproof bowl. Stir water and sugar in small saucepan to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil, and pour over cherries. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Drain cherries, reserving syrup. Thread 4 cherries onto each of 6 skewers. Make 3 drinks at a time: Pour 6 tablespoons whiskey, 3 tablespoons kirsch, and 4 1/2 teaspoons reserved syrup in a cocktail shaker 3/4 filled with ice. Shake and pour into chilled glasses. Garnish each with a skewer and 2 to 3 strips lemon zest. Repeat for the second batch.

Related: 53 of Our Sweetest Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes

Liqueur Lollipops

Need a double dose of the hard stuff? These liqueur-laced lollipops are dissolved into Champagne. Forget shaken — we’ll take ours “stirred, not sucked.”

2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 tablespoons water
Flavoring extracts (black currant, peach, raspberry)
Food coloring (burgundy, ivory, red)

1. Cook sugar, corn syrup, and the water in a small pan over medium-high heat, brushing sides often with a damp pastry brush, until mixture measures 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Stir in flavoring and coloring. Pour into lollipop molds; add sticks while still hot. Let cool completely, then unmold. Store in a single layer in an airtight container with a silica package.

Chocolate Fondue with Clementines, Candied Grapefruit Peel, and Glaceed Orange Slices

Fondue’s a no-brainer for a stuff-on-a-stick-themed bash. Honor your own Valentine’s Day style — restrained and romantic, or unabashedly cheesy.

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (61 percent), finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
5 clementines, peeled and separated into segments
30 pieces Candied Grapefruit Peel
24 Glaceed Orange Slices

1. Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in a bowl.

2. Let chocolate mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in liqueur. Serve immediately with clementines and candied citrus.

Sophisticated Fish Sticks

Rosy-hued salmon skewers with a red curry rub are appropriately festive — and a gentle reminder to singles that there are plenty of fish in the sea.

1 1/4 pounds skin-on salmon fillet (no more than 1 inch thick; preferably tail end)
2 tablespoons Thai red-curry paste
2 tablespoons safflower oil
Lime (for squeezing)

1. Slice salmon fillet into strips about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. Stir together curry paste and safflower oil; coat salmon strips on all sides. Refrigerate until ready to grill (up to 8 hours). If using wooden skewers, soak 14 in cool water at least 30 minutes, then thread lengthwise through strips. Preheat grill to medium-high. Sear salmon, skin side down, until strips can be lifted with a spatula, about 1 minute. Flip, and cook until just opaque but before it flakes when pressed, 1 to 2 1/2 minutes. Serve on skewers with lime for squeezing.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Breadsticks

Even bread becomes special-occasion-worthy in stick form. And what doesn’t benefit from being wrapped in prosciutto (or dipped in dark chocolate)?

8 thin slices prosciutto
8 grissini or other thin breadsticks

1. Wrap 8 thin slices around 8 or other thin breadsticks, leaving 5 to 6 inches of exposed bread at one end.

Chocolate Gingerbread Twigs

Gingerbread twigs and peppermint sticks make for tasty fondue adventures — or a scrumptious standalone snack.

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped

1. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth; remove from heat. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and molasses and beat until smooth. Beat in bittersweet chocolate, then flour mixture, until combined. Divide dough in half; form each half into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about 30 minutes. Dough can be made 3 days ahead and stored in refrigerator, or frozen up to 1 month.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out each piece of dough to a rectangle 1/8-inch thick, with 1 side roughly 12 inches long, on a lightly floured piece of parchment. Transfer rectangles on parchment to baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 1/4-to-1/2-inch-wide irregular strips, each about 12 inches long. Separate strips on parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Bake until slightly darker around edges, about 12 minutes. Let twigs cool completely on baking sheets.

3. Melt white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Paint chocolate along length of each twig with a pastry brush to create a faux-bois look. Refrigerate until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes. Twigs can be made 3 days ahead and stored in a cool place.

More from Martha Stewart:
Quick, One-Pot Meal Ideas To Feed the Whole Family
20 Classic Comfort Food Recipes from Martha Stewart
36 Dinners You Can Make in Just 15 Minutes!
42 Slow-Cooker Recipes Worth the Wait

May not be on a stick but we’re sure Cupid would approve of this red wine cocktail.