When I think of Valentine’s Day…I think of two love birds trying to make one day out of the year a little bit more special than the rest. My husband and I don’t do a whole lot for Valentine’s Day, but we always try to do at least one special thing — maybe a special meal together or a craft with the kids. But, out of everything, edible crafts are our favorite way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Our Pizza Wreath and String Cheese Love Birds Valentine’s Day Food is a fun way to bring a little more love to your Valentine’s Day.
We are excited to partner again with Frigo® Cheese Heads® to fill your Valentine’s Day with love. This post contains affiliate links. By purchasing through these links, you help support the family behind Arts & Crackers at no added cost to you! Thank you!
Frigo® Cheese Heads® products are some of our favorite go-to snacks and lunch box foods. We love crafting with them in the wrappers and making edible crafts with the cheese itself! To make our Pizza Wreath and String Cheese Love Birds Valentine’s Day Snack, we used Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese.
The whole family will enjoy this savory Valentine’s Day pizza wreath! You can use homemade or store-bought pizza dough. Make two love birds out of one Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese stick! Add in some of your favorite pizza toppings, and dip in marinara sauce, if desired.
If you want, you can give these birds some color. Use edible food coloring (natural or artificial) to add green, yellow and orange to make them look like actual lovebirds, or keep them uncolored like we did so they are two regular birds in love.
Pizza Wreath With String Cheese Love Birds Valentine’s Day Food
Ingredients:
- Frigo® Cheese Heads ® String Cheese
- Pizza dough (refrigerated, homemade, gluten-free…it’s up to you — we used family-style refrigerated dough this time)
- Pepperoni slices (or other toppings, if desired)
- Olive oil
- Grape tomatoes (the more oval-shaped the better, but use what you can find)
- Fresh basil leaves
- Edible ink markers
- Heart-shaped sprinkles (optional)
- Marinara sauce (optional)
Supplies:
You’ll love this Cute Chicken Parmesan Valentine’s Day Dinner for Two Using String Cheese!
Directions for Making Pizza Wreaths With String Cheese Love Birds:
1. Using a sharp knife, cut out the String Cheese Love Birds. Cut one Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese Stick in half. Cut each half into a bird shape; about one inch from the top, make an angled cut about 3/4 into the String Cheese. Turn the cheese on its side and cut a perpendicular line from the end of your first cut to the bottom of the String Cheese to give the bird a tail. Save the extra cheese.
Place the String Cheese Love Birds back into the refrigerator, then move onto the next step.
2. Cut the String Cheese scraps into small strips, then cut some pepperoni slices into quarters.
3. Make sure the pizza dough is rolled to your liking in a flat, rectangular shape (about 9″x13″). I used store-bought, refrigerated dough to make it quick and easy.
Use the pizza cutter to cut the dough into several strips. You will want the pizza dough to be horizontal, so your strips aren’t too long. If they do end up too long, just trim them later.
These strips do not need to be even or very straight. In fact, the less uniform they are, the better! I kept all of mine around 1/4-inch wide. Make sure the cuts go all the way through.
Seal and refrigerate any leftover dough for next time.
4. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and preheat the oven according to the specific pizza dough instructions.
5. Loosely twist or braid 3−4 strips of pizza dough together. I did a combination of twisting and braiding and wrapping, so the wreath was more realistic with its imperfect twines.
6. Place your braided dough onto the lined sheet pan in a ring shape. The wreaths should be about 4 inches in diameter. If needed, use two of your String Cheese Love Birds as a guide to make sure you’ll have enough room inside your wreath to fit the birds and the heart. Depending on the dough you use, the dough should not expand too much.
Gently pinch the two loose ends together to close the loop.
7. Peel apart some of the strips of dough, and wrap the bits of Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese and pepperoni pieces into it. Since the dough is sticky, you can cut slits and pull apart and wrap the cheese and meat in as needed, even if the dough has already melded together some.
8. Brush a thin layer of olive oil onto the top of the dough, using a pastry brush.
9. Bake the pizza wreaths. I followed package instructions for the shortest amount of time. I would recommend checking them a couple of minutes before the package or recipe directions say, to prevent over-baking.
The kids will love our Cupid’s Arrow String Cheese Valentine’s Day Snack Idea!
10. What would Valentine’s Day food be without hearts?! While the pizzas are baking, slice grape tomatoes in half on an angle.
11. For each pair of tomato halves, flip one of the sides over, so the two halves make a heart shape when pieced together. Poke a toothpick through to hold the pieces together.
12. Take the String Cheese Love Birds back out of the refrigerator. Pat them down with a paper towel to remove any condensation.
Use an edible marker to give each one eyes, and use a heart-shaped sprinkle or an edible marker to give each bird a heart-shaped beak.
13. Carefully cut two wings from the sides of the birds. I used a sharp knife, then made shallow, angled cuts along either side of each String Cheese Love Bird.
Cut vertical strips along the tails, so they look like they have feathers.
14. Assemble! Set a pair of love birds next to each other on a plate. Add the tomato above them. Set the baked pizza wreath overtop, then decorate with some fresh basil leaves.
Serve on pretty heart doilies!
Get the kids involved as a fun, edible craft project and motor skills activity; let them assemble their very own Love Birds Wreath Pizza!
Share this Valentine’s Day food with your significant other for a special Valentine’s dinner for two, or with your children as a fun Valentine’s Day snack for kids!
Check out this cute Valentine’s Day Love Birds shirt I found!
Read also: Conversation Starter Hearts Activity for Valentine’s Day and “Heart Box” Keepsake Valentine’s Day Gift for Kids
Check out all of our String Cheese snacks and activities for all year long!