10 red-hot Valentine’s Day gifts from DFW stores

All red-velvet themed. Because is there anything redder that's better?

Lea Ann Stundins

This Red Velvet Cake Martini from Kenny's Smokehouse will delight your sweet tooth.

Valentine’s Day comes in just one color: red. It’s the color of the first crayon heart you drew for your first-grade crush. It’s the color of Shelby’s groom’s cake in Steel Magnolias. It’s the color of love.

In honor of the color red, we've picked the 10 best V-Day gifts inspired by red velvet. And it's popping up in many more forms than just wrapped in cupcake paper. Thought by some to have originated at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, red velvet is wildly popular these days. The redder the better.

Pick up one, or a few, of these unique red velvet Valentine’s Day gifts in DFW priced from just a couple of bucks on up.

For a night out:

Red Velvet Pancakes: These southern delights have been described as “to die for” by one Yelp user and will be loved by those who like breakfast for dinner. Oddfellows owner Amy Cowan says the chef adds chocolate chips to make them even sweeter. $4 for 1, $6 for 2, $8.50 for 3 at Oddfellows, 316 W. 7th Street in Oak Cliff.

Del Frisco's Grille

Nothing says love like cake-flavored waffles at Del Frisco's Grille.

Red Velvet Belgian Waffles: Bacon is another word for love, or so we hear. The Red Velvet Belgian Waffles from Del Frisco’s Grille in Uptown are served with whipped vanilla bean-spiked cream cheese and hickory-smoked bacon, but only at brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Since V-Day falls on a Thursday, save these special treats for the weekend. $12 at Del Frisco’s Grille, 3232 McKinney Avenue in Uptown.

Red Velvet Cake Martini: If you think your sweetheart is beautiful through beer goggles, imagine him or her through Red Velvet Cake Martini goggles. Creamy and decadent, these sips taste like you’re drinking cake. And, the drink actually has cake mix in the recipe. $10 (or $5 on Martini Mondays) at the brand-new Kenny’s Smokehouse, 5760 Legacy Drive in Plano. You can also order it at any of Kenny’s Addison restaurants: Kenny’s Italian Kitchen or Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill.

For a night in:

Red Velvet Cupcake Bites Candy: Portable, hideable, shareable. (Or not.) Perfect for the Valentine’s Day movie date at home: Red Velvet Cupcake Bites Candy from Denton's Atomic Candy are single bites of batter that come in a concession size box for $1.99. Atomic Candy, 105 W Hickory Street in Denton.

Atomic Candy

We dare you to eat just one.

DIY Red Velvet Whoopie Pies: Want to impress your sweetheart with your baking prowess? Spend Valentine’s Day evening making a batch of Red Velvet whoopie pies together. Wrap up one of these mixes with a bowl, apron, and wooden spoon, and commence with the whoopie makin’. Find Whoopie Pie Mix from Crate & Barrel, like 3104 Knox Street in Dallas. $8.95.

Red Velvet Cupcakes: Where would this list be without the Dallas favorite – the Red Velvet Cupcake from Sprinkles? Find them, all moist, delicious, and covered in cream cheese frosting, at Sprinkles Cupcakes at 4020 Villanova Drive in the Park Cities for $3.50 each. Or, make them at home with the Sprinkles Cupcake Mix found at a Williams-Sonoma at 172 State Street in Southlake for $14.95.

An Entire Red Velvet Cake: You love your sweetie so much that a single cupcake doesn’t express the magnitude of your feelings. There’s a cake for that. Get a 6” cake for $17.99, or a 9” cake for $22.99 at Central Market, 5750 E Lovers Lane in Northeast Dallas.

Oh, so you’re on a red velvet diet:

Red Velvet Micro Dome Hat: If you can’t eat it, wear it. Keep your love’s noggin’ warm this February when you go biking together on a Valentine’s Day picnic with a cuddly, micro-fleece cap designed to fit under a bike helmet. From REI stores (like the one at 4515 LBJ Freeway) in Farmer’s Branch. $18.

Lars Klove/The New York Times

There are plenty of red velvet themed gifts that don't involve a cupcake. But really, how can you resist?

Red Velvet Revenge by Jen McKinlay: Fourth in a series of cupcake-baking heroines solving a murder mystery novels, this popular book actually includes recipes. Hint: Package this $7.99 book from a Barnes & Noble (like 4100 Deer Creek in Highland Village) with a box of Red Velvet Cupcake Mix from Williams-Sonoma for $16.95, and you’ll have your sweetie eating, and reading, out of your hand.

Red Velvet Wine by Cupcake Vineyards: In lieu of aforementioned martini goggles, try this on for size. Enjoy a bottle of Red Velvet with your significant other either at home or at your favorite local BYOB restaurant. Find it at Whole Foods, like the one on 801 E. Lamar in Arlington, $9.99.