Chocolate renegade Katherine Clapner marches to the beat of her own drum with highly unusual handmade items ranging from chocolate 'salami' studded with figs and cocoa nibs to porcini mushroom and pumpkin seed toffee. A safe bet for just about any Valentine is the Tub of Love, a chocolate-hazelnut spread that's considerably less sweet and more sophisticated than Nutella. Recent additions to the lineup include limited-edition Lomo Sotavento truffles made with Dominican single-estate chocolate and rum. (Dude, Sweet also has locations on Lower Greenville and Fort Worth's West 7th.)

Allen may be a bit of a trek for many, but it might be worth it to check out Dallas' first "bean-to-bar" chocolatier (that means Sublime buys cacao beans, then roasts them and produces their own chocolate) in the ritzy Watters Creek shopping center. If your Valentine is a chocolate purist, grab a couple of the single-origin bars like the 67% Madagascar Sambriano Valley; otherwise, there's handmade truffles and bonbons in all-natural flavors such as maple-roasted bacon (!!), pistachio, passion fruit, coconut curry and Thai ginger. Chocolate-covered cornflakes are another good option.

Bark Chocolate owner Katy Priore will host a pop-up this Friday, February 13 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at 3001 Gaston Avenue in Deep Ellum. Expect chocolate-covered bacon, milk chocolate bark embedded with gummy bears, Gummy Love, milk chocolate embedded with gummy bears, macarons, Champagne marshmallows, and more.

This Trinity Groves chocolate wonderland is currently stocked with hand-painted chocolate hearts in flavors like strawberry champagne, grapefruit cashew, and pistachio orange; or build a bonbon box with flavors such as strawberry basil, truffle honey, and Ninja Turtle (caramel and pecans). Chocolate-covered bacon toffee is also a winner.

If Dude Sweet is too exotic for your Valentine's tastes, CocoAndre might do the trick. European-style filled truffles in flavors like raspberry lavender, spiced rum and rosemary-ginger and carefully hand-cast molded chocolates (everything from high heels to frog princes) by chocolate Andrea Pedraza are the main attractions at this small Oak Cliff chocolate shop. (For the sneaker lover in your life, Deep Ellum shop Epocha is also featuring Cocoandre-made chocolate Asics that look insanely realistic.)

Just because your Valentine is a health nut doesn't mean they don't want chocolates. Cater to their tastes with Dr. Sue's handmade confections, made with dark chocolate (hello, antioxidants?), natural fruits and local honey. Think ginger-fig or blueberry-ancho chile barks, chocolate-dipped orange peel or mendiants, chocolate discs topped with cranberries, blueberries, almonds and orange peel. Of course, there's straight-up decadence here, too, like chocolate-coffee "Midnight Mocha" bark and s'mores truffles with a pecan-marshmallow center.