Rice Krispies Treat Heart Pops

A few things inspired me to make these Rice Krispies Treat Heart Pops:

1. We had a Valentine's Day Party to go to, hosted by one of WP's friends.  I was wanting to take something special, but hadn't planned anything. So, I had settled on taking my quick and easy garlicky hummus, until....
2. I saw these pink and white marshmallows on special at HEB (FREE when you buy almond bark!)  Of course I got them, unsure of what to do with them. But then....
3. I found the cutest heart-shaped measuring cups in the $1 bin at Target.  And so....

I got pretty excited to make these, using my favorite recipe for Rice Krispies Treats.  FYI, this is my first time to ever make "pops" because they intimidate me.  But these really weren't too hard or time consuming, and I will definitely be making them again.  I made 24 Heart Pops, start to finish including cellophane wrapping, in under an hour.  If you are allowed to take homemade treats to your kiddo's school, these would be so perfect. 

Rice Krispies Treat Heart Pops

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 10 oz bag of marshmallows (pink & white if you can find it) OR 7 oz marshmallow cream 

5 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal

1/4 cup heart-shaped mold (or any heart-shaped mold you have. A small dish would work.) 

12 paper drinking straws

24 cellophane treat bags with ribbon and/or ties

Clean, then coat the inside of the heart-shaped mold with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  Stir in the salt and vanilla, then add marshmallows.  Stir until completely melted then remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies cereal and stir until well coated. 

Using greased hands, firmly press 1/4 cup of Rice Krispies mixture into the heart-shaped mold. Cool slightly (for just a few seconds.) Remove the mixture from the mold by turning the mold upside down and tapping it on the back if needed. Place on wax paper and allow to cool before wrapping. Repeat until you have molded all of the mixture.

Cut each of the 12 paper drinking straws in half. Insert a straw into the bottom of each heart. Once cooled, insert each Heart Pop into a cellophane treat bag and tie with ribbon. 

Makes approximately 24 hearts (1/4 cup each). 

 Note: this same method of spraying the heart-shaped mold with PAM works for just about any holiday (plastic eggs at easter, etc...) AND... I just saw on Pinterest and here that a cookie cutter sprayed with cooking spray works too!

Print recipe here.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Love, Lauren

The pink & white marshmallows from HEB.

They made such a pretty color when melted
and even had a slight strawberry flavor to them. Mmmm.

Here is the 1/4 cup measuring cup from the Target $1 bin
that I sprayed with PAM and used as a mold for all of the Pops. 

Paper drinking straws inserted into the hearts to make Pops.

All wrapped up and ready for the party!

I ran out of straws, so wrapped a few plain hearts.