Sweet Hearts

So yeah, Valentine's Day. Usually I get all into cooking up something fabulous for E and I to eat for a nice little romantic dinner. This year Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday, though, and my days are obviously scheduled around another little person's needs. I have no idea if a fabulous feast will materialize. Sweets, on the other hand, there will be. I've got my eye on a couple of  dessert recipes from Momofuku Milk Bar, though. Things I can do a few steps at a time over a day or so. Crack Pie, anyone? My Pinterest Dessert board is also full of goodies to try, so who knows what I'll end up with.

In the meantime, I am chipping away at the pantry stash because I realized it's just ridiculous in there. A whole family of raccoons could move in and I'd never find them. So a box of Cheerios and a bag of marshmallows were sacrificed for this early sweet heart treat. Yummy! I love a ten minute no bake dessert/snack/excusetobingeonsweets. Don't you?


Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cereal Bars
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 10 oz. bag peppermint marshmallows (if you can't find them, use regular mini marshmallows and add 2 tsps. of peppermint extract)
4 Tbls. butter
4 cups of Cheerios (or Rise Krispies or Chex or whatever you like)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, optional
Nonpareils, optional

Preparation:
Butter a casserole dish and line it with parchment paper. (Note: For thick bars, use a 9 x 9 inch pan, for thin bars use a 9 x 13. I use a 9 x 13 so I can use cookie cutters.) Measure out cereal and 1/2 cup of the marshmallows into a bowl, set aside. In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt butter and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until melted. Add cereal and reserved marshmallows and fold until combined. Pour into prepared pan and smooth with the back of your spoon. Refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours or until firm. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters or slice into bars. If desired, melt white chocolate over a double boiler and drizzle over bars. Sprinkle with nonpareils.