Baking Love

The idea for these treats came from an article for kids in National Geographic Little Kids.  The marshmallow crispy cereal part is mixed up, then pressed into a cookie cutter, in this case a lovely heart. I used leftover strawberry icing from my daughter’s birthday cake, which I have been keeping in the freezer, to make them pink. On top are dried cranberries on half and the other half dried cranberries and almonds.

They look so whimsical, but they are oh so tasty! The strawberry icing sort of seeps into the crispy part, melding all the flavours together and the cranberries and almonds give a nice textural difference. If you make these with kids, make sure the cereal part is not too hot for them to handle. It will harden up quickly as it cools and you may have to end up reheating it, especially if everyone wants to be artistic or perfect. Just give it some time and it will all come together nicely.

This is a good project to really get your hands into. My kids all loved smooshing the cereal into the cookie cutter, even the one-year-old, though he was more interested in eating it . In the end we got 23 hearts, including the ones we all ate before I took the picture.

Sweetheart Marshmallow Crispy Treats

55g (4 tablespoons) butter

200g (4 cups) mini marshmallows

180g (4 cups) gluten-free crispy rice cereal

pink icing (You could use food colouring or ready made icing if you prefer)

dried cranberries (optional, use any decoration you like)

almonds (optional)

Melt the marshmallows and butter together in a saucepan. After it is all nice, smooth, and gooey, add the crispy rice cereal. Have a bowl of water to dip your hands in, a platter for the treats, and as many cookie cutters as you like ready on the side. For kids it is nice for each to have their own, but I had mine all share one so everyone had to take turns.

Get your hands wet, then pick up a fistful of the crispy-rice mixture and smoosh it into the cookie cutter until it fills it evenly. Gently remove the cookie cutter and place the treat on the platter. Repeat until you run out of cereal mixture.

Decorate each sweetheart with a thin layer of pink icing and a few cranberries and/or almonds. Enjoy!