Baking with Betty: Rice Krispie Valentines

I'm also so over the cupcake trend (yes, they're cute and tasty but I'm moving on).  I've been reading a lot of blogs that do cake pops or decorator cookies, but have been in the mood for something original and fresh.  I've had this idea for a while but was waiting for some free time to work on them. So here's what's been rolling around in my head as an adorable, delicious treat:  decorated rice krispie treats.  mmmmm.

Recipe:
After playing around with ratios of marshmallow and rice krispie, and the temperature to cut the treats, I decided that the ratio on the box is best.  If anything, use a few more marshmallows or a little less on the rice krispies.  But the tried and true recipe is the best.  Duh. Follow the directions to make and mold the treats.

Shapes:
I used a Calphlon "bars" sized baking sheet lined with parchment.  I poured about 2/3 of the mix to fill that.  I then used a second piece of parchment to smooth and flatted the mixture until it was smooth.  I let this sit until it was almost cooled.  At that point I transfered the treats to a flat surface and used cookie cutters to stamp out the hearts.  I had to clean the cookie cutters after every 2 or 3 cuts.

I also used a silicon baking mold to make the thicker hearts that I put on a stick.

To make these I actually reheated scraps from the cookie cutter hearts by throwing them into the pan on low heat just long enough to make them mushy again.  I "mashed" them into the mold with my fingers to make a denser treat.  I found this method to work better than when I poured the remaining 1/3 of the mix left over from the bar ban.  Those were not very dense and still too hot to really mold and settle in to the cups.


Decoration:
I have a hard time working with frosting. I can never get it to be the right consistency.   Over Christmas I used some chocolate specially made for candy coating and I really liked working with it. So for these Valentine's I thought I'd try those Wilton Candy Melts.  They were even on sale at Michaels :)


I used disposable Wilton frosting bags to put the melted candy in (don't melt the candy IN the bags!!), and then a #4 and #5 frosting tip (they're the writing or piping tips).

I also used some non-perils that I got really cheap at a Crate & Barrel sale.



And the finished product, ready to woo my co-workers

Would love to hear from you if you try this or have your own tips on decorated rice krispie treats!

Happy Valentine's Day!