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6

Heart-Shaped Vanilla Chex™ Treats

0 Ratings

1 Comments

Prep 15 min
Total 1 hr 45 min
Servings 14

Sweet and crispy Vanilla Chex™ treats decked out in pink for Valentine’s Day! ...MORE+ LESS-

The Decorated Cookie

February 9, 2015

Ingredients

cups Vanilla Chex™ cereal

1/4

cup (1/2 stick) butter, plus additional for greasing

cups mini marshmallows or 1 (10 oz) bag regular-size marshmallows

Red or pink gel paste food coloring

Heart cookie cutter (3-inch)

Conversation hearts candy (optional)

Steps

Hide Images

1

Grease a 13x9-inch pan and set aside. Place the Vanilla Chex™ cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
2

In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and several drops of the food coloring. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the marshmallow mixture is smooth. Add additional food coloring, if desired.
3

With a greased spatula, immediately pour the marshmallow mixture over the cereal. Gently fold the marshmallow mixture to coat the cereal. Pour the contents of the bowl into the prepared pan and lightly press the mixture until even.
4

Let the treats set for 15 to 30 minutes. Use the heart cutter to cut out your shapes as close together as possible. Place the treats on a baking tray lined with wax paper.
5

If desired, press a few conversation hearts onto the top of each heart. Let the treats set for 1 more hour.

Expert Tips

Instead of food coloring, you can use an envelope of powdered fruit drink with the butter and marshmallows to create your desired color.
Microwave instructions: Instead of cooking on the stovetop, place the butter and marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 90 seconds, or until the marshmallows puff up. Microwave up to a minute more if needed. Stir in the food coloring and stir well until smooth, and add to the cereal. Follow the rest of the instructions above.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 170
Calories from Fat: 40

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 4 1/2g; 7%
Saturated Fat 2g 10% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol: 10mg; 3%
Sodium: 150mg; 6%
Potassium: 30mg; 1%
Total Carbohydrate: 31g; 10%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 16g
Protein: 1g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 8%; 8%
Vitamin C: 6%; 6%
Calcium: 6%; 6%
Iron: 30%; 30%

Exchanges:

0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

Valentine's treats don't get any easier than this!

Oh, for the love of Valentine’s Day! Vanilla Chex is so good. I snacked on it so much, I almost didn’t have enough for these treats.

Thank goodness I restrained myself and made this batch of awesomeness. This cereal is ideal for making treats, because the Chex™ stays crispy, even when covered in melted marshmallow.

And these cereal treats are heart-shaped and decked out in pink just for the season, so you kind of can’t go wrong here. You can even add a little message if you like via that tell-all candy: conversation hearts.

To start, gather up your easy ingredients, place a bit of softened butter on a paper towel and grease a 3-quart baking dish very well. Set the dish aside.

Pour 6 cups of Vanilla Chex™ cereal in a large bowl. This is where I got in trouble. You know, one cup for the bowl, one cup for me, two cups for the bowl, two cups for me...

You’ll also need half a stick of butter, four cups of mini marshmallows and some red or pink gel paste food coloring. You can find some gel pastes in the craft store or online. I used one called "Electric Pink".

In a saucepan, melt the half a stick of butter. As soon as it’s melted, pour in the marshmallows and some drops of food coloring. To achieve the pink shown I used about 15 drops. Stir and stir like crazy over medium low heat until the marshmallows melt and you have a smooth, pink mixture. Or red. Or any other color you like, really.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the marshmallow mixture into the bowl with the Chex™.

Now here's the tricky part. Take a spatula that you’ve greased with butter, scrape out the saucepan, and gently fold the marshmallow mixture into the cereal. For as bold as the taste is, Chex is pretty delicate, and you don’t want to crush all of the cereal pieces.

Once everything is stirred together as well as it can be, press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Let the treats set for 15 or 30 minutes, then press the heart cookie cutter into the treats. Wiggle it around a bit and lift the heart out. Set the heart-shaped treat on a baking tray lined with wax paper. Finish cutting out all the hearts as close together as possible to minimize scraps. (Not that there’s anything wrong with scraps – I certainly enjoyed them!)

Lightly press conversation hearts on top, if you like.

Let the treats set another hour or so, until firm.

Time to share with friends, family and the ones you adore – and enjoy!