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6 simple ingredients and one heart cookie cutter come together to make this chocolate, simple, gluten-free fun Valentine’s Day Rice Krispies dessert. A treat that my family devours is rice crispy treats. There is something about the gooeyness of the melted marshmallow, combined with the crispiness of the rice cereal that makes these irresistible. And did I mention, they’re also gluten-free? If you chose the right cereal brand, they are safe for those with Celiac disease!

I was inspired by Giada’s recipe for Brown Butter Krispies and loved the idea that she browned the butter first, to take the flavor up a notch and give these an elegant twist. Knowing that my family loves chocolate, I swapped out the regular rice crispy cereal for Cacao One Degree Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps to ensure they are gluten-free, and to add the chocolate touch.

Making these takes almost no time at all. And you can make them for any season with a simple cookie cutter for that season. For Valentine’s Day Rice Krispies, I chose to use this heart cookie cutter from Amazon.

*I have included links to the ingredients or products I use or recommend for ease of shopping. A Style for Life is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All opinions are mine, and I try everything extensively before I recommend it. I only link to products I have already loved, used, and trust. Thank you for supporting A Style for Life!

If you would like to see other items I recommend for baking, you can find that post here.

Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate?

Well… you caught me there! I don’t usually love Valentine’s Day. One year, I was at Target on Valentine’s Day, spending my single night browsing for things I absolutely didn’t need, and witnessed something that made me not love Valentine’s Day; It was the people in the Valentine’s Day aisle, rummaging through the left over bits of chocolate and stuffed bears, finding something obligatory for their significant other. I felt so sad for them. The idea that they feel so obligated to show up with a gift, just to fulfill what feels like a truly commercially driven holiday turned me off to the idea all together.

So what does Love mean? Does it mean a dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant on the 14th of February? Does it mean the last tattered, torn, and dirty teddy bear on the Valentine’s aisle at Target? Or does is mean that we should celebrate those you love?

I choose the latter. And the way I like to show love is through feeding my family well. So, instead of dinner reservations, or elaborate gifts, we have a wonderful dinner at home, and celebrate the fact that we love each other all year long, not just on the 14th of February because marketers tell us we should.

Ok, rant over.

So, if you’re into feeding your loved ones good food that will make them feel special, these Valentine’s Day Chocolate Rice Krispies will do the trick!

Ingredients Needed for Chocolate Valentine’s Rice Krispies:

Directions for Valentine’s Rice Krispie Treats

1. Line a cookie sheet or flat sheet pan with a silicone liner, parchment paper or wax paper. I usually don’t butter or grease the pan or paper, because why add an extra step?

2. Measure the rice cereal into a large bowl so it’s ready to go.

3. Place the butter in a large pot or dutch oven to melt. Once it’s melted, turn the heat down, and let the butter cook just a little longer, until it just starts to brown. You don’t want burnt butter, just slightly more cooked and browned than just melted. Continue to stir with a rubber spatula or plastic spoon so that it doesn’t burn the bottom. This should take about 4 minutes.

4. Reduce the heat to very low. Add the marshmallows, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, and stir until your arm hurts and everything is melted. I always loved the line from I Love Lucy in the episode where Lucy and Ethel decide to churn their own butter and Lucy says “our grandmother’s must have had arms of steel!”. That’s what I think of when stirring the marshmallow mixture. Just when you want to give up and wish you worked out your triceps more, voila! It’s done and melted. You want this mixture smooth.

5. Pour the cereal into the melted marshmallow mixture, and gently fold it all together until everything is combined.

Anyone else a fan of Schitt’s Creek? I can’t say “Fold it in” without thinking of this scene, which made me laugh so hard!

6. I digress. The next step is to pour the hot mixture onto your sheet pan and use a spatula to try and smooth it out and even it out as much as you can.

7. Grab a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and now push and spread from the top down to get the edges even. Use the wax paper or parchment paper to push an edge up and make it as much of a rectangle as possible

8. Let them cool for about 30 minutes to an hour. Try not to snack on the corners in the meantime.
   
   Once cool enough, use your cookie cutter to cut shapes. If the cookie cutter starts to hurt your hand, find something long and strong to use to help you push it down. For example, I grabbed scissors and laid them flat across the heart, and pushed that down when my hand started feeling the indentation of the cookie cutter. Then find a storage container where you can lay them flat and separate with parchment or wax paper, or store them upright (side by side).

And done! I put some on skewers to make a fun centerpiece for a Valentine’s party.