NomNom: Rice Crispy Heart Pops

So, Valentine's day is coming up in 4 days. That's like, soon. The men got lucky this year because they have the whole weekend to plan something for their significant other if they're a last minute planner. I don't fall under this category because I have a somewhat Type A personality and like to plan ahead and know my schedule ahead of time (minus the occasional surprises). Yeaaa I don't have the 'go with the flow' type of attitude and I blame that for growing up as an East Coast girl. The boy is from California so he's quite the opposite but that's...cool. I dunno.

The boy likes chocolate so I've been racking my brain as to what kind of fun Valentines day themed dessert I could make him and kept staring at my heart shaped cookie cutter for inspiration. Yea, I know...as if the cookie cutter would speak to me.

I initially thought of baking heart shaped chocolate chip cookies but then the idea didn't really stir my soul. I was mindlessly going through some celebrity gossip website last week (I'm a celebrity gossip knowledge queen--ask me who's dating who and I'll tell you in a heartbeat) and they featured several Valentines day themed recipes. I came across one that made these cute chocolate covered rice crispy pops and well I was sold.

Sometimes I swear the food gods just shine their light on me and answer my food prayers. It's easy, tastes delicious, and is super cute! Win!

I mean, they taste like you would image it to literally taste like..rice crispy treats covered in delicious, melted chocolate. Buuut I wanted to use good chocolate chips for this recipe. Don't get me wrong, I like and usually use Nestle chocolate chips when baking cookies but since I knew I'd be covering a big surface area (yea, that's the nerd in me talking) with chocolate I decided to spend a little more money and buy Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. Oh my, please use these. They taste so smooth, rich, and creamy that I may have ate 20 or so chips along the baking process.

I think any dessert that has a stick in it is automatically deemed as cute. Cake pops? Cute. Marshmallow pops? Cute. Rice crispy pops? Cute!!

On another unrelated note, I have some big news to share with you! The March issue of Elle magazine, which is on news stands now featured some of my outfit posts on an article written about Washington, DC fashion. So exciting!! I'm feeling very, very humbled that they would notice little ol' me and include me in their article. My awesome photographer friend (who now has a website up and running!) and I try to work hard to (hopefully) give you quality content, so to be recognized from a nationally well known fashion magazine is extremely rewarding. When I started my blog 5 months ago, I never would have imagined  that I'd be featured in anything, let alone a popular fashion magazine that I actually read myself.

As always, thank you so much for reading. Whether it be from occasionally grazing through or being a follower of this little blog, I am extremely thankful for your support.

Ok, ok, enough of all that sappy talk. Now go make those super easy rice crispy pops and enjoy them while reading that Elle magazine! Yea! Have a great weekend.

Recipe (adapted from www.koreanamericanmommy.com)
1/2 Stick unsalted butter
1 package of mini marshmallows
8.5 cups of Rice Krispie Cereal
24 White sticks about 5 inches long
1 package of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips

Procedure
1. Heat up a large pan and melt the butter over medium/low heat. Add the marshmallows and melt completely. Combine the rice krispie cereal to the marshmallow/butter mixture and mix thoroughly.
2. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment ot wax paper and place the rice krispie mixture and spread out evenly. Press down firmly and evenly. Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
3. Grease a heart cookie cutter and press down evenly on the rice krispie mold and remove the heart shaped rice krispie treat. Take your stick and carefully pierce the bottom of the heart shaped rice krispie and stop when you have about 2.5 inches of stick remaining. Press firmly on a flat surface with your palms on each sides of the heart to secure the stick. Also, press the sides as well.

4. Microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second increments until completely melted.
5. Dip the heart into the chocolate sauce and using a butter knife smooth out the surface also removing access chocolate. Place on a lined baking sheet and allow the hearts to set in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes.