The Happy Baker: VALENTINE'S DAY..getting ready...

S'MORE LOVE TREATS

from: http://itsacraftylife.blogspot.com with a little adaptation from ME!

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups mini marshmallows

1 cups Valentine M&Ms , milk chocolate

1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

1/4 cup hot fudge topping

1/4 cup caramel topping, optional

Pan spray

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Pam in a 13x9 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat crumbs, brown sugar, butter, flour, and baking soda with electric mixer until coarse crumbs form. Press mixture in bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Remove partially baked crust from oven. Sprinkle marshmallows over the crust. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until the marshmallows begin to puff.

4. Remove the pan from the oven. Drizzle with hot fudge topping. Sprinkle the M&Ms evenly over the marshmallows. Let it cool for an hour and then cut into bars.

Bear Hug treat bags

Fill small cello bag with gummy bears. Fold down open edge. Then staple the topper to the bag. The shapes were cut from my Silhouette.

Valentine Kisses

Cream Together:

2/3 C margarine (not butter)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 C sugar

1/8 C milk

2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped, WELL DRAINED & DRIED

Mix in:

2 ½ C flour

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp baking powder

Red or Pink sugar

36 milk chocolate kisses

Mix well. Dough will be gooey. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Roll into walnut size balls. Coat with red or pink sugar (optional). Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown. As soon as they are removed from oven, let cool for about 1 minute, push a milk chocolate kiss slightly into the middle of it.

Poppin' Love Treat

1 stick butter

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

4 drops pr so of red food coloring

2 cups Valentine M&M mix

1/3 cup Mini semi sweet

1/3 cup vanilla chips

12 cups popped popcorn

Butter a large cookie sheet or cake pan. In a large heavy sauce pan, over med heat melt butter. Add marshmallows and food coloring. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Add popcorn and stir gently until popcorn is coated. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Press into pan. Let set for about an hour or until cool.

Or more fun..make popcorn balls! Butter hands and take a handful and shape into a ball. Continue until all popcorn has been used. Let cool.

Place in ziplock bag to store.

Stained Glass Hearts

Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe or mine ( see below). Roll out dough to 1/4". Cut out center. Fill making it heaping with crushed hard candy. I just threw in two cherry flavored candy sticks into my mini chopper. Bake on parchment paper.

Soft Sugar Cookies

Cream Together:

2/3 C margarine (not butter)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 C sugar

1/4 C milk

Mix in:

2 ½ C flour

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp baking powder

Mix well. Dough will be gooey. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Flour everything well. Roll out 1/4 inch thickness, cut with cookie cutters. (*now follow above!) Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes.

Raspberry Mousse filled Chocolate Shells

To make shells you can either use a mold or a balloon. If using a mold, just follow the instructions. For a balloon, blow up small balloons so bottoms are of desired size. Melt chocolate according to directions. when chocolate is cool enough, dip bottom of balloons in chocolate. Let cool. Pop balloons, remove shell. There are various websites/blogs that have this method. So just..GOOGLE it!

Raspberry Mousse

1/2 (1/8 oz.) packet unflavored gelatin

1 (12 oz.) bags frozen raspberries, thawed

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preparation

Place 1/8 cup water in a cup and sprinkle gelatin on top. Set aside to soften.

In a bowl, mash raspberries with a whisk or potato masher and then strain into another bowl to remove seeds. You will have about 3/4 to 1 cup puree. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir until sugar dissolves. Microwave softened gelatin for 30 seconds on high power. Whisk gelatin into raspberry puree. Whip cream until stiff. Gently fold in half of the raspberry-gelatin mixture until nearly incorporated. Fold in remaining raspberry mixture.