Easy Last Minute Valentine's For School

I realize that I can go to the store and buy pre-made Valentines for my sons class, BUT I grew up with a mom who made everything From Scratch. Sooooo, I don't know how to do it any different. I wanted to make some things for my son's school without going completely crazy. The school did ask to limit sweets, but these are homemade, so I figured it was ok...right?

To keep it easy, I made homemade Rice Krispie Treats (made with homemade marshmallows that I already had in my freezer) with M&Ms. I also dipped pretzel's in candy coating chocolate, and added some festive sprinkles. These are two really easy, last minute items that you can make TODAY for your child's school, or even for work. Place them in small plastic bags with a pretty ribbon, and name tag, and you are good to go! We made some extras for the teachers as well.

Homemade Marshmallows with M&M's

10 oz homemade marshmallows; or store bought

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 11oz bag plain M&M's; I love the dark chocolate

6-7 cups rice cereal

Directions:

*In a large pot, melt the butter and marshmallows, stirring consistently

*Once melted, pour in the rice cereal, and mix

*Pour 2/3 of the bag of M&M's into the pot, and mix

*Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray to prevent the mixture from sticking to it

*Pour the rest of the M&M's over the top of the rice krispies

*Spray your hand with some cooking spray, and press down onto the mixture to make it more compact, so that the M&M's get pushed down into the cereal/marshmallow mixture

*Allow to cool

*Once cooled, remove from the baking dish

*Use a knife to cut the krispies into desired sized squares

*Place them in plastic bags, and tie them with cute ribbon and a name tag

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Pretzels; any shape or size you like

Candy Coating chocolate; it is important to use "Candy Coating" because it with harden up nicely; if you use chocolate chips, the chocolate will become too soft and messy

Sprinkles

Directions:

*Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, being sure the water isn't touching the bowl, and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat

*Line a few baking sheets with wax paper

*Dip the pretzel into the chocolate, then place it on the wax paper

*Add the sprinkles immediately; you want to make sure to add them before the chocolate hardens otherwise they will not stick

*Continue with as many pretzels as you like

*Allow to cool and harden completely

*Place in plastic bags with pretty ribbon, and a name tag

(Sorry for the terrible picture, BUT this is how you want to melt the chocolate. Place a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water, being sure the water isn't touching the bowl, and stir continuously until the chocolate has melted. )