Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy early Valentine’s Day!! Fun fact: my birthday is actually the day before Valentine’s Day. I don’t know about you, but I will be spending the holiday alone (20, soon to be 21, years going strong)! I’ve never been the type of person to mope about being single on Valentine’s Day. I think it’s just a fun and cute holiday to have, so I don’t really put that much emphasis on the meaning of it. Besides, who needs a significant other when you’ve got yourself and these Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars?
Me, Myself, and I
Technically, even if you’re “single,” you are in a relationship — with yourself. Throughout our entire lives, we’re always working and battling with ourselves. Sometimes we hate ourselves, and sometimes we love ourselves. We can annoy ourselves, but we also make ourselves laugh. See: it’s just like being in a relationship with someone. But you know what? No one’s going to know you the way you know yourself. And more importantly, no one’s going to love you that way you love yourself. So if you’re spending the holiday alone, use the day to celebrate yourself! And you should definitely treat yourself to these Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars!
Rice Krispies Treats But Better
Weirdly enough, these Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars were inspired by Quest’s Blueberry Cobbler Hero Protein Bar. They are one of my latest obsessions because, for a protein bar, they taste amazing. Now, I don’t know how healthy or nutritious these protein bars actually are, but all I know is that I love them. Even though it’s a Blueberry Cobbler flavor, the flavor that came to my mind when I first tried it was Special K’s Red Berry Cereal.
I love this protein bar so much that I wanted to somehow recreate it and incorporate that Special K Red Berry Cereal flavor. Simultaneously, I was also brainstorming ideas for Valentine’s day recipes. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the Special K Red Berry flavor would be fitting for a Valentine’s Day treat, thus, these Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars were born!
Think of it as a rice krispies treat but with Special K’s Red Berry Cereal. You didn’t think that rice krispies treats could get any better, but wait until you try these Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars! I think they also deserve a few bonus points because they look cute as hell with all of the Valentine’s Day themed sprinkles.
Treat Yo Self
In elementary school, we had Valentine’s Day parties in class, and in middle school and high school, we would have bake sales. This is the perfect treat to make for these types of events because they’re easy, tasty, and little out of the ordinary. These Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars are also great if you’re having a galentine’s (or guylentine’s??) day party. And if you’re spending the holiday alone, make them for yourself! No judgement here. I would do the exact same.
I hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day and spend it with those that you love — whether it’s a significant other, a friend, a family member, or yourself. You don’t need someone to celebrate Valentine’s Day with as long as you’ve got yourself! But if you do want a Valentine, then yes, I will be your Valentine. You’re welcome. As always, thank you for joining me today, I love you all, and I’ll talk to you in my next post!
Valentine’s Day Special K Cereal Bars
Ingredients
- 10 1/2 cups Special K Red Berries Cereal ( 1 Family Size Box)
- 7 cups Mini Marshmallows
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips
- As Needed Valentine's Day Themed Sprinkles
Instructions
- In batches, place the cereal into a food processor and pulse it until it breaks down into smaller pieces. You do not want the cereal to turn into fine crumbs, you just want to slightly crush it. This should only take about 3-4 short pulses. Once the cereal has been crushed, transfer it to a bowl and set it aside.
- Spray a 13×9 inch rectangular pan with non-stick spray. Set it aside.
- In a pot, add in the marshmallows and butter. Heat the ingredients over medium heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the butter and marshmallows have melted completely. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix until combined.
- Turn off the heat and add in the cereal. Mix the cereal into the marshmallow mixture until the ingredients are evenly combined. Quickly transfer the mixture to the 13×9 inch pan.
- Coat your hands with non-stick spray. Flatten the cereal mixture into the pan with your palms so that it forms a flat even layer. Allow the cereal to cool to room temperature. Once the cereal has cooled, invert the pan on top of a cutting board to remove the cereal from the pan.
- Add the white chocolate chips to a small bowl. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, and stir. Continue to microwave the chocolate in 15 second increments, stirring after each time you microwave it, until it has completely melted.
- Transfer the melted white chocolate to a ziploc bag. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag and begin drizzling the white chocolate over the cereal bar. Then quickly sprinkle your sprinkles on top before the chocolate hardens. Allow the chocolate to set before cutting the cereal bars.
- When your chocolate has set, arrange the bar so that the shorter sides are at the top and bottom and the longer sides are on the left and right. Spray a knife with non-stick spray and cut the bar down the middle so that you now have two long rectangles. Rotate the bars 90 degrees. Cut each cereal bar in half. Then cut each half in half. Repeat this one more time so that you get a total of 8 bars from each long rectangle (16 bars in total). Enjoy!
