CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOW HEARTS: Valentine's Day

Soft marshmallow centers covered with rich dark chocolate can be the "Heart' of Valentine's Day. Lots of choices out there. You can make dipheart shaped marshmallows in dark chocolate, as you would any fruit or nut. You can make the marshmallows yourself and form them in heart shaped molds or cut out with cookie cutters, or you can buy Chocolate Covered Marshmallows from various purveyors including Peeps. So many ways to combine Chocolate and Marshmallows to say I love you.

1. Kraft makes Strawberry (artificially flavored) Jet-Puffed HeartMallows that you can buy at your local drugstore, Walgreen's, Walmart or Target. Dip them in chocolate! Melt some chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave and dip half the heart marshmallow into the chocolate. Let set up on parchment-lined cookie sheet.

2. Make your own Marshmallows. Goodlife Eats has a fabulous recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Vanilla Bean Marshmallows. Once you've made your own marshmallows, you'll never go back. The Marshmallows in this recipe contain crushed, freeze dried raspberries. This gives them a pink color and fruity flavor. For another option, you can use dried strawberries. Dip the marshmallow hearts in chocolate when you're done, and you have the perfect pairing!

3. And, for an old standby, Peeps, the mother of all things marshmallow, has special Dark and Milk Chocolate Covered  Heart Shaped Peeps (raspberry flavored). Available all kinds of places.

4. Martha Stewart has a Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts suggestion for Valentine's Day. Cut Marshmallows into Heart Shapes. Start by greasing a heart-shaped petit four cutter or aspic cutter with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Cut several marshmallows in half horizontally, and then press the cutter into the center of each one. Float the marshmallows and the cut-outs on hot chocolate. Perfect for your morning cocoa on Valentine's Day!

5. One last chocolate/marshmallow combination. BarbaraBakes follows Nigella Lawson's recipe for Valentine Rocky Road Crunch Bars. Fabulous.