Recipe: Miss Havisham’s Broken Heart Valentines

I have teenage children who refer to Valentine’s Day as “Celebrate You’re Not Single Day.” I realize that the commercialized version of Valentine’s Day is not everyone’s favorite celebration and that it can even be a painful reminder to those of us who are uncoupled, whether a teenager or not. So in an effort to have some fun with this holiday and to twist things around, a few years ago I started shaping Rice Krispie treats into hearts. Then I broke the hearts and made them “bleed.” It occurred to me that this is exactly what Miss Havisham* would do and, being a lover of literature, I have therefore named these treats after her.  I'm including it today as part of the Southern Writers "Eat My Valentine" Blog tour (see the schedule in the right margin).  Below is the recipe.


Step One:

Mix up a batch of Rice Krispie treats following the directions on the box. I do a variation of this that is 1 stick of unsalted butter slowly melted with one bag of large marshmallows. Once the marshmallows are completely melted I add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (you can use peppermint extract or another flavor to mix things up a bit.). Finally, add the Rice Krispies and Stir to coat evenly.

Step Two:
Spread out a long sheet of wax paper. Spoon about 1.5 cups of the Rice Krispie mixture onto the wax paper. Use your hands to shape this mound into a heart. You can either grease your hands or place a sheet of wax paper over the mixture as you work. Repeat this step to make more hearts until you run out of mixture.
Note - You will need to work quickly.

Step Three:
Let the hearts cool and harden - like Stella’s heart in Great Expectations :)

Step Four:
Using a knife, cut a jagged line through each heart to “break” it.

Step Five:
Pour red icing or raspberry jam over the broken heart to make it bleed. You can also use cherry, strawberry, or another red colored jam.

Step Six:
Eat your broken heart out because being single never tasted so good.
Take THAT, Miss Havisham!


* Miss Havisham was the old spinster in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. Because she had her own heart broken on her wedding day, she taught her adopted daughter, Stella, to break the hearts of young men.