Valentine Pretzel Buttons-

Ingredients:

• square pretzels
• Hershey’s Hugs
• plain M&Ms

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 200 degrees or if you have a really hot running oven you might want 170
2. line cookie sheet with parchment paper
3. bake for 4-5 minutes until the chocolate is shiny and soft, but not melting
4. carefully place an M&M in the center of each Hug and press it down to spread the chocolate
5. allow to cool completely by either letting them sit or put them in the fridge for a few minutes

No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake-

Ingredients:

Crust

• 30 graham crackers
• 5 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar

Filling

• 16 oz softened cream cheese
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 lb strawberries
• 16 ounce heavy whipping cream

Garnish

• 5 strawberries, sliced
• additional whipped topping

Directions:

1. crush graham crackers
2. add melted butter and sugar and pulse to incorporate
3. press mixture into bottom and partially up the sides of a springform pan
4. refrigerate at least 30 minutes to firm
5. in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy
6. whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form
7. fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream
8. puree strawberries in food processor
9. fold strawberries puree into mixture until fully blended
10. spread evenly into crust
11. freeze for 2 hours
12. allow to thaw for 30 minutes before serving
13. garnish with sliced strawberries and additional whipped topping if desired

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart-

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup plus 1 ½ tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp salt

Filling

• 12 oz mascarpone cheese
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 lbs strawberries, rinsed, dried, hulled and halved lengthwise
• ⅓ cup seedless strawberry jelly, no seeds and no pulp

Directions:

1. in a food processor, blend the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until crumbs form
2. transfer the dough to a 10 ½ inch round tart pan with a removable bottom
3. press the dough evenly into pan and up the sides
4. use a measuring cup to press the dough firmly into the bottom and against the sides of the pan
5. freeze the crust until firm for about 15 minutes
6. preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle
7. using a fork, prick the crust all over
8. bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden
9. cool tart completely in the tart pan
10. in a medium bowl, mix the mascarpone and 1 tbsp of sugar together until smooth
11. spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the baked crust
12. starting from the center, arrange strawberry halves on the cheese mixture
13. in a small saucepan, heat the jelly on medium-low until liquefied
14. gently brush the strawberries with the jelly
15. chill the tart in the pan for 1 hour
16. remove it from the pan just before serving