“Rice Krispies Treats” as most of us know the gooey and delicious marshmallowy, rice cereal bars…are in fact, tasty. But maybe a little boring? I’m posting this to bring you to a happy, happy place where the rice cereal and mallow squares you thought you knew, get turned upside down with a major chocolate explosion.
This treat can be made with any brand of chocolate rice cereal, but the key to making these addicting and wonderful is the combination of peanut butter and Nutella. OH MY. These will make you and everyone who has one, swoon.
How am I able to say this to you with confidence?
I’ve made these twice, and they’ve disappeared BOTH times within less than 24 hours. The latest occasion was Friday evening and when I returned home after a get-together with girlfriends with 4 remaining in the pan, my husband took the pan from me and 3 disappeared in the next 23 minutes. We compromised and split the last one. (Marriage is about compromise, right?!)
These take about 15 minutes to make (no joke kids, 15 minutes) and all you need is a stove top OR, a microwave would work in a pinch. I modified the recipe from Handle the Heat and I think you’ll love it!
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 (or so) cups of chocolate rice cereal (any brand you want)
- 1/2 cup Nutella (mounded scoop)*
- 1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter (mounded scoop)*
- 1 bag of mini marshmallows (10 oz)
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
* I originally stated I added about 3/4 c. of Nutella and PB, but after remaking this recently, this was too much (I had eye-balled it and apparently guessed a bit high the first time I posted this) and resulted in treats that weren’t quite marshmallow-y enough to stick together. So instead, just mound out your scoop of both Nutella and PB, but not quite enough to do 3/4 c.
How to Make:
Alrighty people, here we go. First things first, you need a saucepan if you are going the stove top route. If you have only a microwave, then grab a medium-sized microwaveable bowl. The butter goes into your warming device of choice and melt that baby down.
Now time to add in the good stuff. Add in your entire bag of mallows…
…the Nutella…
…and the peanut butter.
You want everything to melt down smoothly. The only remaining lumps should be from the peanuts in the crunchy peanut butter.
Once it’s all thoroughly melted and mixed, add in the 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder and stir that in.
This extra bit of chocolate is what is going to make your bars GOOD. Not: good. But: GOOD. You feel me?!
Grab a large bowl (bigger is better as this part is a bit messy) and pour in the chocolate rice cereal of choice and then pour your mallow/chocolate liquid over the top.
Spatulas work well for the next task which is to mix all of the cereal into the mallow/chocolate. Be patient, it takes a bit to get everything all worked in together. Once you have a big wonderful mass of chocolate goodness, you’re ready for the next step.
Spray a pan with Pam or another similar butter/oil spray and then plop everything in. Use your fingers or the spatula to press everything into the corners and smooth out the bars. Let ’em cool for about 10-15 minutes, which will harden things up enough to cut them.
Divide these into big OR small bars, but regardless, know that folks will still come and pick from the pan and nibble continuously until they’re all gone. I think it’s the peanut butter, but these are just plain addicting and having one is near impossible.
Hope you make these for your next ‘quick and easy dessert’ occasion!
Spatulas & Buttons 