Kellogg’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

When Kellogg’s reacted to spectacular sales of its Rice Krispies

Treats with two new varieties of the popular and addictive snack,

TSR got on the case. It seems we’ve all tasted the original Rice

Krispies Treats. The homemade version is the next homework

assignment in Cooking 101, after learning how to boil water.

And the Kellogg’s store-bought packaged version has been available

to the lazier of us for several years now. This variety, however,

puts that whole Reese’s “You got your peanut butter in my chocolate”

thing to work. The crunchy bar has just a touch of nutty essence

that builds nicely on the other familiar flavors. But don’t be

fooled by that dark “chocolatey” coating on top. It’s not actually

chocolate, but rather a melt-resistant custom blend of cocoa and

uh, stuff, that tastes a lot like chocolate; and that happens to

work better for the product from a manufacturing, shipping, and

shelf-life aspect. But here in kitchen cloning land, we don’t have

to worry about those things. So get ready to walk on the wild side,

people, as we step up to the microwave and melt some real chocolate

chips for topping our cinch of a crunchy clone.

1 tablespoon margarine

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 cups miniature marshmallows

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

non-stick cooking spray

1. Combine margarine, peanut butter, and salt in a large saucepan

over low heat.

2. When peanut butter and margarine have melted, add marshmallows

and vanilla and stir until marshmallows have melted. Remove from

heat.

3. Add Rice Krispies and stir until cereal is well coated with the

melted marshmallow mixture.

4. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a light coating of non-stick

cooking spray. Pour the Rice Krispies mixture into the dish and,

using wax paper or lightly greased hands, press down until it’s

flat in the dish. Cool.

5. Prepare the topping by pouring the chocolate chips into a glass

dish. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50 percent power. Stir gently.

Microwave for an additional minute on 50 percent power. Stir gently

once more until smooth. If the mixture hasn’t completely melted,

zap it again for another 30 seconds.

6. Use a spatula to spread a thin layer of chocolate over the top

of the Rice Krispies mixture. Cool at room temperature

(at least 72 degrees), or chill until firm. Slice into 16 bars.

Makes 16 bars.

No comments