not your mama's rice krispie treats.

i went swimming again last night. & once again, i was starving when all was said & done. i was craving something i hadn't had in years... this peanut buttery, butterscotchy kix (as in cereal) mix that my friend's mom used to make when we were kids. i know, totally random. too bad for me, i don't have the recipe (although, i'm on the hunt, i'll let you know if i'm successful). so, i had to improvise. luckily, i did have this recipe scrawled in my recipe book. i'd never made it before, & had no idea where it came from, but it definitely caught my eye. so, today, the boys & i whipped it up. it was quick, easy & best of all - no baking was involved. i love not having to heat up the oven on a hot summer's day. & as they say... "don't just a book by it's cover," the same is true here. i'm the first to admit, they don't look mouth-watering. but, i promise, once you give them a try, you might not ever make rice krispies the same again.

not your mama's rice krispie treats
ingredients:
2 skor bars (or any chocolate covered toffee candy bars)
2 cups rice krispies
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
16 regular sized marshmallows (or 133 miniature)
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:
1. using a rolling pin or mallet crush the candy bar into pieces. (personally i like kinda bigger chunks. if the pieces are too small you don't really taste them. but that's just me!)
2. place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl & microwave on high until hot (about 45 seconds). add marshmallow & microwave until softened (about 30 seconds).
3. now this next part you want to do fairly quickly: combine the peanut butter marshmallow mixture with the rice krispies. stirring until all the krispies are evenly coated. then, add the skor pieces & chocolate chips, stirring until combined.
4. spray your hands with pam (or coating them with oil would work too), then shape mixtures into rice krispie balls. or, i'm sure you could do the typical "bars" too. but, i wouldn't actually know, because i just followed the recipes & made balls.

yum! yum! yum! these definitely didn't last long in our house. i'll probably be making another batch tomorrow (unless i can find that mysterious kix recipe). no biggie though, they only take about 10 minutes to make. i think i can handle that.

making rice krispie kisses

last year i posted instructions for one of my personal favorite valentine's treats to make & give... this year we snapped a few photos while making them for gavin's pre-school class, so i thought a little tutorial was in order.

step one: gather your supplies. you will need all the ingredients for your favorite rice krispie treat recipe (i always stick with the "basic" recipe which calls for 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups of marshmallows, & 5 cups of either regular or chocolate rice krispie cereal), aluminum foil, pam or other cooking spray, funnel, wax paper, a plastic baggie & your "strips of love"

step two: make the rice krispies. i always use the microwave... way faster & a bit easier, but that's just me. microwave butter & marshmallows on high for 1 minutes in microwave-safe, very large mixing bowl. stir to combine. (it helps to spray the bowl with cooking spray or grease with oil beforehand so the marshmallows won't stick.) microwave at high 1 minute longer. stir until smooth. add cereal. stir until well coated.


step three: spray your funnel with cooking spray & spray the outside of the plastic baggie (it'll keep your hand from getting all sticky). using the plastic baggie as a glove press rice krispie mixture into the funnel & then place molded rise krispie kiss on waxed paper. you may need to shape them a little more to make them look like kisses. repeat until you have used all of your rice krispie mixture. (any sized funnel works... just depends on how big or small you want your kisses.)


step four: tear off a square of aluminum foil & spray a little cooking spray on it (to keep the rice krispie from sticking to the foil, or you can first wrap the "kiss" in saran wrap, your choice). place a "kiss" in the center of the foil & then wrap it up to look like a kiss.


step five: be sure to add your "strip of love", & viola! you've got yourself some rice krispie kisses.


& if you want to get really fancy, you might want to think about dipping the "kiss" in some chocolate prior to the foil wrapping... just a thought.

you might also want to check out last year's felt fortune cookies... they were yummy too.