Better Than Rice Krispie Treats
I’ve always loved the idea of Rice Krispie treats much more than the thing itself. The cloyingly sweet, sticky marshmallow binding always put me off. Other than the crunch, I didn’t understand the big love.
So when I saw a Ellie Krieger recipe in the Washington Post recently for a marshmallow-less version, I thought I’d give it a try…then immediately started tinkering around until I came up with something a little bit different.
There’s no downside to these, other than they’re best kept in the fridge (or freezer, which is my choice) because the chocolate will melt otherwise and it’ll be a big mess, but I see this is a good thing, because if they’re hidden in the icebox and not just staring at me like cookies do from the jar on the countertop, I’m less apt to eat all of them up in a couple of days. As if.
Better Than Rice Krispie Treats
Makes 30
Adapted from a recipe by Ellie Krieger
1 cup semi or bittersweet chocolate chips (Guittard’s 63% extra-dark)
5 cups organic puffed brown rice cereal
½ cup honey
1 cup almond butter (I used crunchy because it’s the best)
¼ cup cocoa powder (I used Guittard’s cocoa rouge)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1. Line a 9-inch by 9-inch pan with parchment paper.
2. Put the chocolate chips and the brown rice cereal in a large bowl. Set this aside.
3. Melt the rest of the ingredients — the honey, almond butter, cocoa powder, and sea salt — over very low heat on the stovetop. Pour this into the bowl and mix until all of the brown rice cereal is well coated. Put this into your pan, using a spatula to press it down and all of the way into the corners. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for an hour. Slice into bars, then wrap each one individually and keep in the fridge or the freezer.
