Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

I've been trying to do some baking here and there. But, let's face it, my days are pretty hum-drum right now.  I've been working on a lot of stuff for school, watching a lot of t.v. (re-runs and some new shows too), trying to keep the house clean and trying out some organizational tricks, and reading a lot of books.

The dogs are at their wits' ends.  They are getting tired of me, I can tell.  However, Jett (being on steroids) is hungrier than normal and Scout (who is a picky eater) has taken to guarding his food bowl.  He'll just lay there beside it so Jett can't get it, yet he won't eat it.  He's so much like me...he doesn't even realize it.

That is why this post is just now going up when it should have been prescheduled for this morning: I've been busy doing a whole lot of nothing, like taking pictures of dogs who are holding a stand-off over a food bowl.

Regardless...

Recipe challenge, week twenty-six (halfway there!)

I kind of wanted to save this recipe for a rainy day, because you would want to eat it on a rainy day.  But I figure this weekend is the 4th of July and if you need a last minute treat to take somewhere, this would be perfect.

It takes 10 minutes to whip up this dessert and, if you can get it out of the house without eating it all, I'm sure it will be enjoyed by all.

I bought a bag of caramel bits because they are like eating a bag of pure sugar and I rather enjoy them...but I bought them for this cookie recipe I was going to try and then I ate them all, so I had to buy another bag.  And then I lost my patience with the idea of of the cookie-baking process.  Rice Krispy treats only take a few minutes though, so this no-bake recipe is what I used the remaining bag of caramel bits for.  So I suppose I've eaten a lot of caramel in the last two weeks...

(don't mind the cashews)

Caramel Rice Krispy Treats
makes an 8x8 pan (for thicker bars) or a 9x13 pan (for thinner bars)

1 cup caramel bits 

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in vanilla and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. Stir in the caramel bits and allow them to melt, over very low heat. Keep stirring.

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones. Store covered.  

Mint Oreo Rice Krispy Treats

It was obviously a low-key Easter weekend in these parts.  Saturday, I went to the gym and ran some errands.  Sunday, I went for a walk with a friend and did some things around the house to prepare for another week (food prep, etc).  Scott, on the other hand, had a weekend.  He had just finished over three weeks of work without a day off, so with his 3-day weekend, he tromped around Vienna and Budapest...and when he called me, I got to share that I was at the commissary.  Life is hard. And I swear I'm not bitter...(well, we know that's a lie).  I'm reading a book about WWII right now.  That's as close as I've gotten to Austria.

Recipe challenge, week fourteen.

This isn't the grandest or most inventive of recipes.  In fact, some would argue that it's not a recipe and is terribly boring and I'm not a creator of anything.

But that's okay.   Because I believe that Mint Oreos are quite close to heaven on Earth.  Like, I don't know what they put in these things, but I won't let myself buy them unless I have a special purpose in mind.  Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cake, for example.  In this case, I just combined Rice Krispy treats, one of my favorite desserts, with mint and Oreos.  If you would like an amped up version of a classic treat, try this.  They are especially tasty the day after you make them because the flavors have had time to mesh.  And I don't know that there is anything better than a pot of melted marshmallow, broken up Mint Oreos, and rice krispies.  Makes for a fantastic Friday night.

Mint Oreo Rice Krispy Treats

makes an 8x8 pan

1 10 oz. bag marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

1 t. peppermint extract

12 (or so) Mint Oreos, crushed

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (save money, buy generic)

In a large pot, melt the butter.  Add the marshmallows and stir.  When they are melted into the butter, add the extracts and then begin folding in the cereal one cup at a time.  Lastly, fold in the Oreos.  

Press into an 8x8 pan.  You can use a bigger pan; they'll just be thinner.  Cover tightly to store.

Hey, look.  I made Rice Krispy treats last Easter too...

I am SO glad I wasn't able to find those M&Ms this year.  Holy cow did I eat a lot of those things last year.  I kept them in my desk at school and everything.  Memories...

Leftover-Easter-Candy Rice Krispy Treats

I actually bought little to no Easter candy this year.

I didn't really see the need because we don't do Easter baskets.  We're adults.  We buy candy whenever we want.  Case in point: We have made our way through approximately half a dozen bags of carrot cake M&Ms in the last month.  These things…I just don't have the ability to stop eating them.  

Since I wasn't going to make a whole fancy dessert to go with our super fancy (no) Easter dinner of chicken, sugar snap peas, and corn on the cob, I decided to just chop up the remnants of the (currently open) bag and put together my treat of choice.  

I like that you can do this with ANY leftover candy.  I'm assuming you have extra bags or baskets of candy laying around; Whoppers/Robin Eggs, Mini Cadbury eggs, chop up Reeses' eggs, or even chop up your chocolate bunnies!  It'll all work!  

And then take the tray of Rice Krispy treats to work and leave them in the lounge or break room.  I'd do that, but that doesn't happen here.  I recommend it though, if you're using this as a way to get candy out of your visual path.

Leftover-Easter-Candy Rice Krispy Treats

makes a 8x8 or 9x13 pan

1 cup chopped Easter candy (I used M&Ms)

1/2 cup sweetened coconut (because I had it in the cupboard)

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the, coconut, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. 

Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.  Remove from heat.

Fold in the candy at this point so it doesn't melt.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Salted Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

Right now, we have a friend staying with us and she eats totally gluten-free for real reasons (not fake reasons).  It can be hard to cook/develop recipes when you have to watch all the ingredients.  I wanted to make dessert to go with our fancy dinner of balsamic glazed pork roast, risotto, and sangria last week.  

I'd been hoarding the TJ's caramel sauce in the cupboard since Christmas.  No time like the present, right?

Rice Krispy treats are a terrific gluten-free dessert:  I love them, everyone loves them, they're gluten-free.  See?  All the basic requirements.

Chocolate optional.

Salted Caramel Rice Krispy Treats
makes an 8x8 pan of thick bars, but you can use 9x13 for thinner ones

4 T. butter
3 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup caramel sauce or TJ's salted caramel sauce
4 cups rice krispies
1 t. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips, melted in the microwave or on a double-boiler
Extra caramel sauce (warmed) for drizzling
Sea salt

In a large pot, melt the butter.  Stir in the marshmallows and 1/4 cup caramel sauce.  Add the vanilla.  When it's all melted and combined, add in the rice krispies.  Mix well.  Pour into a pan to cool.
Once cooled, spread or drizzle the chocolate over the top.  Once that has cooled, drizzle on your extra caramel sauce and sprinkle with sea salt.

Best of 2013: Recipes

Your favorites from 2013…. 

5.  Brownie Batter Fudge

An extra-rich chocolate fudge that gets its punch from some boxed brownie mix.

4.  Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

I still remember the day I OD'd on this.  HIGHLY recommended.  Just make it.  Maybe you should share it though.  

3.  Brownie Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Again, extra-richness from some boxed brownie mix and a drizzle of chocolate frosting.

2.  Cookie Butter Muddy Buddies

Ironically, this was my first recipe of the year, posted on January 1st.  Something about powdered sugar, peanut butter, and then the crunchiness of Chex just equals a trifecta of perfection.

It's been awhile.  I need to make some muddy buddies again soon.

And, #1 on the list of favorite desserts this year……

1.  Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Your favorite was my favorite too!  Some of my recipes, I never repeat because I didn't love them enough or they weren't practical.  THESE are Rice Krispy treats that I've made again and again.  They would be excellent for a New Year's get-together.  Even as a gluten-free birthday treat if you use GF cake mix.  I'm so glad you all love these Rice Krispy treats as much as I do :)

Thank you so much for reading, pinning, and trying my recipes.  Even though I don't do it nearly enough, I love to create in the kitchen and I'm so happy to have a place to share these treats.

Here's to more sugar in the new year!

Here's the list of favorite desserts from 2012.  Any requests for 2014?  

Howl-o-ween

Sweater: Loft // Shirt/scarf: Target // Pants: JCPenney's // Boots: Report 

It's disgustingly humid here, still.  I spent all day basking in the A/C yesterday.  It's only 65-70 degrees but it feels like I live in a swamp.  

I got a haircut last week.  I immediately regretted my decision and wished I would've went shorter, even though she took 2 inches off.  Then I highlighted it.

The boots are new from Zappos.

The tomatoes are dying (I could probably undo that zip-tie and move them out of the shot...I could also probably put away the stacks of clean dishes I'm staring at right now.)  

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And here we have Super Scout.    

His puppy teeth are falling out and he must be going through a growth spurt.  He was in no mood for pictures.  I'll try to get better ones tonight (because that's what we're doing on Halloween: hanging out with our dog).

We decided we'd turn on the light for trick-or-treaters.  Actually, Scott decided it when he brought home one of those $20 bags of candy bars.  I was looking forward to not doing Halloween.  At least there's no party at school today...that's still making me so happy!  

But, of course, I had to make something.  These are super easy and quick!

Stick (store-bought) rice krispy treats on lollipop sticks.  Dip in candy melts.  Dip in sprinkles.  

Happy Howl-o-ween!

White Chocolate S'mores Rice Krispy Treats (and Mad Men)

Pete's greatest victory in life so far: Bargain-hunting

1. Peggy's never going to be happy.

2. Don is starting to tell the truth.

3.  I'm finally okay with "new" Bobby.  When he started last season, I missed "old" Bobby.  At least they never tried to replace Sally.

4.  It's interesting that Megan lets Don do whatever he wants for 2 years and then chooses to stand up for herself all in one episode.  Also, she's still alive.  I was looking forward to a scandal.

5.  Matthew Weiner really knows how to make 11 episodes completely uneventful and then pack the little bit of action he has up his sleeve into,what, like 48 minutes?

6.  I was hoping Pete Campbell in the Chevy showroom would turn into something like this.  Liven it up a little.

 Scott refuses to watch Mad Men but he'll sit next to me while I'm watching and ask me questions about it.  How do you even begin to explain these relationships this many seasons in?  Which means I'll probably have to watch it again today because I missed half of what Don said.

Here's some rice krispy treats.  I just needed a vehicle to a Mad Men discussion.

White Chocolate S'mores Rice Krispy Treats

1 cup white chocolate chips, divided

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

2 t. vanilla

6 cup Rice Krispy cereal

8 graham crackers, broken into small pieces

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in half the white chocolate chips, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.  Add in the graham cracker pieces and the other half of the chocolate chips.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Sharing at Mingle Monday

Brownie Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Let it be duly noted that I made these almost 2 weeks ago.  They are long, long gone.

I have a serious issue with rice krispy treats these days.  I can't stop eating them.  I don't know what my problem is.  I don't even feel like eating ice cream!  I just want gooey stuff.  So strange.

Since I've been doing a pretty intense cardio workout each weekday, I've noticed that my hunger has really kicked in.  Before 2 weeks ago, I was doing cardio once, or maybe twice, a week.  That is kind of sad for me, because I'm capable of doing cardio each day.  That's what I was thinking while I ran that 5K our first week here...Scott told me I looked like a runner before the race.  I just laughed.  But then, as I trudged those few miles through the woods (yeah), I thought, "You know, there's nothing stopping me from doing this..no injuries, no physical limitations. My legs don't really hurt.  My lungs are okay...I just don't want to do this everyday."

I need to work on my willpower, I guess.

So anyway, the point is, I've been eating a rice krispy treat in some form or another, like, everyday.  That cannot be a good thing.

When I asked Scott what flavor he thought these were, he said, "Cocoa".  No.  They're much more inventive than that because I can't get off the brownie train.

Brownie Batter Rice Krispy Treats

makes a 9x13 pan

3/4 cup dry boxed brownie mix

1/2 cup chocolate frosting, plus extra for drizzling (I used Pillsbury.)

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the brownie mix, frosting, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

I'm not messing around with this one.

I followed a recipe (that usually doesn't happen).  I made these particularly thick and chewy.  They were, hands down, the best rice krispy treats, I'd ever had.  I credit the frosting I mixed into the melted marshmallows.

I think I ate, maybe, 6 rice krispy treats in my entire life up until the summer of 2008.

At that point, I had just graduated college and was living at home.  In between job interviews, working at a bar, and pathetic attempts at trying to run, I started making rice krispy treats quite often.  I'm not sure where this came from, other than the fact that my mom kept very well-stocked cupboards, and there were always marshmallows and rice krispies available.  I made a pan at least a few nights a week and, if we're being honest, I ate most of it right out of the pot I stirred it up in.  I do that with no-bake cookies too.

I forgot about my deep-seeded love for the rice krispy treat until last spring when I started creating some new combinations.  S'mores, Funfetti, White Chocolate. 

But these ones?  They are the ultimate rice krispy treat.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

From the back of the cereal box

1/2 cup yellow cake mix (or white, or funfetti, or whatever)

1/2 cup cream cheese frosting

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cup Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the cake mix, cream cheese frosting, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Happy Rice-Krispy-Treat-Eating!

S'mores Rice Crispy Treats

All my self-control went out the window last weekend.

I hate cloudy days.  Cloudy, overcast days with temperatures around 50 degrees are commonplace here in the summer.

On days like that, I tend to shut down.  I put on sweatpants, turn on the fireplace (gas...I'm not exactly out back choppin' wood), and take a nap.  I don't cook.  I don't move around much.  I wear socks.  And slippers.  And I generally stuff myself with as much sugar as possible.

On this day, I happened to go to church.  *Only* because I knew I wanted to go to Old Navy and I couldn't justify driving past the church to get to Old Navy without stopping.  So after dropping way too much money at Old Navy (I bought a swimsuit of all the ridiculous things), I stopped at the grocery store.

This is what I came home with.

Yep.

Just that.

And then I ate these for dinner.

I could've done a better job with these pictures.  But like I said, I wasn't in the mood to do so.  I crammed these babies into my mouth like they were going out of style.  Didn't even cut them.  Just ate them out of the pan with a spoon.  Good luck to me with that bathing suit I just bought.

S'mores Rice Crispy Treats
 makes a 9x13 pan

10 graham crackers, coarsely crushed + 2 graham crackers, coarsely crushed  (keep them separate)
1 cup chocolate chips
5 T. butter
1 10 oz. bag marshmallows
4 cups rice crispies

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Add in the marshmallows, stirring over medium-low heat until they melt.  Stir in the chocolate chips (they'll melt), 10 crushed graham crackers, and rice crispies.  Mix well until combined.
Grease a 9x13 pan, and spread in the mixture, flattening it out to make it even. Press the 2 coarsely crushed graham crackers into the top.  Cover and let harden before serving.

Shared at:
Friday Food 
Weekend Potluck
Sweets for Saturday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday

White Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

I was in line at the car wash the other day.  There were 2 bays.  I picked the wrong line.  You know what I mean.  The guy in the other line was done first.  And I had to watch people who got in line after me wash their cars first.  Grrr....

Dude who pulled out of the other bay stopped to check out his work post-wash (It's a self-serve kinda wash.  They provide the heated bays and the soap, you put in the quarters and get all wet washing your own car.)

For some reason, he's laying in the mud puddle on the other side of his car.

He pulled over (bass pumping), got down on the ground, and did some detail work to his...Ford Focus.  I kinda wanted to go tell him how cool he was.

Anyway, washing my car was the second workout I got that day.  Turbokick was particularly awesome in the morning.  So I did what anyone would do.  I went home and ate rice crispy treats.

The white chocolate is the secret ingredient.

White Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats
makes a 9x13 pan (or you can dollop spoonfuls into mini muffin liners)

3 cups rice crispies
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 package white chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter

In a large bowl, toss together the rice crispies and marshmallows.  In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips.  Stir in the peanut butter.  Combine the chocolate/PB with the crispies/marshmallows.  Mix well to combine and pour into a 9x13 pan.  Let cool and cut into squares.

Shared at:
Friday Food
Sweets for Saturday
Sweet Treats Thursday