Fruity rice crispy treats

Fruity pebble cereal meets rice crispy treat with a drizzle of fruity cereal white chocolate for the perfect fruity and sweet treat.

Though I'm not a huge marshmallow fan, I do pride myself in making a great rice crispy treat. I think the key to this is the perfect balance of butter and marshmallow to ensure a gooey bite that's part chewy and part crisp. I wanted to create a version with fruity pebbles (my husband loves fruity cereal), and after a few rounds I've gotten all of the ratios perfect.

For these bars, it's important to pre measure your ingredients so that you can move throughout the steps of the recipe with speed. The mixture sets quickly so if you pause too long in between steps to measure, you'll risk having uneven bars at the end or having difficulty pressing them into your square pan to set.

To start, you'll measure your two cereals and toss them until evenly dispersed. Then, you'll measure out your large marshmallows and mini marshmallows in separate bowls so you'll be ready to add them in step by step. It'll also be important to prep your square pan with parchment paper so that once your mixture is ready, you can pour it right in and begin to flatten it while it's still warm.

To get things started, you'll melt your butter in a nonstick pot, and then add in your large marshmallows and clear vanilla extract (or regular if you don't have clear) and mix with a rubber spatula until they melt into your butter (or until closely melted in, you can see my picture as an example). Then you'll pour in your cereal mixture and continue to mix until your marshmallow mixture evenly coats the cereal. Next will go your mini marshmallows. You'll add these last because you don't want them to fully melt into your mixture. Then you can pour your mixture into your parchment lined square pan and press it down firmly. This step is important to make sure your bars are flat and also well packed enough.

These bars are finished off with a drizzle of white chocolate that has crushed fruity pebble cereal mixed in. Not only does this add a fun look but it adds a fun flavor too. I don't recommend skipping the white chocolate topping, but if you do decide to skip you can follow the steps as is without the addition of the white chocolate drizzle at the end. For my fellow diabetics who need the carb details, you can find that at the bottom of the recipe including how many carbs come from the white chocolate in case you decide to omit.

In addition to this being a great no bake recipe, I love how quickly it comes together. In about an hour or less you'll have some delicious bars ready to enjoy! For ingredients, you can use a generic puffed rice cereal or of course the rice krispies brand cereal, and same goes for the fruity cereal - I used fruity pebbles but really any similar fruity cereal will work great. For marshmallows, I used Kraft brand jet puffed large and mini marshmallows.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice krispies / puffed rice cereal 54g

• 2 cups fruity pebble cereal 100g

• 4 heaping cups (8oz) jumbo marshmallows 226g

• 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

• 1 stick, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter* 113g

• Pinch salt*

• 1 cup (2oz) mini marshmallows 58g

• 2/3 cup (4oz) white chocolate

• 1 tablespoon fruity pebble cereal

*Note: you can instead use salted butter and omit the added salt

Total time: 1 hour

Prep time: 15 minutes

Chill time: 30-45 minutes

Equipment:

• 9x9 square pan (or 8x8)

• Parchment paper

• Nonstick, heavy bottomed pot

• Rubber spatula

• Sharp knife

• Bowls - medium and small

• Plastic bag or piping bag

Cooking instructions:

Measure your cereals and mix together in a large bowl. In two separate bowls, pre measure your large marshmallows and mini marshmallows. Set aside.

Prepare your square pan, lining it with parchment paper on all sides - you'll want this to be ready to go for later.

Place your butter into your nonstick pot, on the stovetop over a low to medium heat. Once your butter is melted, turn your heat down to low and add in your large marshmallows and clear vanilla extract. Stir together using your rubber spatula to melt your marshmallows and combine. Continue to mix until everything is mostly melted together and well combined. You can turn the heat off if the mixture heats up too much, or even remove it from the heat.

If you haven't already, remove your pot from the stovetop and turn off the heat. Add in your cereal and continue to stir until your cereal is coated with your butter and marshmallow mixture, being sure to reach into the edges of your pot.

Pour in your mini marshmallows and and continue stirring until everything is evenly dispersed - you still want to see mini marshmallows unmelted, but spread throughout.

Into your lined pan, pour your fruity cereal treat mixture. Use your spatula to press your mixture evenly across the pan, being sure to reach into the corners and pressing down firmly. You can also use a butter sheet or measuring cup here to help smooth and press your bars down.

Allow your treats to cool for about 15 minutes, I like to pop them in the fridge.

While they're cooling, make your drizzle. Melt your white chocolate, you can do this carefully on the stovetop or in the microwave in 10-15 second increments stirring between each round in the microwave until smooth. Crush your one tablespoon of fruity cereal (I did this in a plastic bag) until it's nearly sandy. Stir the crushed cereal into your white chocolate.

Once your treats are cooled, remove from the pan and use your sharp knife to cut into 16 squares. Place your white chocolate mixture into a plastic bag (or piping bag). If using a plastic bag, cut a small hole in one corner until you can drizzle at your desired thickness - start small and you can always cut a larger hole. Decorate your treats however you like, let them set at room temperature or in the fridge, and enjoy!

These will taste best when fresh the day of, but you can also store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. If you need to stack the bars, use parchment paper in between the layers to avoid sticking.

Carb and serving info:  

Carbs per serving (1 of 16): 28

Carbs for full recipe: 447

Carbs from white chocolate: 66

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.