Back in the fall of 2011 I posted about a Crispy Rice Treat experiment involving brown rice cereal and marshmallows that is definitely not trademarked (um, see original Kellogg's recipe here). I thought I had a solid go-to recipe any time I wanted a rice treat.
Then my Mom bought me some cereal.
It was on sale at Fresh & Easy, so she bought a little extra and let me try my own box. Now, I've certainly had rice cereal before and I can tell you they all pretty much taste the same. It's puffed rice. And that's it. But when you add strawberry to puffed rice you get something with the simple goodness of rice cereal and something even better: pink milk (edit: I should mention that this was almond milk for me, but I'm assuming the same thing would happen with dairy milk too). My first bowl tasted just like that Nestle childhood favorite: Strawberry Quik! Or, for those raised after 1997: Strawberry Nesquik!
That made me happy.
And then I had an idea.
Since I've seen crispy rice treat recipes with so many variations (mostly the amount of butter changes) and I didn't want to mess this experiment up, I went back to that classic Kellogg's recipe again and simply substituted the Goodness cereal in place of the Kellogg's brand. Unfortunately, my pan wasn't big enough to hold 40 large marshmallows plus 6 cups of cereal (I really should have halved the recipe). But once I transferred the mix to a pot it all turned out all right in the end.
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoon butter
40 regular marshmallows (the campfire kind rather than the mini)
6 cups Fresh & Easy brand Goodness Organic Cereal: Strawberry Crispy Rice (It's a mouthful to say, but it worked great! I haven't found another strawberry rice cereal but if you know a good brand feel free to share!)
Directions:
1.) In a very large nonstick frying pan (or just go with a nonstick pot if you have one), melt the butter on a low heat. Add in your marshmallows and let them sit a couple of minutes (while you monitor them) until they slowly start to melt too.
2.) With a wooden spoon (coated in nonstick cooking spray) stir the marshmallow mixture until marshmallow chunks are no longer visible and the mix is smooth. Then add in your rice cereal, stirring after every couple of cups so that the cereal is nice and evenly coated.
3.) Pour the treats into a 9-inch by 13-inch pan coated in nonstick cooking spray and press evenly into place with the spoon (or with your hands, which you can cover with plastic baggies coated with nonstick cooking spray). I didn't have the right size pan with me, so I used a cookie sheet pan with a lip to spread out the concoction and shape into a rectangle with my hands.
4.) Once the treats have cooled, cut them into rectangle pieces (the best you can with a large knife that won't scratch your pan) and separate the individual portions. Serve within a day or two so they don't get too hard from staleness.
I'm not gonna lie. These treats were messy. My rectangle-cutting skills leave a lot to be desired and the marshmallow in the treats kept sticking to everything (spoon, pan, fingers, each other)! But--also not a lie--they were so so good! Almost a little too rich (from the butter) but not quite. And very addicting (me and my taste tester nibbled on the little bits stuck to the spoon, measuring cup, pan, etc. and still went back for seconds...).
Easy to make, not too unhealthy for a "treat" (organic rice plus naturally nonfat marshmallows) and a unique flavor that's reminiscent of childhood. What more could you ask for? Maybe just a cup of coffee....
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| Not exactly a rectangle. Or a square. But not bad, right? |
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