| By :
Dennis Weaver
The sun filtered through the pines casting lacy shadows across the meadow and a gentle breeze whispered through the trees, rippling the grass in the meadow below. In the distance, we could hear the gentle babbling of the mountain brook. In the dark pines against the far hill, a squirrel chattered. The afternoon sky was a deep blue without even the wisp of a cloud. It was the perfect place and time for a picnic. My wife and I had hiked deep into the Big Hole Mountains in Idaho. We were just finishing a picnic spread upon a tablecloth in the soft grass. For dessert, we reached for Marionberry White Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats. It was the perfect ending to the picnic. Some time ago, we started experimenting with Rice Krispie treats adding fruit and nuts and chocolate. White chocolate was a real winner. Then we learned that we could add peanut butter or a favorite jam. The jam left them just a bit sticky but they were just fine. So instead of jam, we added tidbits of raspberry, blueberry, or strawberry. These were very good. They may not be any better than jam but they were no longer sticky. Oh, and there are some things that didn't work. Adding food color does not work very well. There is just enough brown color in the Rice Krispies to make the colors turn out "muddy"—at least that was the case with pastel colors. Adding flavors was marginal. It seems that the porous cereal tended to capture some of the flavor and make it unavailable to the taste buds; it took too much flavor to have an impact. (And if you use too much of many flavors, the flavor turns bitter.) Here are three Rice Krispie treat recipes for grownups.
Cranberry White Chocolate Rice Krispie® Treats Recipe
This is simply Rice Krispie Treats with added white chocolate chips and dry cranberries. The white chocolate melts into the marshmallow mixture and makes for a much richer and very attractive bar. This is very suitable for guests. It is nearly as simple as the original recipe. Look for white chocolate chips made with cocoa butter instead of vegetable or coconut oil. Ingredients 4 tablespoons butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 tablespoon good quality vanilla
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
6 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispie cereal or equal
3/4 cup dry cranberries Directions Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. 1. In a large pan on the stovetop, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows. Stir until the mixture is melted, hot, and smooth. Add the vanilla.
2. Add the white chocolate chips, rice cereal, and cranberries. Stir until the cereal is uniformly combined with the marshmallow mixture.
3. Remove the mixture to the buttered pan. Evenly distribute the mixture and press it down into the pan with buttered fingers, a piece of waxed paper, or a spatula. Let cool and cut into squares. Baker's notes: The white chocolate chips will melt in the hot marshmallow mixture. If you use a large enough pan, you can mix the treats right in the pan, not in a bowl. The hot pan makes it a little easier to stir the mixture together and there is less clean-up. Rice Krispie Treats are best eaten the same day.
Marionberry White Chocolate Rice Krispie® Treats
Add a cup of jam and some white chocolate and you'll have a treat for everyone. Vary the jam though seedless is nicer. Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 tablespoon good quality vanilla
1 1/2 cups white chocolate wafers or 1 cup white chocolate chips
9 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispie® cereal or equal
1 cup or 8-ounce jar of seedless marionberry jam Directions 1. Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
2. In a large pan on the stovetop, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows. Stir until the mixture is hot, melted, and smooth. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla, white chocolate, and jam and stir.
3. Add the cereal and stir until the cereal is uniformly combined with the marshmallow mixture.
4. Remove the mixture to the buttered pan. Evenly distribute the mixture and press it down into the pan with buttered fingers, a piece of waxed paper, or a spatula. Let it cool and cut it into squares.
Raspberry White Chocolate Rice Krispie® Treats Recipe
Raspberry and white chocolate is a terrific combination. To make these treats, white chocolate chips and raspberry tidbits—little baking chips—were added. Try them also with blueberry or strawberry tidbits. Berry tidbits are baking chips. Instead of drops with pretty little curly tops, they are cut into squares much like chocolate cookie chunks. Ingredients 4 tablespoons butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 tablespoon good quality vanilla
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
6 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispie cereal or equal
3/4 cup strawberry, raspberry, or blueberry tidbits Directions Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. 1. In a large pan on the stovetop, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows. Stir until the mixture is melted, hot, and smooth. Add the vanilla.
2. Add the white chocolate chips and rice cereal. Stir until the cereal is uniformly combined with the marshmallow mixture and then add the tidbits and stir until they are just distributed. The tidbits will partially melt in the warm mixture.
3. Remove the mixture to the buttered pan. Evenly distribute the mixture and press it down into the pan with buttered fingers, a piece of waxed paper, or a spatula. Let cool and cut into squares.
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