Cocoa Rice Krispies Treats

It's the Rice Krispies Treat for all you chocolate lovers. By simply replacing regular Rice Krispies with Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies, then adding a bit of cocoa to the recipe, we can mimick the exact flavor of the product you otherwise have to buy in boxes in the grocery store. This recipe makes 16 of the crunchy brown bars, or the equivalent of two boxes of the real thing.

3 tablespoons margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 teaspoons cocoa
6 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal
non-stick cooking spray

1. Combine margarine and salt in a large saucepan over low heat.

2. When margarine has melted, add marshmallows and vanilla and stir until marshmallows have melted. Add cocoa and stir well. Remove from heat.

3. Add Cocoa Krispies and stir until the cereal is well-coated with the melted marshmallow mixture.

4. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the dish and, using wax paper or lightly greased hands, press down until it's flat in the dish. Cool. Slice into 16 bars.
Makes 16 bars.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

We've all tasted the original Rice Krispies Treats. The homemade version is the next homework assignment in Cooking 101, after learning how to boil water. And the Kellogg's store-bought packaged version has been available to the lazier of us for several years now. This variety, however, puts that whole Reese's "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate" thing to work. The crunchy bar has just a touch of nutty essence that builds nicely on the other familiar flavors. But don't be fooled by that dark "chocolatey" coating on top. It's not actually chocolate, but rather a melt-resistant custom blend of cocoa and...stuff, that tastes a lot like chocolate; and which happens to work better for the product from a manufacturing, shipping, and shelf-life point of view. But here in JMR land, we don't have to worry about those things. So get ready to walk on the wild side people, as we step up to the microwave and melt some real chocolate chips for topping our cinch of a crunchy clone this week.

1 tablespoon margarine
3 tablespoon peanut butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips
non-stick cooking spray

1. Combine margarine, peanut butter and salt in a large saucepan over low heat.

2. When peanut butter and margarine have melted, add marshmallows and vanilla and stir until marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat.

3. Add Rice Krispies and stir until cereal is well-coated with the melted marshmallow mixture.

4. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. Pour the Rice Krispies mixture into the dish and, using wax paper or lightly greased hands, press down until it's flat in the dish. Cool.

5. Prepare the topping by pouring the chocolate chips into a glass dish. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50% power. Stir gently. Microwave for an additional minute on 50% power. Stir gently once more until smooth. If the mixture hasn't completely melted, zap it again for another 30 seconds.

6. Use a spatula to spread a thin layer of chocolate over the top of the Rice Krispies mixture. Cool at room temperature (at least 72 degrees), or chill until firm. Slice into 16 bars.

Makes 16 bars.

Variation: Try mixing 1/2 butterscotch chips and 1/2 milk chocolate chips for the topping. It gives the recipe a little extra oomph! I get rave reviews from everyone when I make them.

JMR Kitchen Tip: I've found that a spatula sprayed with "pam" or any type of cooking oil spray works wonders. It gets it nice and flat with no lumps or uneven spots.

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