Friday, December 11, 2009

Peppermint Krispies, Oh My Goodness

We all know rice krispie treats are pretty much the pinnacle of awesomeness, in terms of things-that-can-happen-to-cereal. And, normally, I'm a big fan of the traditional treats. HOWEVER. This rendition of the treats is so delicious, and so holiday appropriate, you're going to need to go out and make it immediately. See below.

I wanted to make peppermint krispies, but just wasn't sure they'd work. It was important that at least some of them turn out, because I had to take them to work, because at work we have a longstanding tradition that on your birthday, the "Birthday Pirate" comes through the lab and leaves treats next to the coffee machine. He also miraculously knows the email address for the list serve and sends a pirate themed announcement of the treats. So, it was my turn to be the pirates secret helper (he's a terrible baker, really), and I couldn't make the pirate look bad. Therefore, I did the recipe in halves, but if I could go back in time (even pirates can't do that) I'd just do them all peppermint. Nevertheless, I will give you the full and accurate rendition...

Half-batch #1: Peppermint Krispies
-half a cube of butter (yeah, sorry, it makes them delicious)
-3 candycanes, crushed however you can figure out to crush them (I smushed them with a glass)
-half a bag of marshmallows
-3 cups rice krispies (I used generic krispies, because really, they're identical)

Melt the butter, and when its about half melted, throw in half the candy cane pieces. These are going to totally melt. If they look like a clumpy mess, don't panic- it'll all work out when the marshmallows go in. When the butter is melted, dump in the marshmallows. Stir pretty much constantly, until they are all just melted and its all smooth. Turn off the heat, and dump in the 3c krispies. Now, with the krispies, put in the remaining candy cane (these pieces won't melt and will look cute). Pour it all into a greased glass pan, and press down with waxed paper if you need to. Prepare to be amazed. Yum. Seriously amazing.

Half Batch #2- Chocolate Krispies
These were the back up batch, and they were great on their own, and also in combination with the peppermint. Basically, make the entire recipe above, minus the candy cane. After the krispies are about half stirred in, pour in some chocolate chips. They're going to kind of melt, and make swirls of chocolate through the bars (it shouldn't be uniform, this is part of the charm. otherwise you might as well have used cocoa krispies, which are scary and wrong). Put in pan, as above. These need to cool a bit longer than normal bars, because the chocolate needs to get hard. If you're in a time emergency, you can stick them in the freezer for a bit. These are also delicious, and totally worth making. But, make the peppermint ones, too :).

I've had a long internal debate about whether, really, the next logical step is to do peppermint-chocolate krispie treats. It would be over the top, but its just a question of whether its in a good way or not... if you try, by all means let me know!

3 comments:

nancy said...

Just a question here, as it's been a long time since I made rice crispie treats. By a half cube of butter, do you mean half a stick?

I think VC and I need to make these when she comes for the holidays!

yellowfish said...

You definitely need to make them when she comes out!

Well, in the posted recipe, I used the proportions on the box, which was 1 stick butter (.5cup) for 1 bag marshmallows and 6cups krispies (I had just cut that in half, to make 2 half batches, so each half batch had half a stick). But, I just made another batch to take to a party, and I used half a stick (.25cup) for the full recipe (1 bag/6c krispies), and they tasted just fine, so I'd probably do that, just because who needs all that extra butter!

nancy said...

Thanks! Cool that they work with less butter, because, let's be honest, we can eat more if they have less fat! ;-)

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