rice krispies treatsSo I have a project on the horizon. At the end of November I will be making a cake and an assortment of treats for a wedding. The bride requested cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and Rice Krispies treats. My mom never made Rice Krispies treats for us growing up so I decided to start playing around with a recipe for them first. I made a batch from the original recipe on the box, just to see what it tasted like. YECH. Melted marshmallows and the tiniest bit of butter just didn't do it for me.
Who has been watching Top Chef Desserts? I have and I was ecstatic to see that the latest episode featured a sophisticated version of Rice Krispies treats. Eric the baker came up with a terrific recipe that used a sugar syrup mixed with melted butter to hold the krispies together. What a difference in taste that one step made. On top, Eric added a combination of peanut butter, nutella and milk chocolate followed by a layer of bittersweet chocolate. I went for all Nutella instead of adding peanut butter because I am obsessed with Nutella. You could also do just peanut butter if you wanted to and it would be delicious.
It takes a bit of planning because each layer has to set in the fridge for a few hours before adding the next layer, but I thought it was well worth it. The texture and taste are amazing and they looked so grown up when I cut into thin strips.
adapted from Eric Wolitzky's Peanut Butter Krispy Bars
http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/peanut-butter-krispy-bar
ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter melted
8 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups milk chocolate
4 cups Nutella
1 stick butter
2 cups bittersweet chocolate
1/2 stick of butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
instructions
Place Rice Krispies in a large bowl.
Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and spray thoroughly with nonstick spray (or if you have a silpat, now is the time to use it).
Combine the water, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a wisk or heat proof spatula until the sugar dissolves and mixture starts to boil (don't stir after that otherwise you will cause the the sugar to recrystallize!). Using a candy thermometer, cook until mixture reaches 240 degrees. Turn off heat and add melted butter, whisking to combine. Be very careful with the mixture---it is blazing hot and will cause quite a bad burn if you're not careful.
Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and toss vigorously to combine. Spread Krispies evenly onto sheet pan and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.Combine milk chocolate, Nutella and butter in a bowl and place on top of a saucepan (this set-up is called a bain-marie). Let everything melt 3/4's of the way, then take off the heat and stir continuously until the mixture is completely melted and combined.
Spread evenly on top of Krispies and return to the refrigerator for several hours until set.
Melt the bittersweet chocolate, corn syrup and butter following the same procedure as above. Spread evenly over the Nutella layer and let set in the refrigerator for several hours.
Remove from pan, cut with a sharp knife and enjoy!
