Nutty chocolate chip crunch bars

"Feast of Saint Valentine"

So I called this a nutty chocolate chip crunch bar, in all fairness. it’s really a rice krispies treat with extras. But the extras make it so yummy. Extras like, dried cranberries, milk chocolate chips, oatmeal and salted pistachios, YUM! The marshmallow glue holds it all together and when it cools its instant gratification.

As a child I hated rice krispies treats, and rice krispes for that matter. The cereal had no sugar, got soggy super quick and the store bought treats were way to sweet and lacked flavor dimensions. This coming from the taste buds of a kid. I have known for a very long time that home made almost always beats store bought.  

The ingredients for this recipe are not set in stone either. You can go to town with your nuts and dried fruit.  I had hazelnuts to add to mine however they were stale so I left them out.  The most time consuming part of this recipe is chopping the nuts. And that is the one thing I appreciate the most about this dessert. Easy, simple no baking involved and once its cooled you’re good to go. So for all the lazy ones out there like myself who have no patience for room temperature cooling just pop it right in the refrigerator to make the cooling process go even faster.

Makes 9 3X3 square bars

 

Ingredients: (Printable recipe)

3 cups rice krispies treats

1 ¼ ounce dried cranberries

¼ cup salted pistachios

½ cup milk chocolate chips

¾ cup quick oats

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 ½ cup mini marshmallows

2 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

Instructions:

• Oil a glass dish and set aside
• Chop pistachios, dried cranberries (or whatever nuts you choose) to apx the size of a rice krispies
• In a bowl combine, chopped nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips, oatmeal and rice krispies
• In a pot melt the butter on low add the marshmallow and stir until it is completely melted
• Stir in the vanilla bean paste and maple syrup
• Turn off the heat and add the rice Krispies mixture to the marshmallow and quickly stir coating all grains
• Pour into the prepared glass dish and press into place with the spatula or a greased piece of parchment paper
• Allow to set in the dish and take the shape for 5-8 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool
• Once completely cooled slice into squares and serve.

Greedy tips:

• Feeling special? Use 1 ½ cup rice krispies and 1 ½ cup coco krispies for extra chocolate
• Make sure to use quick oat so they are not too tough since there is no cooking
• Press the mixture into place with a greased parchment or wax paper
• Make sure its 100 percent cooled before you slice them into cubes
• I stored mine in the refrigerator with a layer of parchment between each so they don’t stick.or you can wrap them individually and store at room temp for about a week. 
•  Its cools very quickly so work fast once the rice is added to the melted marshmallow

Xoxo Greedygirl