snap crackle yum

as a vegetarian, it is not often that i can eat rice krispie treats since i would say that just about everyone makes theirs with marshmallows (the alternative i knew of was using fluff). however, i recall about four years ago my friend keri from work brought in peanut butter rice krispie treats, and when i declined because of the marshmallows she said they didnt have any. now i didnt have a stopwatch on, but i can assure you that there was smoke coming off of my shoes. when i was a teenager, i would often fix myself a bowl of rice krispies with peanut butter instead of milk, i know that sounds weird, but if you try it, you will love it. anyway, keri’s treats were delicious and i filed the recipe away for later use. sadly, i think i only made them once; i am not sure why, really, now that i think about it.

i am going to the after party of a charity walk tomorrow (in support of a great cause that has affected the family of one of my best friends- polycystic kidney disease), and when i asked erica what i could bring, she said if i wanted to bring something that she could go for something with chocolate and peanut butter. of course i want to bring something! if you have been reading my blog, you know that i like to tamper with recipes quite often, so when i found a recipe on Annie’s Eats for peanut butter crispy bars with chocolate i decided to swap out their plain krispie layer for keri’s bars.

since the recipe i was using for the bottom layer called for 3 cups of cereal rather than the 1 3/4 that the base recipe used, i decided to go with a 9×13 pan rather than 8×8 instead of just reducing the proportions. and since i was using peanut butter in the bottom layer, i thought that perhaps they might be too rich if i increased the peanut butter chocolate layer to be used in a larger pan, so i left that the same. for the top layer i modified it for the larger pan size. i must say, i am quite pleased with the proportions…these came out pretty gosh darn good!

(follow-up: these were a HUGE hit… i had people track me down at the party to tell me how much they loved them. definitely a keeper!)

Recipe:

peanut butter krispie layer:

1/2 cup Light Karo Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 cup Peanut Butter

3 cups Rice Krispies

In a large sauce pan heat syrup, sugar and salt until dissolved. Add Peanut Butter and heat on low until PB is melted. Remove from heat and mix in Rice Krispies. Spread into 13×9 inch pan and refrigerate until completely cooled

chocolate peanut butter layer:

5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (use half a bag of chips)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

heat in a medium sauce pan until completely melted. pour over krispie layer, then refrigerate for about an hour or until completely set

chocolate icing:

5 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

3/4 tsp. light corn syrup

6 tbsp. butter

you can use a sauce pan, but if you have a tendency to burn things, you will be better off using a double boiler. stir over heat until smooth. let cool for 30 seconds to a minute, then carefully spread over chilled peanut butter chocolate layer. refrigerate at least an hour, up to 3-4 days if tightly covered. slice and enjoy!!