Rice Krispie Treats - Little Lawyer's Sweet Tooth

This summer, Little Lawyer wants to perfect her dessert making technique instead of her sleeping until noon technique, or her eating chicken nuggets and pop tarts until she blows up technique. She originally wanted to hone her infamous "I'm SOOOO Bored!!!" summer battle cry, but I quickly suggested the 'make desserts yourself every week over summer break' thing before she could think of something worse.

She picks what she wants to make. She makes 'em. We eat 'em.  Deliciousness ensues.

The only time I ever want a Rice Krispie Treat is (1) when we are in Downtown Disney in Orlando and we inevitably end up in the Earl of Sandwich where you can get one that...I kid you not...is 8 inches by 5 inches and 4 inches high and ama-ZING, or (2) when I see one of those sappy commercials on TV that show the Mom or Dad spending quality time with their preschool age sweetly behaved children. Yeah, then I look at the sticky, gooey mess and the craving passes.

Little Lawyer wanted to have a friend come over and hang out last week. I feel about about situations like this. LL doesn't have a bedroom (she rooms with me and Papa Bear) and doesn't have a lot of toys. She never was much of a "toy" kind of kid; she plays on the computer, reads, watches TV and does magic tricks.  We have a Wii, but all the games are in storage in who-knows-which box. We don't even use it to play games. We use it to watch movies on Netflix. I feel bad because there's nowhere for them to play/hang out and not much for them to do.

Her friend brought her own Wii games (yay!) and Jenga to play, and I thought it might be fun to let them make a snack...Rice Krispie Treats, anyone?

This has got to be, hands down, the easiest recipe in the universe. Only three ingredients, it takes five whole minutes to make and there is zero room for error.

That is, until...I get a hold of it! However, I like to think of it more as an improvement than an error...

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I added two more ingredients and doubled the recipe. It's who I am. Don't fight it...just go with it. Little Lawyer does.

The Original Three:  Rice Krispies, Marshmallows and Butter. We made double, so you're not seeing double...well, wait...yes you are seeing double because we made double. Ugh.

Melt the butter! This is the part that takes the longest...
(The first secret extra ingredient? A pinch of salt.)

Then add those marshmallows! Stir, stir, stir..then I hear "Mooooooom!!! This is too hard to stir!!"

Basically, you're looking for marshmallow fluff consistency here.

(The second secret ingredient? A capfull of vanilla.)

Stir, stir, stir - as if your life depended on it. With two hungry nine year olds drooling in the wings, my life did indeed depend on it.

Pour (okay, scrape and dump is way more like it) the mixture into a 9x13 pan lined with buttered foil. Since I doubled the recipe, I used a rimmed baking sheet instead.

Spread the mixture out as best as you can.

Useful tip:  Use a square (or two) of wax paper to use between your hand and the sticky stuff to help spread it out and pack it in.

Make sure it's spread out as even as possible and let it cool completely, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from pan using foil.  Peel back the foil on all four sides and cut into squares.  You could get creative here and use cookie cutters with different shapes, drizzle chocolate or caramel on top...

Whatever the finished product looks like, trust me...it will be an instant hit.

Rice Krispie Treats

(for a single 9x13 pan)

6 cups of Rice Krispie cereal
1 10 ounce bag of mini marshmallows
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, add the marshmallows to the pot. Stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and no visible lumps of marshmallows remain.  Remove from heat. Working very quickly, stir the cereal into the marshmallow goo. 

Once combined, dump the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish completely lined with buttered foil. Spread evenly into dish using a buttered spatula. Flatten (without crushing) with wax paper under the weight of your hand.

Let cool and harden for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from pan using the foil edges. Place foil onto flat surface and peel back the sides of the foil. Cut into squares.