Fun fact: I was a Girl Scout Camp Science Educator one summer in college.
Yep, I taught earth/life science for one glorious summer in the great outdoors. It was amazing. Besides learning how to educate kids between the age of 6 and 18, I also gained another important life skill.
How to make Rice Crispy Treats.
While s’mores are the quintessential treat, they are pretty messy and labor intensive. You need to gather firewood, make a fire, prevent the fire from dying before everyone has a chance to make a s’more, make sure the fire is put out before bedtime, and try to figure out how to get melted marshmallow out of someone’s favorite sweatshirt… yeah, not the easiest dessert to make.
Crispy Treats have all the oozy marshmallow yummy-ness of the s’more, but without all the mess. During the four week-long summer, I think I made over a hundred rice crispy treats. And besides giving me amazing arms that summer (all.the.stirring.), I feel in love with this simple dessert.
But I can never leave well enough alone, so I decided to mash my two camp dessert favorites – the s’more and the crispy treat – into a super camp dessert.
The S’more Crispy Treat.
Graham cereal is mixed into melted marshmallow and drizzled with copious amounts of dark chocolate.
This is summer remixed.
And a perfect homage to that amazing summer all those years ago!
The S’more Crispy Treats start with the cereal!
I portioned out a whole box of graham cereal into a bowl and set it aside… because once the marshmallows are melted, you have to get moving. Having everything out and readily accessible is the secret to success!
Then in a heavy bottomed pot set over medium-low heat, add in some unsalted butter. When the butter is melted, add in a bag and a half of marshmallows – any size works here! Stir constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted!
*Note – I usually make these in my large enameled soup pot, but I tried using my large Le Creuset braiser (basically a large deep-sided skillet) this time around and IT WAS AMAZING. I was able to really mix everything together so much easier. But, if you don’t have a non-stick deep sided skillet, a heavy bottomed pot always works.
Dump the cereal into the melted marshmallow and work quickly to mix everything together and evenly coated the cereal in the marshmallow.
Pour the mixture immediately into a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet. Spray your [clean] hands with some cooking spray and use them to press the treats into an even, flat layer – it works much better than using a spatula. **CAUTION: the mixture is still hot so be careful!** Please note that this mixture will not fill a normal sized rimmed baking sheet (more like 2/3s) – I just like the thickness of the treats in this pan size.
Finally, heat some good dark chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each heating. When the chocolate is completely melted, add in some cool chocolate and stir to combine. This is my fake take on tempering chocolate so it looks nice on the crispy treats!
Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the treats before allowing the treats to cool completely before slicing into squares/rectangles.
If you want a bit more chocolate oomph, feel free to drip the cooled, sliced treats into melted chocolate and allowing the chocolate to set before eating. Either was is delicious!
Definitely a new summertime dessert staple!
oxox,
Catherine
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 15oz marshmallows
- 12oz box (standard size) graham cereal - I used Golden Grahams
- 4oz dark chocolate, divided
- In a large, heavy pot (or a non-stick high sided skillet) set over medium heat, add in butter. When the butter is melted, add in the marshmallows and stir constantly until melted.
- Add in the graham cracker cereal. Quickly fold the cereal into the marshmallow. When the cereal is all coated, pour the cereal mixture into a parchment paper-lined high-sided baking sheet. *CAUTION: the mixture can still be hot* Spray your hand with cooking spray and press the cereal into an even, flat layer (it won't spread out to the whole baking sheet!). Allow the treats to cool completely.
- Melt 3 oz of the dark chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in thirty second intervals, stirring after each heating. When the chocolate is completely melted, add in the remaining one ounce of chocolate and stir until melted. Drizzle the crispy treats with the dark chocolate. Allow everything to set for at least one hour.
- Cut the treats into squares/rectangles before serving. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply