Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie Treats are the first things I remember ever making. As a kid, they're practically all I ever wanted to eat, and I can still recall with startling clarity that first time I stood dwarfed at my mother's huge stove, standing on a step stool, stirring the sticky pot of cereal, marshmallow, and butter, to miraculously make a sum that was so much bigger than it's parts. It seemed like magic to me at the time, like a mysterious alchemy that ended in the most delicious treat, perfect parts chewy and crunchy. My tastes have now grown up a bit, but I still can't resist the occasional Rice Krispie Treat splurge, whether I make my own batch at home, or pick up a post-lunch brown butter version at Peels.

When I stumbled across a healthier recipe for the treats that was vegan, gluten-free and incorporated peanut butter, I was sold. Peanut butter? No fatty butter? Sounded too good to be true. Thankfully I was proven wrong once I took a bite of the quick batch I made one weekday night and tasted the results. They were even better than my childhood favorites, and probably had half the calories. I can now safely say that I will never make the regular kind again. My one caveat? Unless you wrap them in plastic, they don't stay as chewy as the originals given 24 hours or so, so they're best eaten the day they're made. But that's kind of a good problem, wouldn't you say? xo

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
From Food & Wine, March 2012
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil, plus more for greasing 
One 10-ounce bag marshmallows 
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 
7 ounces Rice Krispies Gluten Free with Brown Rice (6 cups)

Directions:
Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with coconut oil. In a large pot, melt the 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Add the marshmallows and cook thoroughly over low heat, stirring constantly, until they are melted, about 5 minutes. Add the creamy peanut butter and stir until incorporated. Remove the pot from the heat and immediately add the Rice Krispies. Using a wooden spoon or firm spatula, stir to coat them completely. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan and, using a sheet of wax paper, press evenly on the mixture to compact it. Let the Rice Krispie treats cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.