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I have chocolate for us today!
Thank God, right?!
I feel like it’s been forever since we have chatted about a serious chocolate dessert, so this post feels very much needed.
Side note: in reality, it’s only been seven days since my last chocolate treat was shared…hey, but seven days is a while around here!
OK so first, happiest Friday!! It’s been such a crazy week over here with Monday’s big cookbook cover reveal post, and then days full of awesome emails, cooking and working on some fun new lifestyle content. <–very excited about this!
While it was a great week, I’m still really happy it’s Friday, and totally ready for the weekend!! And obviously some chocolate too! My goals for the weekend include a few slightly different things than my usual. I’m not going to lie, my weekends are pretty much always working weekends, but I’m under a new mindset that I need to try to actually have a weekend, you know? So my goals are as follows…
…spend tonight totally chilling out with a good movie and make a fun dinner. Maybe not pizza, since that’s always my fall back, maybe something like these enchiladas?
…not spend all day Saturday working away and instead plan something fun for at least a few hours. Do you guys have any suggestions? It’s actually supposed to rain, which almost never happens here. I take that back, my mom just told me, no rain, 9-12 inches of snow tonight. Weather.com will automatically say rain if the temps are above 32 degrees, but up here at elevation it’s super weird, we’ll still have snow even when the temps are in the upper 40’s, even low 50’s. So indoor activities maybe? Thoughts? Ideas? I need your help!
…and for Sunday? Make tons of lists and PLAN. You guys, I am trying to be SO much better about being organized, but it’s hard. I am sort of in this routine of doing things as they come up and not thoughtfully planning my work days out. I know I would be SO much more productive if I actually planned…I just have a hard time doing that. Any tips on how to stay focused and plan, plan, plan? Anything you got would be extra appreciated!
So what are you guys doing this weekend?
Switching gears now and talking chocolate, YAY. These fun little hand-held treats, that I honestly just do not have the perfect name for, are SOOOO addictingly good. Like so good. The thing is that I just could not come up with a name to perfectly describe them. They taste kind of like a caramel rice krispie treat covered in chocolate, but yet there is zero caramel. And while there are hints of peanut butter, it’s not their main attraction, so I was (ok still am) a little stumped as to what exactly to call these things, but I’m going with chocolate covered peanut butter brown rice crisp treats.
If after reading the recipe and giving these a try, if you guys have a better name, let me know! 🙂
ANYWAY, let me tell you about these. Initially I wanted to make an Easter inspired caramel covered rice krispie treat…but made easier and healthier. One that would be perfect as and easy Easter dessert (cause somehow Easter is right around the corner). After multiple attempts, I finally landed on this perfect recipe just a few days ago and was so excited that I needed to share it ASAP.
Flavor wise, think rice krispie treat meets peanut butter cup, but with hints of caramel and minus a lot of the bad for us stuff. Instead of marshmallows, I used honey to hold everything together, and for the “caramel” it’s a mix of maple, coconut oil and cashew (or almond) butter. So not really caramel, but more of a sweetened nut butter, but yet…it does kind of taste like caramel.
Totally lost and confused? Yeah, sorry, but guys, just know that these are delicious, and that you really just need to make them. NEED too. Got it?
Cool. cool.
I made these with Easter in mind, but they would actually be perfect for just about any occasion…and so easy, which is always a very nice bonus!
If you do want to make them for Easter, you could use an egg-shaped cookie cutter to make them into chocolate covered eggs. I almost did that, but in the end I decided I didn’t need yet another cookie cutter taking up space in my kitchen…YIKES.
AND while these would be great for Easter, they would also be equally amazing to make just for today…I mean, duh!
Best Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Servings: 24 Bars
Calories Per Serving: 384 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter or coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups brown rice crisps
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 3 rounded tablespoons almond or cashew butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt together the butter and honey until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter. Add the rice crisps and stir until combined. Press the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer. Place in the freezer until firm.Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, microwave the coconut oil and maple syrup until smooth. Stir in the almond butter and vanilla until smooth and drizzle-able. Let cool until it's thick, but still pourable. Pour the mix over the frozen rice crisps. Cover and place in the freezer until firm, at least 1 hour or until completely firm and frozen.Use a 2 inch circle cookie cutter to cut the crispy treats into circles. Dip each into melted chocolate and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Transfer to the fridge to firm up. Keep stored in the fridge, covered, until ready to eat.
Honestly, do you see all that chocolate happening? Friday chocolate heaven –Â YUMM!
Just in case you didn’t get ultra Organized over the last year don’t worry to much about it! Believe it or not some of the most Creative people in the world work in Constant Chaos it isn’t that they would do better all organized either because they DON’T. The seeming chaos is a result of their creativity and taking time out to try and be all organized really dampens that. I am one of those types My Art Studio starts out nice and neat the beginning of every month (when I straighten it up to take inventory of what I am low on or out of) by the time a week has passed it looks like Armageddon hit and there might be missing small children and animals in the rubble, I Paint and sculpt in a dozen mediums along with sewing, woodworking carving, metal work and jewelry design.I have a 40×40 studio (my husband seem to think it should be a garage but that’s not why I had it built) The only thing I keep neat and organized is my Kitchen for health reason but even that often looks like a flour factory exploded by the time I have sated my baking craving ((I don’t even eat sweets for health reasons) but I love baking for friends and family and they love sweets. I did make these and they were loved by all I did chop up some Cashews and add them with the cacao brown rice crisps
I love that! I am so glad your family loved this recipe Sandra! Thank you!
For the 1/3 cup,of coconut oil can something else be substituted? BTW all your recipes sound and look fabulous! I have to say it is nice to see a place where I can get recipes and get substitutes to be used because of my gluten and dairy issues. Can’t wait to make these!
Hi! You could use melted butter in place of the coconut oil. Would that work? Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
PS. so happy you are enjoying my recipes and able to adapt them to your needs!
I couldn’t get this recipe out of my head. I figured it would be a good way to use up the last of the puffed rice cereal in the cupboard (it seems like a never ending box no matter how many rice treats I make). Now I’m just sad I didn’t make these sooner. OH MY! There is something very unique about this recipe. Not your standard rice crispy square. DELICIOUS! Your recipes never disappoint. Enjoy your holidays 🙂
I am so glad you like these! Thank you so much!
Question: When I melted my chocolate (Tollhouse semi-sweet chips) it never got thin enough to get the thin, smooth layer in your photos. Despite being fully melted, the first attempt at dipping ended up resembling a Swamp Thing. I used the microwave to melt @ 50% power in 30-45 second increments, stirring between each. Continued heating did not help. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Hey carol! So I used a bar of dark chocolate, which melts much, mush smoother than chocolate chips. I recommend using a bar of chocolate, it can be dark, milk, or semi-sweet. Bars of chocolate melt much smoother than chocolate chips. Sorry for the trouble. Let me know if you have questions. Thank you! 🙂
Tempering is your friend if you want a nice finish and don’t want the necessity to store them in the fridge.
Ah, yes a great idea if you can not get them in the fridge! Thanks Nora!
These look great, I’m going to make them for Easter. What kind of icing is that in some of the pictures? I might try to decorate a few of them for some variety. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Hey John! That is just melted white chocolate. Super simple, but works really well and you can color it too! Let me know if you have questions. Happy Easter!
I made these with my kids. They are super sweet and rich, but delicious. I’ll cut the sweetener next time. We found it impossible to dip in chocolate… they just melted and fell apart,even straight from the freezer. We ended up drizzling the chocolate, which made for a less rich tasting bar.
Hey Christina! Sorry they where on the sweet side for you and so sorry about the trouble when dipping. I like to freeze mine for a few hours just to be safe so that they are really solid when you dip them in chocolate. Maybe try freezing over night next time OR just drizzle the chocolate over top and then cut into bars. Let me know if you have questions. So glad you guys enjoyed these! 🙂
These look awesome! Can I ask what you would substitute for the honey to make them vegan? More maple syrup?
Yup, more maple will be great! Hope you love these! 🙂
Hey there- sorry if this question has already been answered, but will it change the flavor or composition of the recipe if just peanut butter is used (and not a combo of peanut and almond butters)? Thank you!
Hi Juliet, using just peanut will work great! I do it all the time. 🙂 hope you love these!
These look like a fancied-up version of rice cripsies. They look so decadent and delicious, yet they also seem really simple and easy-to-make! I haven’t baked (okay, this isn’t technically baked, but you get what I mean) anything in a long time and I was looking for something simple to get me started again, and this is just perfect! Thanks so much for sharing this 🙂 x
This is the perfect recipe to get back into it! Let me know how it goes!
Thanks Cathy! Hope you have fun (:
This looks incredible!!! Need these in my life STAT!
Yes!! So happy you like them! Thanks Eden!
YUM! I made these this afternoon, and they turned out amazing. Let me tell you, I am not a big baker at ALL…the measuring, 130 steps, precision…I always mess something up! I’m much better with cooking.
But these were so easy! So happy I went outside my comfort zone and gave them a try. Thanks for posting!
YAY! So happy they were easy!! Thank you for making them (:
I just love these treats! A little chocolate and PB goodness is just what the weekend needs 🙂
Its what every weekend needs! Thanks Laura!
This recipe sounds like a perfect use for my left over brown rice crisps! Is there anyway to sub the maple syrup for something else? I don’t have any on hand and I dread going to the store on the weekends. 🙂
Hi! Sorry I am just getting to your comment not. You can use honey in place of the maple. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love these. Thank you! 🙂
Another fun, creative recipe that cannot miss. Thanks, Tieghan!
My first thought was to wrap a few in cellophane to include in the Easter baskets I will be mailing to my out-of-town daughters. Do these really need to be refrigerated? If so, I will just keep them here for in-town consumption.
Hmm, I think to be safe, it is best to keep them in the fridge. I am worried the might get too soft to mail. So sorry! Hope they are a hit otherwise. 🙂