Krispie Conundrum - Rice Krispie Teaser.....

So my littlest nephew is about to celebrate his 2nd birthday and I have been assigned the task of creating an edible cake topper. I am not going to give any more clues now.

This is just a teaser preview... Cause I still have a lot of work to do. LOL

My edible "Styrofoam" pieces have been completed......

Lots and LOTS of Rice Krispie Treats....

All formed by hand with the help of Nitrile Gloves.

Things I have learned from this little adventure.......

Cocoa Rice Krispies have a chocolate coating on the outside, that, while great for turning your milk chocolatey, does not foster ease of Krispie treat construction... They get REALLY sticky, clingy and gooey. I won't be using them again any time soon. At least not in this kind of endeavor.

Tune in for the next installment -----> Fondant Coverage and Final Construction.

I love Birthdays!!!

Stay Hungry
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The BEST Kind of Leftovers... Aside from Cold Pizza

So what do you do with the left over Rice Krispies from making Rice Krispie Treats? OK, aside from making MORE Rice Krispie treats. You make Rice Krispie Cookies......

They were suggested by my mother. So I decided to start pokin around on the internet and see what I could find on these cookies. I did find a lot of recipes, starting in 2001 with Josette Aaron who won a baking contest, but her recipe had nuts and less sugar. There were several others as well. Some with Shortening, others with only granulated sugar, and still others had no oatmeal, but twice the amount of Rice Krispies.

As I was lamenting the fact that there were a million and four variations, my mom handed me a recipe that she had acquired from her friend Judy Bjorge. So I decided that it would probably be in my best interest to listen to mom and use Judy's recipe to make them. (See, with age comes wisdom) LOL

OK, I admit I fudged just a little... I added an extra 1/2 cup of Rice Krispies.... ;)

Rice Krispie Cookies

3 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cream of Tarter
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Unsalted Butter
1 large Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Peanut oil (or vegetable)
1 cup Quick Oats
1 cup Shredded Coconut
1 1/2 cup Rice Krispies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk the Flour, Baking Powder, Cream of Tarter and Salt together, then set aside.

Cream the Granulated and Brown Sugars together with the Butter until light and fluffy.

Mix in the Egg and Vanilla.

Beat in the Oil until well combined.

With the mixer on low, begin adding the flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to prevent a dust cloud.

Once all the flour is incorporated, add the Quick oats and mix until combined.

Once a soft dough has been achieved, fold in the Coconut and the Rice Krispies.

Drop onto parchment lined baking sheets.

Flatten slightly with a fork, in a cross pattern, like you would for Peanut Butter Cookies.

Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Move to a cooling rack.

Brew a BIG pot of Coffee... Cause these things are EVIL good!!! Thank GOD the recipe makes 5 dozen. They will last about 2 days...... Maybe...

Mangia!!
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When The Moon Is In The 7th House, and Jupiter Aligns With Mars; What Is The Average Weight Of A Marshmallow?

This might seem like a slightly odd thing for me to post about. I mean who doesn't know how to make Rice Krispie treats, right? But I discovered something interesting.... Surprisingly, there are conflicting recipes out there for even the basic form. I was flabbergasted. Especially since I thought the recipe I had was from the back of the Rice Krispie box... Or at least it use to be when I was a kid, I think. I am confused now.

OK, the whole thing started with the fact that I am not really a cereal eater, cause I don't drink milk.... BUT, I still had this huge amount of Rice Krispies left over from making the Crispy Almond Butter Balls. SO in an effort to reduce the amount of space being utilized in my pantry, I decided to throw some together. Which was all well and good until I realized, upon noticing the recipe on the back of the Rice Krispie box, that

A. It called for 10 oz of marshmallows... Well Kraft's Jet Puffed marshmallows are sold in a 16 oz package, both the large and miniature ones. Hmmmmmmmm Western Family brand's regular size come in a 10.5 oz bag and Campfire regular size are in a 10 oz bag, but the Miniatures are a 10.5 oz bag.

B. The box said that you can do this in a microwave... Huh? That seemed a little odd to me, cause marshmallows expand to an alarming size when nuked. That sure didn't seem safe to me. And it only takes about 5 minutes on the stove... Funny, according to the microwave directions, it takes 5 minutes too... Hmmmmmmm

C. They were only calling for 3 TB of butter. That seems like such a drop in the proverbial bucket. I use at least 4 TB and then more to butter the dish, as well as more for rubbing my hands down for pressing... :) (Mainly because I have tried using the waxed paper method, but it still sticks)

Another thing that puzzled me deeply was that it stated that 40 marshmallows was 10 oz. I am sure that someone in a test kitchen somewhere performed some brilliantly complex calculations, factoring in the gravitational effects when Mars is in perihelic opposition, to conclude the standard weight of a Marshmallow. I greatly salute their efforts. Now I wonder if they calculated the average air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? European, of course. ;) A hem...

My findings however - cause you KNOW that I just HAD to check it out... ;) - are that Campfire Marshmallows weight slightly less... Or at least they did today. Maybe the moon is in Apogee and tidal forces are low or it could be a previously unknown effect of global warming. ;)

Either way, it takes about 44 normal sized Campfire Marshmallows to equal 10 oz. This means that if you used 40 Marshmallows, you would only have 9.09 oz. Oh, and the miniatures...? 4 cups is not 10 oz, it's 10.5 which is fine, cause that is how many I use.

The only thing that was consistent between the recipe on the cereal box, the recipe on the marshmallow package and the one that I have always used was the amount of Rice Krispies themselves.... 6 cups. YAY! I found something we all agree on.

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!!

Rice Krispie Treats

(The way I do it)

4 oz unsalted Butter - Plus 2 TB more; divided
10.5 oz (298 g) bag of Campfire Miniature Marshmallows (Basically the whole bag)
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
6 Cups (5.5 oz) (162 g) Rice Krispies or other crisped rice cereal

First, use 1 TB unsalted Butter to rub down a 12 x 7 inch baking dish.

Melt the 4 TB butter in a large saucepan over medium flame. (about 3 minutes unless at room temp)

Add the Mini-Marshmallows and stir constantly until melted. (about 2 minutes)

Stir in Kosher Salt.

Add Rice Krispies and fold until well coated.

Dump the mixture into the prepared baking dish and grease your hands up with the remaining TB of butter and press the mixture evenly into the dish.

Let sit at least 20 minutes to cool and harden.

Cut into 2 inch pieces. (with a pizza cutter)

Then just TRY to not sit and eat the whole pan by yourself. I have a hard time resisting the Sweet buttery salty crunch. Mmmmmmm Truly a comfort food for me, from my earliest childhood memories.....

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation --- Aquarius...... Aquarius....

Mangia!!
~~

Put Some Snap! Crackle! Pop! Into Your Candy - Crispy Almond Butter Balls

This is an OLD family recipe, though not a secret by any means. Just something that my mom use to make when we were kids, that I am really hungry for. Originally made with Crunchy Peanut Butter, I have opted for Almond Butter with Sea Salt due to the amount of persons I know who are allergic to peanuts. You could even use Sunflower Seed butter or Hazelnut Butter if you like; though Cashew might be a little questionable, not sure bout that one. Just be sure that the "Butter" you are using does not contain any sugar like JIF, Skippy and Peter Pan; which are LOADED with it already. When made with peanut butter, they are very similar to Reese's Peanut Butter cups, only round and with crispy rice in them... YUM!

I use to love making these when I was a kid. Aw heck, I will be honest. I just liked dipping them in chocolate, or rather, eating spoonfuls of melted chocolate when my mom wasn't looking. Yeah, I was a little stinker back then... Not that a whole lot has changed since I reached adulthood. ;)

The real reason I am making these though, is because I got a new toy to play with. A chocolate melter pot. Hopefully this will solve the issue of overheating the chocolate and having it UN-Temper and never harden properly. (We always had to store these in the refrigerator when I was a kid, to keep the chocolate from getting soft and gooey) And I can think of no better use for Rice Krispies than this, aside from a large bowl doused with half & half for breakfast.

So come on over and join me in the fun, along with Snap, Crackle, & Pop!

Crispy Almond Butter Balls

8 oz (226 g) Unsalted butter
17.5 oz (496 g) (about 2 cups) Creamy Almond Butter
1 lb (453 g) Confectioners' sugar (a whole entire box of C & H Powdered Sugar)
2 oz (57 g) (about 2 rounded cups) Rice Krispies (or other toasted rice cereal; not puffed)
16 oz (453 g) Milk Chocolate for dipping (just like Reese's Peanut butter cups)

Place butter and peanut butter in the top of a double boiler/Bain Marie;

Stir until melted.

Work in half of the Confectioners' sugar.

Remove from the heat and fold in the remaining Confectioners' sugar.

Fold in the Rice Krispies.

Using a small spoon or scoop, scoop out 2 tsp of the filling and press it into a 1 inch ball.

When you are finished, you will have about 72-76 balls; Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Line the counter or a baking sheet with waxed paper, then place down a cooling rack.

In a double boiler melt 16 oz Chocolate:
If you are using Semi-Sweet, do not heat above 110 degrees
if you use Milk, or White, do not heat above 100 degrees.
Or, if you have a chocolate melter, follow the instructions that accompanied your unit.

This is where I get to play with my new toy... :)
Mine says to melt 4 oz of chocolate on setting #2 (please not the coffee I had to consume to stay awake... Watched chocolate never melts)

Then turn to setting #1 to keep it warm and add the remaining 4 oz of chocolate (I assume this is somewhat like "seeding" the chocolate) The residual heat of the melted chocolate will cause the added chocolate to melt

Dip each Crispy Almond Ball, in the chocolate,

letting excess drip off.

Place each dipped Peanut butter ball onto the cooling rack (you want to keep the "foot" as small as possible.)

If chocolate is not setting fast enough, place baking sheet in refrigerator.

Store in an air tight container in refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Mangia!!
~~