Giving In To The Craving Of A Childhood Favorite

Reece's Pieces Cocoa Rice Krispie Treats

There are a couple of places that I'd like to point a finger of blame in the direction of as they are responsible for the contents of today's post.  First off, I blame the Food Network and their magazine.  I made the mistake of picking up a copy during my travels over the past couple of weeks and their focus this month was on back-to-school snacks.  That's right, deliciously tempting and easy to prepare snack foods.  Like those are ever easy to turn down. Pfffhtt.

Secondly, I blame Labor Day and how it commands thoughts of the impending new season of sweater wearing, apple picking and chillier nights (which might be my favorite time of year but I'll have plenty of time to get into that).  I also blame Reese's Pieces for looking so darn festive in the bag that they were practically screaming out at me from their spot on the shelf, begging me to take them home.  Lastly, I blame myself for waking up today with a totally off-the-wall and uncharacteristic craving that demanded attention.  Today, I wanted Rice Krispy Treats.

I can't even remember the last time I had a Rice Krispy treat.  Maybe at some point in college?  Nothing really stands out to me so you can imagine my surprise when this is what my belly was so demanding today.  Wanting to comply, I headed off to the store to round up my old pals Snap, Crackle and Pop along with a puffy bag of marshmallows.  And then, of course, those pesky little Reese's Pieces conned their way into the cart (sneaky little buggers).  Within about 15 minutes, I was wrist-deep in a cobweb of sticky melted marshmallow and crunchy bits of cocoa covered cereal.  I had to laugh as I got entangled in a web of this deliciously sweet snack in the making.  Once I broke free of the sticky mess, I pressed the chunk of marshmallow coated cereal into a wax lined pan and I let them them cool.

Once I decided that they were cooled enough, I cut them into squares and broke a piece off.  It resisted with strands of cooled marshmallow.  I took a bite.  The cereal popped and snapped noisily with each chomp.  The rich sugary taste of syrupy marshmallows, cocoa tinged cereal and the hints of peanut butter brought me back to my childhood and reminded me of school days.  Because my craving has been satisfied and I can't possibly eat all of these Rice Krispy Treats, I'm thinking that I'm going to bring these into my office tomorrow and right around 3 PM, take them out and let my co-workers enjoy snack time.

To get the recipe for Rice Krispy Treats, click HERE.