Here’s the sitch- I love to bake. In fact, baking is my all-time favorite fall sport! I will bake brownies, cookies, rolls, breads- all that good sugary stuff. However, I also really value my wallet and my time. Baking Pinterest perfect peanut butter bars takes a lot of time and some money. During midterm season, I just don’t have that kind of effort or time left in me. Over the course of this semester, though, I have solved my conundrum for wanting to bake in no time and with no cash.
I call it: Will it Rice Krispie?
Sure, I’ve made some questionable combos, but who’s to say they weren’t still amazing? Here’s some ideas for you to get baking on a budget!
First, let’s cover the basics- rice krispie treats are just marshmallow with some kind of cereal base mixed with butter and then heated all together. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. For all of these recipes, I used a basic Rice Krispie recipe and just swapped the cereal and toppings out. Voilà!
1. Campfire Rice Krispies
Take graham cracker bears as your cereal base and mix with the marshmallows. Top with the chocolate of your choice.
2. Butter-beer Rice Krispies
Make a regular batch of rice krispies but add in a packet of butterscotch pudding powder while you are mixing together the warm marshmallows and cereal.
3. Yard Sale Rice Krispies
Take all your leftover cereals (I know we all have that half-eaten bag of Cap’n Crunch hiding in our pantry) and mix them together as your cereal base. Enjoy your Cheerioy-Trixy-Cocoa Puffy treats and thank me later.
4. Rice Krispie Sushi
Make a batch of rice krispies, and while the cereal is still warm, mold some “rice” patties. Then, take a fruit roll-up and wrap a Swedish fish onto the “rice” using the fruit roll-up. Am I 5? Probably. Am I happy? Absolutely!
5. Add in any and all the toppings
Look, you can jazz up any old Rice Krispies just by adding some random ingredients. Chocolate, M&Ms, Reese’s, Snickers, Chocolate (or just regular) Gummy Bears, candy canes whether or not it’s Christmas, nerds, raisins (I’m not writing this to be judged), Peeps if you’re weird (I didn’t say I was here to not judge), pop rocks, pumpkin spice, peanut butter, Netulla- The list could go on. All I’m saying is if you want to try it, just throw the topping in and see what happens.
6. Use chips instead of cereal
This is by far my craziest concoction, but definitely one of the best as well. Skip the rice krispie cereal and just use crushed Original Lays potato chips instead. Go heavy on the marshmallow here, as the salt content of the chips can overwhelm the treat. Don’t knock this combo till you try it- honestly, potato chip marshmallow treats are kinda like fries and ice cream. Weird, but very good. I’ve also seen Cheeto marshmallow treats and though I will never try that combo, cheezy marshmallows aren’t necessarily the most horrendous thing I’ve heard of.
Maybe these marshmallow treat ideas inspired you, or maybe they disgusted you, but either way, you definitely will never forget these not-so-basic rice krispie treats. Thanksgiving is on the way, so why not be kind to your wallet and use your break to test one of these recipes? Trust me, you will not be disappointed!