Everyone has some food that makes them nostalgic. For me, that food is not Rice Krispie Treats. I remember making them one time as a kid, and really enjoying the baking process and how easy/fun it was to melt marshmallows. They’re a pretty ideal treat to make with kids. But I have never particularly loved eating Rice Krispie Treats as a dessert. Especially as I grew up, if I ever found myself in possession of a Rice Krispie Treat, I would mostly just enjoy squishing it into a pancake while it was still in its wrapper. It was a far more satisfying experience. But I digress. Despite all this ambivalence towards Rice Krispie Treats, I was easily persuaded by this recipe for a PB&J version. Anything with peanut butter is going to sway me to being interested, and then adding jelly is only going to make it better.
And these were, unsurprisingly, way better than normal Rice Krispie treats. Adding peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk add a deeper flavor, and the Smucker’s strawberry jelly does a lot of heavy lifting in making it a truly nostalgic treat.
I think these are an ideal afternoon snack kind of treat. My siblings and I have discussed a few times what it would be like to try and return to the diets and snacking habits we had as middle schoolers. For my sister, that would mean blending butter and sugar together and eating it with a spoon. Followed by a Stouffer’s spinach souffle. For my brother, that means toast with a hearty helping of butter and about an inch of cinnamon sugar. For me that mean approximately 20 Ritz cracker sandwiches with peanut butter and Nutella. I think it would be difficult, if not impossible, for all of us to return to those ways. I just don’t need afternoon snacks in quite the same way. But I still do appreciate an afternoon pick-me-up, so this fits the bill. And having your dessert in the afternoon means no bedtime sugar rush. A win-win.
As much as I enjoy them, I don’t think these bars are going to be my gateway into continuously riffing on Rice Krispie treats. But, while walking through the cereal aisle, I learned that the make mini Reese’s Puffs now? (There’s got to be some baking potential there…) I used to only learn about new sugar cereals during the ad breaks on the Disney Channel. How are adults supposed to learn about ground breaking news like this? Do kids even watch TV with commercial breaks anymore?
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PinIngredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 (10-ounce) bag mini marshmallows
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, sweetened, such as Skippy’s
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 cups rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
1/2 cup your jelly of choice
Instructions
1.Grease an 8-inch square cake pan with softened butter. Line with a long piece of parchment paper that extends up and over two opposite sides of the pan.
2.In a large pot set over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and stir with a flexible spatula until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, vanilla and salt until combined.
3.Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the rice cereal until combined. Transfer half of the mixture to the prepared pan and press down lightly to create an even layer. Use an offset spatula to spread the jelly over the treats. Top with the remaining cereal mixture, gently flattening it until uniform.
4.Let the treats set up on the counter for at least 1 hour. To remove them from the pan, grip the parchment overhang and lift. Slice the treats into 16 even squares. The treats will keep tightly wrapped on the counter for up to 5 days.