Gluten Free Rice Krispy Treats

Gluten Free Rice Krispy Treats

For years, it was a mystery to me that Rice Krispies cereal was made with rice and yet it was not gluten free. Kellogg finally got wise to the current gluten-free mania and has actually made a gluten-free version of rice krispies made with brown rice - even better! After years of patiently waiting, my daughter can finally indulge in a yummy rice krispy treat.

I have to confess that, since rice krispy treats seem so ubiquitous, I figured that they must be easy to make. Ummm... wrong. These were absolutely awful to make and yet I pushed on ... desperate to have my first grader indulge in some yummy yet bad for you goodness like all her little friends. Now that I have made them, I can't say that I will be rushing back to make them again... Although the final product was actually delicious so maybe I will be swayed sooner rather than later. We shall see...

Round 1: Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats 

Ready to expand ...

For my first attempt at Rice Krispy Treats, I decided that it would be fun to let the kids watch the  mini marshmallows expand in the microwave.

I combined 4 cups of mini marshmallows, 3 tablespoons of butter, and 1/4 cup (or so) of peanut butter and put it on high for 2 minutes.

Getting bigger!

The children were FASCINATED by the expanding marshmallows. They were also fascinated by the fact that I was actually using the microwave ... usually it doubles as my bread box.

I tried to stir this expanding mess and it was quite a chore.

The disaster ...

I stuck it back in the microwave for another minute. Took it out, added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and tried to get it to combine without sticking to my spatula. Not willing to admit defeat, I tried to add 6 cups of rice krispies. Disaster ensued. And round 1 was over. I surrendered.

Round 2: Nutella Rice Krispy Treats

For my second attempt at Rice Krispy treats, I used the good old-fashioned stove. I combined the following in a heavy bottomed saucepan...

3 cups of mini-marshallows 
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons Nutella 

I let it melt very slowly and then I added in a splash of vanilla extract.

After the concoction was as smooth as it could be, I added 4 cups of gluten free rice krispies and strong-armed them into submission with my wooden spoon.

After all this hard work, I needed this dessert to at least look a little bit pretty, so I lightly greased the bottoms of a muffin tin with cooking spray and then I pressed the Nutella Rice Krispy Treats into the muffin tin using a piece of waxed paper.

Gluten Free Nutella Rice Krispy Treats in Muffin Tins

After pressing these into cute little circles, I let them sit for a little while until dinner was ready and then I popped them into a tupperware container with a tight seal. If you want to keep these fresh, they need to be at room temperature in a tightly sealed container - if you put them into the refrigerator, they will be rock-hard. Don't do it ... The kids loved these cute rice krispy treats but I think that next time I will press them into mini-muffin tins. These circles were way too big for one small child to eat! An adult, on the other hand, could easily have 2 or 3... Enjoy!