5 from 2 reviews

Hippie Crispies (Healthy Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats)

Name: Hippie Crispies (Healthy Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup maple syrup* ((3 ounces) ); ¼ cup brown rice syrup* ((2 ¾ ounces) ); ¼ cup almond butter ((2 ounces) ); ¼ cup chocolate wafers, or coarsely chopped chocolate (preferably 70% cacao mass) ((1 ¼ ounces) ); 1 tablespoon raw virgin coconut oil ((½ ounce) ); ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt; 2 cups crisp rice cereal ((2 ¼ ounces; not 'puffed' rice)); 1 tablespoon raw virgin coconut oil ((½ ounce) ); ¼ cup chocolate wafers, or coarsely chopped chocolate (preferably 70% cacao mass) ((1 ¼ ounces) ); 2 tablespoons chopped, toasted almonds (optional); ⅛ teaspoon flaky sea salt (optional)

By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on May 10, 2010 (updated Apr 11, 2023) / 33 Comments

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These healthy chocolate rice crispy treats (AKA Hippie Crispies) are made with just 8 ingredients in 10 minutes of active time. No marshmallows, no corn syrup, no butter! They're chewy, gooey, crispy, crunchy, not too sweet, and they're naturally gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free too.

You don't have to be a hippie to enjoy these, but it doesn't hurt. ;) Find more healthy brownie and bar recipes here including these oat flour blondies!

Note from Alanna, 2023: I originally shared this recipe in 2010, inspired by recipes from David Lebovitz and Heidi Swanson, two food writers who also inspired me to start TBG in the first place! These healthy chocolate almond butter rice crispy treats quickly developed a bit of a cult following.

They were named a Community Pick on Food52 (where they currently have 4.5 stars out of 60 ratings) when I entered them in a cereal contest. They were even included in Food52's Baking cookbook!
I made huge batches of them at a summer music camp in the Mendocino Woodlands, where bonafide hippies flocked to them in droves.
They traveled around the world including to Tasmania where food blogger Dearna of To Her Core made them with puffed amaranth.

Have you tried Hippie Crispies? Please let me know in the comments!

Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions

These healthy chocolate rice crispy treats are made with just 8 ingredients that you may already have in your pantry!

Crisp rice cereal forms the base. Be sure to use certified gluten-free crisp rice cereal if need be. I prefer the kinds from healthy foodie stores, such as crisp brown rice cereal, but the original Rice Krispies will work too. I don't recommend puffed rice cereal as it doesn't stay as crisp, but it will work in a pinch. Or you can experiment with puffed grains such as amaranth. I bet toasted buckwheat would be a fun addition too!
Almond butter adds a creamy mouthfeel. Feel free to use any nut or seed butter you like, such as hazelnut butter or peanut butter. (I'm itching to try these with tahini!)
Maple syrup and brown rice syrup add natural sweetness and give the bars that gooey feel of classic rice crispy treats. The thickness and low sweetness of the brown rice syrup is important for the texture of these, but I've successfully made these with coconut nectar in place of both the maple and brown rice syrups. Feel free to experiment with other sweeteners but do so at your own risk!
Chocolate helps set the bars and it adds a luscious topping too. I prefer a high cacao mass chocolate since the bars are fairly sweet, 70% or higher. Source chocolate made with maple (such as Raaka) or coconut sugar (such as Hu or Guittard) to make these completely refined sugar-free if you like.
Coconut oil adds richness to the bars and topping. Be sure to use coconut oil that's solid at room temperature. You could swap in ghee if dairy isn't an issue.
Fine sea salt sharpens the flavor of the bars, while flaky salt adds an addictive crunch to the topping.
Top these with toasted, chopped almonds (or sliced / slivered almonds) if you've got 'em, or sprinkle with some cacao nibs, hemp hearts, or other nuts or seeds if you prefer!

How to Make Hippie Crispies

These healthy chocolate rice crispy treats are so easy to make in just 10 minutes of active time. They'll need to chill for about 30 minutes after you assemble them, and they'll keep for up to a few days at room temperature. They're best eaten the day of assembly when they're the most crisp.

All you need to make these is a loaf pan, a saucepan, and a spatula.

Make the bars:

Line a loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper, or grease with coconut oil.
In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the maple syrup and brown rice syrup to a gentle simmer for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Remove from the heat and stir in the almond butter, chocolate, coconut oil and fine sea salt until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is melted.
Add the crisp rice cereal and gently fold it into the syrup mixture.
Pack the mixture firmly and evenly into the lined pan.

Make the topping:

In the same saucepan, scraped clean, melt the remaining chocolate and coconut oil over very low heat, stirring constantly until just melted.
Pour the topping mixture over the bars, spreading it smooth, and sprinkle with the nuts and flaky salt, if using.
Let the bars set in the refrigerator until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to several hours.
Lift the sling out of the pan and cut the bars into 8 squares.
Devour!

My Original Post from 2010: How I Developed this healthy chocolate rice crispy treat recipe

The other night after rehearsal my dancemate and friend, T, requested that I post a simple recipe, something for people lacking things like stand mixers and food processors. Something that could be made in a kitchen the size of (hand-gesture implying) 1-square-foot.

Though T is on the small side, I hope for her sake that her kitchen is slightly larger than 1 square foot. But I ignored that, and instead told her that I had just the recipe.

These are stupid simple to make. They take about 10 minutes to assemble, and 30 minutes or so to set. You don't need any fancy equipment, not even an oven. You could make these in a college dorm room, camping, or with kids. Heck, you could even be a hippie and still make these (dorm room/camping/kids optional).

You do need something which produces heat, like a burner, hotplate, propane stove, or microwave, as well as a saucepan, loaf pan and a rubber spatula. A piece of parchment paper is handy, but you could use wax paper, foil, or a greased pan instead. But that's pretty much it.

Yes, but what are these magical mystery treats, you ask?

Well, several months ago I developed an odd craving for rice crispy (I refuse to spell that with a 'k') treats but couldn't bear to buy cheap marshmallows (scary), didn't want to shell out the cashola for upscale 'mallows (like the veg ones at Rainbow) and was too lazy and scared of breaking my kitchenaid (which happened the last time) to make my own. I like the flavor of Heidi Swanson's version, which uses peanut butter, maple syrup and agar agar, but wanted a bit more chew and goo. I also wanted them to be chocolaty, but knew it would be a balancing act to get the chocolate to set the bars just enough. I imagined using an unrefined liquid sweetener in place of the mallows, nut butter for gooey richness, and chocolate to temper the sweetness.

My first attempt tasted good, but wasn't nearly gooey enough. I lost heart and moved onto other culinary obsessions. Several months later I stumbled across the love of my life (David Lebovitz)'s recipe for Triple Chocolate Scotcheroos, which are essentially rice crispy treats made (marshmallow free!) with butterscotch chips, nutella, sugar and rice syrup. I took a cue from David and boiled the sweeteners (I used maple instead of the sugar, which worked great) and used a combination of almond butter, coconut oil and chocolate instead of the nutella. The result was chewy, gooey, chocolaty crispy treats made with ingredients you can find at your local health-food co-op, a minimal amount of refined sugar, and no trans fats or gelatin. They also happen to be gluten-free and vegan, and are quite sturdy enough to pack into a lunchbox or take on a hike, picnic, or peace rally.

Feel free to go crazy with different nut butters, nuts and even chocolates. I've a mind to try some with hazelnut butter and topped with toasted hazels, and another batch with peanut butter, dark milk chocolate and salted peanuts. Pistachios would make a striking topping, perhaps with a bit of cardamom in the bars, or coconut butter. Finely ground espresso powder and chocolate covered beans on the top would be a treat for coffee lovers, as would cacao nibs for chocophiles.

See? They're kinda healthy. Like something a hippie might eat. A hippie with serious munchies.

Or a svelte dancer with a sweet-tooth cooking out of a 1-square-foot kitchen.

stack of healthy chocolate rice crispy treats

I gave some of these to my yoga teacher and told her they were 'like healthy rice crispies treats.' The following week after class she demanded to know what was healthy about them, since they certainly didn't taste at all healthy, which I took as quite the compliment.

healthy chocolate rice crispy treats with a bite taken out

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this healthy chocolate rice crispy treat recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*

5 from 2 reviews