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 an hour 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.
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.
(Gluten-)Free at last:
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Gluten-Free Whiskey Brownies
Gluten-Free Congo Bars
Hippie Crispy Treats
Makes eight 2″ squares in an 8×4″ or 9×5″ loaf pan
(Recipe updated 10/30/12)
If you are very sensitive to gluten, make sure to get crisp rice cereal that is certified gluten-free; some cereals contain barley malt. I’ve gotten the best results using Barbara’s Bakery Crisp Brown Rice, which is fruit juice sweetened and seems to hold up the best and stay the crispiest.
Feel free to double the recipe and form the squares in an 8 or 9″ square pan, which is advisable since these disappear quickly. Double the chocolate and coconut oil in the topping if you are an ardent chocophile, and/or top the treats with cacao nibs in addition to the almonds. See the post above for some possible variations. These treats are crispest the day they are made, but will keep refrigerated or at room temperature for up to a few days. All ounce measurements are by weight.
The bars:
1/4 cup (3 ounces) maple syrup
1/4 cup (2 3/4 ounces) brown rice syrup
1/4 cup (2 ounces) almond butter
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) chocolate wafers, or coarsely chopped chocolate (preferably 70% cacao mass)
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups crisp rice cereal (not ‘puffed’ rice)
The chocolaty topping:
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) coconut oil
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) chocolate
2 tablespoons chopped, toasted almonds
1/8 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Line an 8×4 or 9×5″ loaf pan with a sling of parchment paper.
In a large saucepan, bring the maple and rice syrup to a rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon (be careful not to let it boil over). Remove from the heat and stir in the nut butter, 1/4 cup chocolate, 1 tablespoon coconut oil and 1/8 teaspoon fine salt until smooth and the chocolate is melted. Fold in the rice cereal and pack the mixture firmly and evenly into the lined pan (damp fingers can help here).
In a small saucepan (or the same big one, if you’ve scraped it clean), melt the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate and 1 tablespoon coconut oil together over very low heat, stirring constantly just until melted (be careful not to scorch the chocolate). Pour the chocolate mixture over the rice mixture, spreading to smooth. Sprinkle the nuts and flaky salt over the top.
Let the bars set at cool room temperature (about 1 hour) or in the fridge (about 1/2 hour) until firm. Lift the sling out of the pan, trim away the edges if you like, and cut into 8 squares.
These treats are best the day they are made. They will keep at room temperature for several days, though the cereal will soften slightly.
Oh man.
Those delicious lookin' snacks have me thinkin' that we need to go hiking.
Well, what I mean is that we need to go hiking and you need to cater said hiking trip.
Yum!
yeah like hiking in the lost coast…I wonder if you could substitute some granola for a bit of the crispies and make them a little denser, and like some ground flax….
You won't get any objections from the hippies there!
I have been enjoying the descriptions on your blog with no motivation to actually cook anything until I saw this easy no-bake recipe. We mortgaged our house to get the ingredients at Berkeley Bowl and it was worth every penny!!!! I have sampled some vegan treats in the past that were tolerable but this tasted like the ultimate in deliciousness. Keep up the excellent work as well as the alluring photographs!
Yup, that Crispy Munchies sandwich is making me hungry.
Just FYI… not all crisp rice cereals are gluten free. Kellogg's contain barley malt, which contains gluten.
Vy – thanks for the tip. I'll make a note above.
Kellogg's now makes a GF version.
If I wanted to not add chocolate, do you think I could just add a smidge more sunbutter?
I think the chocolate is what makes them set, but you could try Heidi Swanson's recipe, which uses agar agar: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/peanut-butter-krispy-treats-recipe.html
hi! going to make these beauties today. couldn't find brown rice syrup, can i substitute it for more maple syrup instead? or perhaps something different?
Thanks!
Kristin
Hi! I'd be concerned that maple syrup with its thinner texture won't set the bars properly, though adding extra chocolate could take care of this problem. You could almost certainly substitute corn syrup (preferably organic, if you can find it), or Lyle's golden syrup. Please let us know how they come out!
Did anyone try this with the extra maple syrup? I also don't want to use either rice or corn syrup… thanks!
Hi! I don't know if you solved this problem yet, but I think that coconut nectar could make a good substitute for the brown rice syrup. Cheers. :)
This looks amazing!! I love reading your blog because it inspires me to try new things in the kitchen and combine different flavors together. :) I had a question about this recipe. I have a bag of Millet Puffs in my pantry and haven't been able to find anything to use them for. Do you think I could substitute the millet puffs in place of the rice cereal? Just wondering…..thanks!
Thank you much for the sweet note!! My hunch is that millet puffs might not be crisp enough to stand up to the moisture in the recipe, and would become soggy (since puffed rice doesn't work the way that crisp rice cereal does). But please let me know how they come out if you decide to give them a try!
I made these and substituted the brown rice syrup with raw sugar it turned out great thanks for the recipe!
I'm so glad to know that that works – thanks for the comment!
Just made these (again) and the puppy managed to get his tongue all the way up on the counter and he licked the chocolate topping. Thinking I might just cut the top off and eat them all myself without telling anyone. I LOVE these.
Aw, thanks, Michelle! I'm so glad you (and the puppy) like them. Your secret's safe with me.
This recipe looks delicious! I can't seem to locate a crispy rice cereal that is not puffed. Could you recommend a particular brand? Thanks!
Thanks! Rice Krispies or anything similar. I like Barbara's crisp brown rice cereal best.
Could i swap the rice/maple syrup for coconut nectar? I have coconut nectar and bittersweet chocolate (no naturally sweetened unfortunately) so I was hoping to use this recipe with coconut nectar, which I thiiiink will work just fine. thoughts?
Totally! I actually made a version using coconut nectar earlier this year; worked like a charm!: https://bojongourmet.com/2015/04/superfood-chocolate-rice-crispies-treats-gluten-free-vegan-healthy/
Lazy hippie chiming in. The weather here is foul and I didn’t want to go out to buy ingredients, so I just used what I had. I used some “fancy” rice cereal with pepitas, coconut and sultanas in it, and subbed the rice syrup for golden syrup and the almond butter for peanut butter. They still set just fine, and are delicious though a bit sweet.
I bake regularly for our school canteen on Fridays, and these are a massive hit. The school is nut free, so I replace the nut butter with tahini, and leave out the chopped nuts ( I always replace chopped nuts with chopped pretzels for the school recipes, but this is perfectly delicious without, so I haven’t bothered yet). I also use brown rice cereal. Every single week there are requests for these, no matter what else is on the menu. Thanks very much for the recipe.
These look lovely! I just have one question though, can some of the ingredients be swapped for others that are easier to find? I’ve never seen rice syrup, almond butter or coconut oil, are these essential to the recipe? For example could I use all maple syrup instead of a combination of maple and rice syrup, and will ordinary butter substitute for the almond butter? I understand this may make the recipe slightly less healthy :)
Hi! You should be able to find those ingredients at any Whole Foods or probably even Trader Joe’s. You can use butter for the coconut oil, peanut butter for the almond butter. Not sure if maple syrup will work as it’s thinner and more sweet so you might have to tinker with it. But you can use coconut nectar or corn syrup in place of both. Let me know what you try! :)
Thanks :) I live in the UK so might struggle to find some items, as I think you have a lot more whole foods shops than we do. And unfortunately I can’t stand peanuts, which is one of tree reasons I was happy to see this recipe without. Will let you know what I substitute and how I get on.
Do you have metric measurements for all the ingredients? I’ve tried looking up a convertor for cups to grams, but seems to vary a lot between websites so I don’t want to end up with completely the wrong amounts of everything.
Hi Ailsa,
I have them here in a similar recipe: https://bojongourmet.com/2015/04/superfood-chocolate-rice-crispies-treats-gluten-free-vegan-healthy/
Cheers!
I made these yesterday, and they are lovely and gooey! Only issue is mine haven’t set very well and are falling apart, but from your photos yours look much more robust. Do you think I have too much liquid? I used golden syrup instead of brown rice syrup and also ran out of maple syrup so had to use slightly more golden syrup than maple. Also much nuttier than I expected, and while I like the almond taste it’s a little strong at first and i’d worry others would find it too much… do you think tweaking it to include a little less almond butter would affect how they set?
But overall a success and will make them again!
I think you could either decrease the almond butter and sweetener, or add more crisp rice or chocolate to make them firmer. :)
Thanks, will try that :)