Rice Crispy Treats (Healthier version)

A friend sent me a challenge.  I love challenges!  She wanted to make "healthy" Rice Crispy treats for someone.  I, too, love Rice Crispy treats but did not want to make them with marshmallows (can you "highly processed refined high fructose corn syrup"?).  I went to work researching and cooking to bring you a "taste-tested" healthier Rice Crispy treat using only 4 - 5 ingredients and delicious and easy as well!

Here are the ingredients you will need to start with:

Note organic brown rice crisps, organic freshly ground peanut butter, brown rice syrup, and vanilla.  

I wondered how easy it would be to mix the syrup with the brown rice cereal but it turned out to be super-easy and total time took less than 30 minutes to create these.

Here is the recipe for you

Brown Rice Crispy Treats

These little goodies are SO GOOD. 

Ingredients

1/3 cup of all natural crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup of brown rice syrup
3 cups of brown rice crispy cereal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼-½ cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Makes 9 squares. 

Directions

Basic Brown Rice Crispy Treat 

Put you're peanut butter, rice syrup, and vanilla into a small sauce pan and heat over a low heat until the mixture becomes warm and syrupy…this will only take a few minutes.

While your peanut butter syrup is heating, spray a large bowl with cooking spray before adding the rice cereal.  Pour the ooey gooey peanut butter syrup over the cereal and combine until all of the rice crispies are evenly coated (you may have to work it a little).

Transfer crispies into an 8x8-baking dish (like a Pyrex) that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray.  Pat them down and make them nice and even, pop in the fridge about an hour or so, then cut em’ up and enjoy!

If you want to add chcolate you have two choices:

Option #1
After you have combined your cereal and you’re syrup, stir in ¼ cup of chocolate chips.  Now, you want to be sure that the syrup is not piping hot and has had a few minutes to drop in temperature, because if it is too hot, the chips will melt and look “not so pretty”.

Once the chips are stirred in, place into a pyrex and chill.

Option #2
Once you have chilled your rice crispy treats for about a half hour or so, take a ½ cup of melted chocolate chips (I melt mine in a doubler boiler but you can do a microwave as well) and pour them over the top of the crispies. Spread the chocolate evenly over the top of the crispies. 

Pop them back in the fridge and allow the chocolate to set before cutting.

Nutritional Analysis

With the addition of 1/4 cup chocolate chips:

Calories: 161; Total Fat: 6.9g; Saturated Fat: 2.1g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 10mg; Carbohydrate: 24.1g; Dietary Fiber: 1.7; Sugars: 12.2; Protein: 3.6g

Finished product looks brown but tastes even better than traditional Rice Crispy Treats.