Kellogg's Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

When Kellogg's reacted to spectacular sales of its Rice Krispies Treats with two new varieties of the popular and addictive snack, TSR got on the case. It seems we've all tasted the original Rice

Krispies Treats. The homemade version is the next homework assignment in Cooking 101, after learning how to boil water. And the Kellogg's store-bought packaged version has been available

to the lazier of us for several years now. This variety, however, puts that whole Reese's "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate" thing to work. The crunchy bar has just a touch of nutty essence that builds nicely on the other familiar flavors. But don't be fooled by that dark "chocolatey" coating on top. It's not actually chocolate, but rather a melt-resistant custom blend of cocoa and uh, stuff, that tastes a lot like chocolate; and that happens to work better for the product from a manufacturing, shipping, and shelf-life aspect. But here in kitchen cloning land, we don't have to worry about those things. So get ready to walk on the wild side, people, as we step up to the microwave and melt some real chocolate chips for topping our cinch of a crunchy clone.

Recipe Ingredient

1 tablespoon margarine

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 cups miniature marshmallows

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

non-stick cooking spray

1. Combine margarine, peanut butter, and salt in a large saucepan over low heat.

2. When peanut butter and margarine have melted, add marshmallows and vanilla and stir until marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat.

3. Add Rice Krispies and stir until cereal is well coated with the melted marshmallow mixture.

4. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. Pour the Rice Krispies mixture into the dish and, using wax paper or lightly greased hands, press down until it's flat in the dish. Cool.

5. Prepare the topping by pouring the chocolate chips into a glass dish. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50 percent power. Stir gently. Microwave for an additional minute on 50 percent power. Stir gently once more until smooth. If the mixture hasn't completely melted, zap it again for another 30 seconds.

6. Use a spatula to spread a thin layer of chocolate over the top of the Rice Krispies mixture. Cool at room temperature (at least 72 degrees), or chill until firm. Slice into 16 bars.

Makes 16 bars.

GrandMa's Peanut Butter Big Cookies

When these cookies are cool, be sure to seal them up real super duper tight in something like Tupperware or a Ziploc bag. That's the way to keep these puppies moist and chewy like the original GrandMa's Big Cookies. In fact, the real product claims to be the only national cookie brand that guarantees the freshness of the product or double your money back. That's very big of the current manufacturer, Frito-Lay, which purchased the GrandMa's Cookies brand from General Mills back in 1980.

Recipe Ingredient
1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup Peter Pan peanut butter

1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

1 egg1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

2. Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt together in large bowl until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking soda. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture while beating.

4. Roll 3 tablespoon-size portions of the dough into a ball in your hands and press to 1/2-inch flat on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to overcook, or the cookies will not be chewy and you may negatively impact the full enjoyment potential of the product.

Makes 14 to 16 cookies.