Growing up, I used to be a professional Rice Crispy Treat baker. I’d dump butter in a pot, add a bag of marshmallows, rice crisp, and vanilla.
Spread into a pan.
Stuff in face.
Totally gourmet.
Sticky, sweet, crunchy…and easy enough for a child to make. I still remember sticking the gooey cereal covered spoon straight into my mouth to ‘taste test’, leaving marshmallow whiskers all over my cheeks. I made them so many times, I memorized the complex and highly detailed gourmet recipe off the side of the cereal box. Like I said, total pro.
Each December, I showcased my skills by making Christmas-themed Rice Crispy Treats, complete with red and green rice crispies and a dusting of red and green sprinkles on top. They were the hit of every class party, the talk of the town, and they matched my Christmas sweater and scrunchie so well.
These Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats are an equally gourmet version (read: no bake) of my loved childhood treats. However, unlike the original, this recipe is made without marshmallows, but I promise you won’t miss them!
To make these treats, I used my No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies recipe for inspiration- one of the most popular recipes on the blog.
I put on my apron, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work. After 15 exhausting minutes, I had treats whipped up for a special someone.
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Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats
Yield
12 squares
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
15 minutes
Total time
These rice crisp treats are absolutely divine! I love to use my Maple-Cinnamon Superseed Almond Butter in these for a great flavour, but store-bought natural almond butter will also work in a pinch.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) brown rice syrup*
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) Maple-Cinnamon Superseed Almond Butter**
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) non-dairy butter (such as Earth Balance)
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups (115 g) gluten-free rice crisp cereal
For the chocolate topping:
- 1/3 cup (65 g) non-dairy chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) coconut oil
- Unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Prepare an 8 inch by 8 inch square pan, by lining it with 2 pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- In a large pot over low-medium heat, add the brown rice syrup, almond butter, butter, maple syrup, and salt. Stir well until super smooth and heated through. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Stir in the rice crisp cereal until thoroughly combined.
- Scoop into pan and spread out evenly. Press down with lightly wet fingers or roll flat with pastry roller. Place in freezer to set for 5 minutes while you make the chocolate topping.
- In a small pot or double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil over low heat. Once 2/3 of the chips are melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth.
- Remove the pan from freezer and drizzle or spread with melted chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with coconut and place in the freezer until firm, about 10 minutes.
- Slice into squares. Bars will hold their shape quite well at room temperature, but you can store in the fridge to ensure the chocolate stays solid. Leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Tip:
- * Brown rice syrup is used in this recipe because it is a great binder. I don't recommend using another liquid sweetener.
- ** Feel free to swap the almond butter for store-bought natural peanut butter or almond butter, if desired.
- Make it soy-free: Use soy-free vegan chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life brand. Also use soy-free vegan butter, such as Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Oh man did this recipe bring back the memories!
You can either drizzle on the chocolate as shown below, or spread it out evenly covering the entire surface, depending on how much chocolate you want. I used 1/4 cup chocolate chips and it was the perfect amount to drizzle. Use 1/2 cup chips if you want to cover the entire surface.
I had to use so much restraint not to eat all of them! Eric also raved about them and was quite jealous when he found out that they weren’t for him. :)
Did you do any baking or cooking as a child? What was your favourite thing to make?
Scrunchies! BWAHAHA. Oh man, those were the days.
Anyways, :), I did a lot of baking when I was a kid with my grandmothers and my step-mother. I also had an easy bake oven, which I loved! Probably my favorite thing to make was banana bread because it always came out so perfect. And of course Christmas cookies during the holiday season were always fun!
I baked a lot throughout elementary/jr. high/high school (oatmeal raisin cookies were my Dad’s fav so they were featured quite frequently). The best part was my mom would always voluntarily clean-up the mess :) I miss those days! I still have my first cookbook: Debbie Learns to Cook. French toast was the first thing I ever made. Thanks for another great recipe!
I LOVE rice krispy treats! I cannot wait to make these!!
Ooooh yum! I miss rice crispy treats so much!
Definitely chocolate chip cookies, with cupcakes coming in as a very close second! Can’t wait to try this new spin on an old favourite Angela!
I loveeee how sticky and gooey rice crispy treats are. Do you remember rice crispy treat cereal?! clumps of delicious marshmellowy goodness drenched in milk, yes please! And good news for any gluten free people, rice crispy cereal is now certified gluten free! I was psyched.
Those look so yummy. I really need to not look at food blogs before meals. Sheesh!
I love organization. It makes me happy.
Me too…once it is done! heh
Angela these look so mouthwatering! I love how easy and simple they are! I think I am going to bring these for a potluck next week. I don’t think I have had a rice crispie treat since high school. Can’t wait to get uncooking!
I bought a jar of brown rice syrup quite a while ago, but I’m never sure when to sub it in for other sweeteners. I can’t wait to try it out in this recipe! These definitely bring back wonderful childhood memories. I don’t think you’re ever too old for rice crisp treats :-)
Rice Krispie treats and cupcakes made from crappy box mixes totally remind me of my childhood! And snowcones and pickles, after little league games. :)
Good luck with adding the recipes!
“I used to be a professional Rice Crispy Treat baker.”–
I STILL AM!!
I have umpteen versions of RKTs on my site. All with some sort of choc frosting or choc PB frosting on top b/c I just have to incorporate chocolate into them, somehow.
And I have Special K Bars and other cereal-based sweet/treat bar recipes, too.
There is just something about nobake bars like this that I love. Probably b/c yes, in childhood, these were STAPLES for me!
Your photography on these is brilliant! Love the coconut flake dusting; makes it all sooooo beautiful.
:)
haha :) Yes I discovered that dark desserts with chocolate don’t photograph well, a touch of coconut makes them a bit easier ;)
Oh my gosh, I just checked out your recipe page and I love it to pieces! I just updated my page, with images and sections to make it easier to find things, but I had to write the HTML myself. It wasn’t too hard, but I knew it wasn’t going to be the ultimate solution. Thanks for sharing recipage with us! Once I get up to the thousands of recipes you have, I’d love to have this sort of thing on my blog.
I can’t wait to see the final product!
Oh my gosh! I used to adore rice krispie making as a child! I am.pumped for this recipe and that you are getting Recipage! :)
Oooooh! delicious! I’ve missed RC squares, and marshmallows generally. These are at the top of my weekend to do/eat list.
A classic treat loved by kids of all ages, myself included.
These look like a party, with a generous drizzle of melted chocolate being its crowning glory!
Those look just like the real deal!
I totally used to cook when I was little…. except what I made wasn’t exactly edible. I loved to take out all the spices and baking supplies out of my grandma’s kitchen cupboard and go to town mixing up all kinds of crazy concoctions. I would then make “cookies” out of them and take them to my grandpa to try. He was a good sport and would pretend to take a bite and tell me how wonderful they were. :) There was also the time I wanted to make a “smoothie” and I made my nana peel about a thousand grapes for me because I didn’t want the peels in it. Haha, now I’m a little bit better about actually following a recipe.
My mother doesn’t like to bake, so we didn’t do much baking when I was a child. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I’m more than making up for what I missed out on! Those treats look oh so yummy – they are now on my To Do list for the weekend :)
Wow. Those look good. Can’t wait to try them.
Yum, I loved the other ones, and I can’t wait to try these! No bake is where it’s at in Texas in the summer!