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?
I really want to make these today! I’m trying to find the motivation to go back to the store (i’ve been 3 times already today!) Apparently I need to make a shopping list.
These look so delicious, Angela!!!
I have mixed feelings about Recipage. I’ve seen it on other blogs and at first I thought it was really cool, but on further use I hate the fact that when you search for something you can’t just right click and open results in a new tab. The way it is now you have to search, click on one recipe to see it, then go back, research, click on another recipe, etc. This can make it really time-consuming and annoying if you just want to quickly scan the recipes. Maybe Emily and the Recipage developers could add a right click/open in new tab option? Okay, sorry for the ramble-y post. I just thought I’d mention it. :)
These look absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to try them out! I’m having trouble finding brown rice syrup in my local area (I don’t think it’s something we commonly bake with in the UK) but I’ll keep looking! Otherwise I wonder if agave syrup will work?
It should work with other sweetener, but it wont hold together as well and you will have to keep them in the fridge. Goodluck! :)
THESE WERE A HUGE WINNER! Oh I have a new go to treat… and so easily adaptable! You could sub in peanut butter for the almond no problem.. this was my first rice syrup recipe and I am more than please! Thanks to you and to everyone else… give them a try!
I used maple syrup. Seemed to hold together fine for me.
I could only find rice puffs cereal- do you think that would provide the same crunch?
Yum! These sound dee-lish!
Do you think they would work with molasses instead of brown rice syrup? I’m trying to up the iron in my little guy’s diet and molasses is a power house. Thanks!
Im not too sure, the flavour would change but they should hold together. Goodluck!
These are delicious!! They’re a perfect healthy alternative to the special K butterscotch bars at my university’s dining hall :) I made a half batch since I’m only cooking for myself and I subbed 1/8 cup agave and 1/8 cup honey instead of brown rice syrup and they hold together fine. I also didn’t bother with the almond butter or salt in the drizzle either, just used straight up melted dark chocolate.
I just made the almond butter rice crisps treats! Very good, I had to use agave nectar instead of the brown rice syrup, but they held together well enough. I also cut the amount of salt, and topped with chopped roasted almonds. This is a quick and tasty snack!
Angela, do you think these would work using coconut butter instead of almond butter?
I made these yesterday and they are so delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Could I use Kamut puffs? Opposed to rice crisp?
Thanks for posting this recipe, I was looking for something that would replicate my favorite (expensive) bars from a natural foods store. Excited to make these!
I made this yesterday without the chocolate drizzle. They’re really, really good. They reminded me of this- a bar that a resort I go to makes.
canyonranch.com/your-health/food-nutrition/cooking-recipes/breads-snacks/canyon-ranch-hiking-bar
Thanks for the recipe!
I made these for the second time today. I must say, the first batch – while good – seemed to heavy on the vanilla. 1 Tbsp didn’t work for me. So the second batch I scaled it to 1 tsp and liked the flavor much better.
Also for those wondering, for the first batch I used maple syrup (I was making them for a vegan friend, couldn’t find brown rice syrup so substituted the maple syrup) and the second batch I used honey (because I am neither a vegan or a vegetarian). Both were excellent binders, no issues whatsoever there.
Anyway, I think *my* ideal batch will use maple syrup and 1 tsp vanilla (I really liked the flavor of maple syrup and almond butter – it was particularly yummy). :)
OH MY GOSHHHH I just made these. And they were better than I thought they were going to be. I have been making so many recipes from your website lately and they are all AMAZING! Thank you! :)
These are so delicious. I made them as little bite-sized balls and covered them in chocolate and brought them to a party. Everyone loved it and the hostess asked for the recipe!
Love these! Growing up my mom made a version of these, and she still makes them from time to time when we get together. I did not expect these to be even close to as delicious as her bars are, but they totally are! I think I might even like them more!(don’t tell her I said that) I didn’t have any parchment paper, so I oiled the pan with coconut oil and the bars came out with no problem. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Angela. The recipe says “stir in almond butter” in both the crispie mix and the melted chocolate chips. HELP! What did I miss?
Never mind. I just found it. Duh!