Peanut Butter Cup Rice Crispy Treats

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There are few things in life that take me back to my childhood as quickly as Homemade Rice Crispy Treats. The variety my sister and I made growing up was a simple three ingredient recipe – Cheerios tossed with a peanut butter and honey mixture – which ironically didn’t actually involve Rice Krispies cereal at all! Go figure.

Nowadays I make this veganized Peanut Butter Cup version, which happens to be just as easy to make as my beloved childhood treats, but they’re a touch more sophisticated thanks to the variation of flavors and textures on top.

These decadent squares are good on their own – especially warm from the stove – but even more luxurious when set and topped with luscious drizzles of both chocolate and peanut butter, and then sprinkled generously with mini chocolate chips, crushed salted peanuts, and mini vegan marshmallows.

Crispy and crunchy. Gooey and chocolatey. Sweet, ever-so-slightly salty, and best of all, meal-prep friendly!

Make sure you check the Notes below for tips and grocery suggestions and then whip a batch ASAP. I can’t wait to hear what you think because these have honestly become my kryptonite – impossible to resist!

I have a feeling you’re going to love them as much as I do 🙂

• 2 bags of mini vegan Marshmallows (Dandies or Trader Joe’s Brand are great)
• 5 tbsp melted refined coconut oil
• 5 tbsp natural peanut butter, plus more for drizzling
• 1 10oz box of vegan Chocolate Puffed Rice cereal (I used these, see notes below)
• 1/2 cup vegan semi sweet chocolate chips (I use + highly recommend these)
• a handful of roasted peanuts

1. In a large pot set to medium low heat (5-6 out of 10) Combine the melted coconut oil and peanut butter. If you’re not using a salted peanut butter, add a good pinch of sea salt to make the flavors pop.
2. Then add 1.5 bags of mini marshmallows and stir immediately and continually until the marshmallows begin to melt. Be patient, this will take a few minutes but resist the urge to turn up the heat because marshmallows burn easily!
3. Once melted slightly, remove from the heat and add in the Chocolate Puffed Rice cereal and mix wel using a wooden spoon. Mix in a creaming motion, like when you cream butter and sugar for cooking, pressing down firmly with each stroke. It might look like the marshmallows aren’t melting together but they will after a few minutes of deliberate mixing. They need the slight heat from the pan and the pressure of the stirring motion to cooperate lol
4. Then transfer the mixture to a lined and greased or lightly greased non-stick 9″ x 13″ pan.
5. Firmly pack the rice crispy mixture down using clean, wet hands to prevent sticking.
6. Press down into an even layer and make sure it feels compact. Otherwise the squares won’t stay together very well.
7. Allow a few minutes to cool if still warm and then refrigerate for 1 hour or pop the pan in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This can be prepared and refrigerated the night before as long as it’s wrapped on top (yay for meal-prepped treats to come home to!)
8. When you can no longer stand the wait, remove the rice crispies from the fridge and enjoy! Ooorrrr you can take them to the next level by drizzling generously with melted chocolate (directions below) and room temperature natural peanut butter (if it’s not room temp, you won’t be able to zig zag it on top) Top with as many chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, and marshmallows as you see fit. Then cut into squares to serve.

Store leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container in the fridge.

Chocolate Drizzle:

• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use these)
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil

Combine in a microwave safe dish and heat for 20 seconds. Stir, microwave for another 20 seconds or until the mixture has soft lumps of chocolate but is not completely melted. Then stir vigorously until smooth.

1. Salted peanuts and salted peanut butter is important here in my opinion because that little touch of saltiness really sharpens all of the other flavors without creating a true “Sweet + Salty” combo. It’s subtle but wow, what a difference it makes!
2. I used Organic Coco Rice Puffs I used from Thrive Market for this recipe. These Nature’s Path Organic Koala Crisp is similar or these Peanut Butter Puffins would be awesome too!
3. Make sure the heat isn’t too high when melting the marshmallows. It should be warm enough to melt it all together, but they do burn easily so work quickly and remove from the heat if needed. If you happen to burn them a little, it’s really not the end of the world. It kind of gives them a “toasted marshmallow” flavor that is actually pretty good lol (Can you tell I’ve made these allloott?)
4. These make a great gift! Make a big batch – or two! – and then wrap some up for friend or co-worker with a little note on top. They’ll be thrilled 🙂

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with a friend or on your social media pages! It would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you, and happy cooking!