In pursuit of the perfect rice krispie treat

 
This weekend, we celebrated Roya's third birthday (which is actually tomorrow). As crazy as this might sound, this is actually the first time I've been able to attend her birthday party.  Thankfully this was the year because Roya's adorable aunts usually help with party planning. They had a wedding in Tennessee this weekend so they weren't able to help Roya's mama and the SOS went out immediately.  I love a good party so, of course, I was all for the madness.

I think the funniest part of Sogol's planning (Roya's mama) was the fact that she wanted to make some of the desserts the MORNING OF the party!  Now, that would be okay if these desserts were simple, but NOOOOOO....we were trying to make these:

Sogol had never made rice krispie treats, so she was really relying on me to make some GOOD rice krispie treats.  If you've made the classic recipe before, you know that that recipe is no bueno. A good rice krispie treat is gooier and not hard as a rock.

The recipe we used was the following per batch:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 5 cups of marshmallows
• 5.75 cups of rice krispie treats cereal

You start by melting the butter over low heat. Then add the marshmallows. It's key that you don't melt them completely. The marshmallows should still be a little clumpy when you fold in the rice krispie treats. I melt about 80% of the marshmallows and then add the rice krispie treats. I fold in the rice krispie treats over no heat.

I made about two batches, but then we had to have Sogol give it whirl!  She did pretty well. She also owns this incredible All Clad Dutch Oven that doesn't allow the gooey mixture to stick AT ALL.  Not to self - invest in one of those! The rinsing of the pot in between batches was super quick.

We used a mickey mouse cookie cutter to get the shape. To get a clean cut, you spray the cookie cutter with pam cooking spray. It helps to also lightly coat your hands with pam so that none of the mixture sticks to your hands when taking it out of the mold.

We then reached the number one issue. A good rice krispie treat recipe doesn't turn into rocks.  It stays gooey.  So our popsicle treats would get wonky when pulled out of the fridge and we knew they would lose their shape.  Look at how cute! We couldn't let the Mickeys disappear!

After we dipped the ears in chocolate, we popped them back in the fridge to cool off quickly. We then wrapped each rice krispie treat in cellophane and tied it with pretty ribbons.

The treats (made the night before) stayed chewy and were a big hit.

Sogol has pretty much decided she is never going to make rice krispie treats again, but I hope the taste and simplicity of just making squares will convince her to try again soon.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Roya!!