Peanut butter Rice Krispie bars

One of the most requested recipes my family asks me to make are peanut butter rice cereal treats. The recipe is straightforward and probably originated on a Kellogg’s Rice Krispies box. By repeating the recipe for many years, I’ve experimented with the process and the ingredient amounts. In today’s post, I’d like to share with you these tips and alterations.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/8 cups corn syrup

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 cups puffed rice cereal

One pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

As you can see from the ingredient list, it’s the basic recipe for peanut butter rice cereal. The only alteration that I have made is to add an additional 1/8 cup of corn syrup.

To start, place the granulated sugar into a large pot. The pot needs to hold all of the ingredients and extra room to stir them as well. Pour in the corn syrup and stir to incorporate. Turn on medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves into the corn syrup. You will know that the sugar is dissolved when you scrap across the bottom of the pot with a silicone spatula and see very few sugar crystals. With this step, you most notably do not want to boil the sugar/corn syrup mixture; boiling the sugar mixture will make the bars hard.

Note the sugar crystals are not dissolved.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Do not cook the peanut butter.

Add the five cups of puffed rice cereal and fold it into the peanut butter mixture. Try not to crush the cereal as you fold; a silicone spatula works well to scrap the pot’s sides and bottom.

Pour the cereal mixture into a parchment paper-lined 9 x 13 pan. Use the spatula to spread the mixture evenly. Use water to dampen your hand and press to compress cereal into the pan slightly.

Place the chocolate chips in a safe microwave container. Microwave for 30 seconds. Microwave for 30 seconds. Microwave for 30 seconds. Take the container out of the microwave. Using a silicone spatula, mix the melted chips on the bottom with the chips on the top. By melting the chocolate in small increments of time, I attempt to temper the chocolate. This step is only done for aesthetic reasons; it doesn’t have any effect on the taste.