Sticky, chewy, crunchy and luridly coloured, Rice Krispie Marshmallow Treats have no nutritional value and a load of sugar, which makes them perfect for a children’s party.
I once came across a very sad little boy whose mum had sent him to a kiddies’ birthday party with a small plastic bag full of carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and cheese cubes.
Determined to rescue the lad from his dietary purgatory, I led him by the hand to the festive table and encouraged him to pile his plate high with everything that would induce an apoplectic fit in his dear (absent) mama.
He loved it all, but it was the Rice Krispie Marshmallow Treats that lured him back again and again. He might even have stuffed a few in his trouser pockets to smuggle home, and who can blame him? They are utterly delicious.
Someone was looking for the recipe on Twitter a few days ago, which prompted me to dig out my late mom’s handwritten cookbook and look up her foolproof recipe.
I used Strawberry Pops and added a few drops of red food colouring to get the full garish neon-pink effect but you can and should colour plain Rice Krispies every colour of the rainbow. If you felt like fiddling about you could even roll the mixture into balls, but ain’t nothing wrong with a plain, straight-up square or bar.
Here is the recipe:
RICE KRISPIE MARSHMALLOW TREATS
Makes 24 squares
Ingredients:
75g butter or margarine
3 T (45 ml) golden syrup
200g marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies or Strawberry Pops
Method:
- Use a 3cm deep baking tray that’s 24cm wide and 34 cm long. Spray the base with Cook & Spray, line the tin with wax paper and spray that too.
- Melt the butter, golden syrup and marshmallows over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot, stirring briskly all the while. Take care not to overheat the pot, as the marshmallows will turn colour. Keep stirring until the marshmallows have melted completely – it will become a weird-looking streaky goo but just keep stirring.
- Tip in all the cereal at once and stir very fast to mix completely.
- Tip the pot over the prepared tin and scoop all the mixture into the tin. Spray your palm with Cook & Spray and use it to flatten and smooth the Rice Krispie mixture. Let stand to set for 15 minutes before cutting into squares using an ordinary table knife. Make chopping movements with the blade to avoid dragging the setting mixture.
- Let cool completely and once the squares are hard and firm, remove from the tin and store in an airtight container. Will keep for a week in a cool dark place. The ideal accompaniment is a glass of pink Sparletta soda pop.
