Years ago I discovered a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Squares on a package that became a family favorite. That was a time when ingredients were an afterthought. I don’t think I’ve made this recipe for nearly a decade because I had to dig it out of an old recipe box I had to recreate it.
I wish I could tell you what package it came on but I cut it out of the box and there’s no identifying information. So, I’ll just tell you the ingredients I used for my recreation. While the ratios are the same as the original recipe, I made some different choices because basically, I don’t believe in margarine, I think it’s poison.
Here are some notes on the ingredients I chose and why …
Peanut Butter: I choose natural peanut butter. { Why? } Because conventional peanut butter is often filled with GMO seed oils such as soy, canola or cottonseed. It often also contains added sugars which, honestly, the peanut butter doesn’t even need.
Rice Syrup: The original recipe called for corn syrup. { Why? } I changed the syrup to a rice syrup because it’s not genetically modified. The rice syrup isn’t quite as sweet but acts just like corn syrup in recipes.
Brown Sugar: I get organic brown sugar at a local discount store. Buying organic ensures that the sugar cane hasn’t been doused with glyphosate before harvest.
Butter: NO margarine. Ya know, it’s been shown over time that margarine containing trans fats are in fact, detrimental to our health. Butter is best. Always.
Crispy Rice: I chose to use One Degree Crispy Rice Cereal for this recipe. Can never have too much chocolate!
Chocolate Chips: Enjoy Life is the brand I use because it’s soy free. Soy acts as an emulsifier in chocolate but it’s a GMO crop. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
So, there’s the long and short of why I kind of revamped this recipe to be more real food friendly. Also, because they’re absolutely delicious and very much like a Whatchamacallit candy bar!
- 2 cups natural peanut butter
- 1 cup rice syrup
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tbls. Butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 5 cups One Degree chocolate crisped rice cereal
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Prepare an 8" x 8" baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- In a large sauce pan, combine the first four ingredients and melt, stirring constantly until smooth.
- Stir in vanilla.
- Stir in cereal and mix thoroughly.
- Press into baking pan firmly using a sheet of parchment paper to smooth the top.
- While still hot sprinkle chocolate chips on top and place in warm oven (175˚) watching carefully until chocolate chips are melted.
- Smooth the chocolate chips over the top.
- Cool completely then cut into 16 squares.
- These will store at room temperature for about a week.