A little about me....

Not long ago I picked up cooking as a hobby. Along with every other hobby I have claimed, I stocked up on "how to" books (in this case, recipe books). Slowly, I have picked through the many recipe pages to find true gems (those recipes I'm not afraid to recommend to other people). But, I find myself repeating meals for sheer simplicity, leaving my recipe books to collect dust on the shelf. So, I have decided to give myself a challenge: cook at least one new recipe each week. Thus, the creation of this blog!
I invite you to join me on my daunting journey through recipe books filled with cooking jargon, odd ingredients, and new techniques to make everyday cooking interesting for this everyday cook.






Saturday, January 8, 2011

Always Chewy Rice Krispie Treats


I chose a very easy recipe for my first post because it always seems that the easy recipes do not turn out the way I expect!  I have made many versions of Rice Krispie Treats only to be disappointed repeatedly by a rock hard product.  Often, I have felt mystified by my inability to produce delicious and chewy treats after simply following a recipe that claims to produce such a result! After some diligent research I HAVE FOUND THE KEY!  The secret to melt in your mouth, chewy, and delicious treats is in the marshmellow melting process.  Rather than allow the marshmellows to melt fully, they should be heated slowly and left with marshmellow lumps.  Why has this been kept a secret? 

Ingredients

7 cups of Rice Krispy cereal
10 oz. bag of mini marshmellows (16 oz. for the true marshmellow lover)
4 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Method

1. Melt butter slowly in a large pot
2. Add marshmellows and coat with melted butter.  Stir marshmellows constantly as they begin to melt.
DO NOT allow marshmellows to melt completely (see picture above).
3. Add vanilla at the end of marshmellow melting time and stir.
4.  Off the heat, add Rice Krispy cereal and coat completely with marshmellow mixture.
5.  Press mixture into a greased (I use Pam) 9x13 pan with greased fingers.  Allow to cool for 1 hour and enjoy!

Recipe rating: ****