Rice Krispy Treats - Spoil your Inner Child

Sometimes, no matter how you try and repress childhood memories, well the bad ones at least, they still come back to haunt and intimidate you.  The good memories I have which are few and far between seem to mostly center around food.  One of these was the first time my mother made rice krispy treats for me.  They were so gooey, but crunchy and deliciously sweet; but she only made them once as she felt the "mess in the pan" wasn't worth the effort.   As I grew older, I was able to obtain these treats in stores, and eventually learned to make them myself once I adopted my son.  I don't understand why the big fuss over the "mess in the pan" as it easily cleans out with hot soapy water and a sponge.

Anyway, a little history about this childhood treat; it was invented in 1939 by Malitta Jensen and Mildred Day, and the Kelloggs Company of course, to help raise money for the Campfire Girls Foundation.  It was a simple recipe of melted butter and mini-marshmallows mixed into rice krispies, allowed to cool, cut up into squares and enjoyed.   Nowadays, this simple recipe can include any manner of mixture from different types of cereal, toasted oatmeal, crushed granola, nuts, dried fruit and mini-candy pieces.

Making treats nowadays might take a little more calculation too, depending on the density of the cereal used plus any other added ingredients, and the size of the pan used as well.  Normally it is 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons), 1 (10 ounce) package of mini-marshmallows (they melt quicker) and 6 cups of rice krispy cereal.  It is all pressed into a greased (with butter) 2 quart rectangular baking dish; cooled for an hour and then cut into squares.  While the butter and marshmallows can be melted in a stovetop pan, nowadays a microwave is more convenient and makes it easier to control the melting process to avoid burning. 

I made peanut butter treats just yesterday and while you might think I made them too thin; as far as I'm concerned, that means I have a lot more to enjoy.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients:

7 cups rice krispy cereal
1 stick (8 Tbsp) salted butter plus 1/2 Tbsp for greasing dish
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 (10 oz) bag mini-marshmallows (make sure they are fresh!)


Preparation:

Into a large mixing bowl, measure out 7 cups of rice krispy cereal; lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking dish with butter.

Into a medium mixing bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for 45 seconds; add in the marshmallows and toss to coat. Microwave for 60 seconds, mix thoroughly; microwave another 30 seconds, mix and pour over cereal. Using a sturdy spoon, mix together so the cereal is thoroughly incorporated. Put the mixture into the baking dish and press out to the sides as evenly as possible; cover with plastic wrap and let cool on counter for one hour. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Do yourself a favor and spoil your inner child once in awhile; you deserve it.

Mary Cokenour

You'll Skor Big with this Cake.

For Fathers' Day, my friend Heidi makes a particular cake for her hubby, Sean, called Skor Cake. Now she got this recipe from a mutual co-worker, Becky Hall Hughes, and I'm glad Becky shared this delectable treat. It's a simple recipe using boxed cake mix, but the results are a sugar high you won't care if you die from. It is a very rich and sweet cake, as you've gathered, so cut the pieces small (16-20), but you'll get a huge satisfaction.

The recipe does call for broken up Skor candy bars, but if you cannot find those, use Heath Bars instead. Also, if your supermarket or local WalMart carries it, in the baking section you'll find bags of Skor or Heath Bar pieces. They're smaller and more uniform in shape, but that just means you get to pour more over the cake. I don't see a big problem with that!



Heidi Murphy’s Skor Cake

Ingredients:

1 Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar of Mrs. Richards Butterscotch/Carmel topping
1 regular size container of Cool Whip
5 to 6 Skor bars crushed to small pieces

Preparation:

Bake cake per instructions on box; let cool for about 15 min or so; then poke holes into it with a wooden spoon handle. After holes are poked, open sweetened condensed milk and pour over whole cake evenly.

Do the same with the Mrs. Richards Butterscotch/Carmel topping; pour over cake as evenly as you can. Cover the cake and refrigerate overnight; it just makes it taste better.

When ready to serve, cover the top with Cool Whip; then sprinkle Skor pieces on top.


Cut (about 16-20 squares) and enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Bugles Adds Sweet to their Salty.

In 1966, a cone shaped snack made from corn and fried in coconut oil hit the market; it became a big hit. I was a little kid then and I still remember my first box, yes, they came in a box, of Bugles. Even though they have flavors called Sour Cream and Onion, Nacho and Barbeque; the original flavor was always my favorite. If I wanted a little extra something, I would dip them in French onion dip, but that's about all.

Then they decided to add two new flavors to the line up; Caramel and Chocolate Peanut Butter. At first I was hesitant to try them, thinking that the corn taste would not pair well with the sweet flavors, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The Caramel Bugles have a tendency to be broken up in the package. Though they have a nice, smooth caramel flavor; the coating is hard and seems to make the crispy corn snack break more easily.

The Chocolate Peanut Butter has a more silky texture on the outside, so the crispy cone stays intact. The peanut butter flavor is more predominant with this snack; and it is listed higher up on the ingredients list. The chocolate flavor comes from cocoa and is very faint.

Surprisingly, a 2/3 cup serving has either 19 or 20 grams of carbs, depending on whether you're indulging in the caramel or chocolate peanut butter. However, don't get me wrong, I'm not proclaiming this to be a 100% healthy snack, but one you don't have to feel as guilty about. If making a snack mix for a party, definitely include both of these products.

Mary Cokenour

Keeping the past alive in some way.

Europe, Asia, India, Africa, it's not unusual to see buildings and structures that date back centuries in that land's history.  However, in the United States, our own history is often destroyed in the name of "progress".  We are still considered a relatively young country, yet we can find very little that dates back to our own beginnings.  What is called constructive, is, in truth, destructive; that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

However, in families, one item that is treasured is "family recipes", handed down from generation to generation.  In other countries, these recipes can be traced back by centuries, and many were brought to the United States by immigrants.  My own grandparents came to this country from Croatia, and with them came many wonderful recipes which were passed on to my mother, and then myself.

Here is one that I'd like to share:

Split Pea Soup

This recipe has been passed down from my maternal grandmother.  She emigrated, from Croatia, in 1925 with her husband, and was pregnant with my uncle.  In 1935, she gave birth to my mother.  My mother recalls, when she was a little girl that she would go to the butcher for ham shanks, and four would only cost 25 cents.  My grandmother began teaching me how to cook when I was five years old, and when he was six years old, I began teaching my son.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried split peas

cold water

1 large smoked ham shank

2 cups carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices

3 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups fine egg noodles, uncooked

Preparation:

In a large bowl, cover the split peas with water; soak overnight and drain.

In a 5 qt stock pot, on high heat, bring 3 qts of water to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; add in the peas, carrots, potatoes, onion and ham shank, cover.  Occasionally stirring, let these cook until the meat can easily leave the bone; about 30 minutes.   Remove the ham shank, pull off and shred the meat, return meat to stock pot. 

Let the soup cook another 30 minutes before adding in the egg noodles.  Cook an additional 10 minutes and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

January 24, 2011