There were plenty
of very appealing recipes to pick from. I strongly considered Overnight Holiday Dinner Buns, Moist Almond Bread, and Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes, and
will probably make all three very soon. The recipe I ended up choosing
was Chocolate Apricot Marshmallow Crunch: Rice Krispie treats topped
with mini marshmallows and diced up dried apricots. Why have I never
thought of putting apricots on Rice Krispie Treats? The combo just
sounded amazing, and I was already looking for a dessert recipe to try,
so the choice was simple.
How did they turn
out? Every bit as good as I hoped! My husband and I were happy I made a double batch. I'm also grateful for the trick I learned from Laura- use parchment paper to press down the cereal mixture and the topping! It won't stick and works much better than a spoon or hands. Why didn't I think of that before? The funniest part is that a few hours before I made these treats, my own mom called and in the course of the conversation, she mentioned that parchment paper was awesome for pressing sticky Rice Krispie Treats into the pan. So, thank you to both Mother Would Know and my actual mother!
My tiny changes were to not soak the
apricots in juice because the chewy texture of the plain apricots
appealed to me, and I added vanilla extract, because why not? Regardless, what a fun and slightly different dessert
choice for any time of year, but especially autumn/Halloween because of
the colors. I actually chose them in part because of the colors. We
live in Alaska and I love it here, but the end of summer is always sad
and a tiny bit panic inducing as we gear up for another 6+ months of
nonstop snow and cold. I make a real effort to to try to get excited
about autumn: wintry foods, Halloween movies, fall decorations, etc.
These Rice Krispie Treats fit in perfectly. Thank you, Laura, both for
the great recipe and for helping ease the transition into fall!
Chocolate Apricot Marshmallow Crunch
1/2 C finely diced dried apricots
1/3 C mini chocolate chips
3 Tbsp butter
8 oz mini marshmallows (by weight)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 C Rice Krispies cereal
Cut
two long strips of parchment paper to fit the inside of an 8 by 8
baking dish with a few inches of overhang on each end. Overlap the
strips so they make a + sign in the dish. Set aside.
Melt
butter in a large pot over medium-low heat, then add marshmallows and
cook, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows are melted.
Immediately remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then the cereal.
Once
the cereal is completely coated, dump it into the prepared baking dish
and press it in evenly with the back of a spoon. You can use the parchment paper ends to press the mixture down, too. Sprinkle the
apricot pieces and mini chocolate chips evenly over the cereal mixture.
Use the long ends of parchment paper to firmly press the topping down.
Let set for a couple of hours until cutting into pieces to serve- you
can use the parchment paper overhang to lift the Rice Krispie Treats out
of the dish and then cut them into serving pieces.
These look great! I love Laura and can't wait to get her blog for SRC now that we are in the same group! What a great choice!
ReplyDeleteAnything with apricots starts me smiling... and wishing for a big piece!
ReplyDeleteNice choice for your assignment this month!
This looks so interesting. I love finding new things during my SRC hunts. Lovely!
ReplyDeletewhat a fun and interesting combination! this sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteInteresting combo, and great SRC choice. Love dried apricots anyway and adding them to some Rice Krispie treats, gotta try it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous combination. Great pick
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting combination. I would never think of adding this to typical sweet. Wonderful SRC post!
ReplyDeleteThese look yummy. I never would have thought to add dried apricots to Rice Krispie treats, but now I cannot wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteOK, I am totally going to put chopped apricots on my next batch of Rice Krispies Treats! What a great idea. And a wonderful SRC choice.
ReplyDelete