Friday, October 09, 2009

Heavenly Chocolate Caramel Rice Krispy Treats and My Mom!

Besides the fact that for the most part these are "rice" Krispy treats (I say "rice" with quotes because I used the new Jumbo Whole Grain Krispies), so for the most part I didn't make THAT up, but besides that, I'm happy when I actually totally make something up and especially when it turns out YUMMY!  Okay, that first sentence was grammatically horrible, but I don't feel like what it would take to think through fixing it to make it sound better.  So I'll shut up about that and just tell you these Heavenly Chocolate Caramel Rice Krispy Treats are SO good.

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I wanted to come up with something to use up some aging (but not stale) Rice Krispies I had--the new Jumbo Whole Grain ones as well as some large marshmallows that were beginning to all stick to each other in the bag.  I also had some caramels in my baking pantry.  My wonderful, clean cupboards and pantry!  My parents were here from Idaho a few weeks ago.

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Then they went and spent some time with my brother, Matt, in Indiana, over to my sister, Sara's, in Iowa and we "conned" them in to coming back to Kansas so my mom could stay with the boys while we went to Virginia.  My dad left my mom and we got her a ticket to fly home.  He drove home the next day.  Anyway, my wonderful mother (Love you so much, Mom!), cleaned out and organized all my kitchen cupboards.  They were a little stuffed full of stuff and in quite the disarray.  She's into being all organized and such lately and told me I need "bins, bins, bins."  We got a bunch of all different sizes and she purged things that needed to be thrown out, moved things I didn't need in the kitchen to our downstairs storage and made it so easy for me to find things in my kitchen!  Anyway, she made a bin full (a big, heavy bin) of all the candy I had stashed everywhere.  Some being little things here and there, but most of it was candy I'd purchased to make something with during all my baking--hence, the caramels.

So where was I?  Oh these delicious treats!  I wanted ooey gooey and boy did I get it!  Here's what I did

Heavenly Chocolate Caramel Rice Krispy Treats, by Katrina

*Note, some of my measurements are a little strange, but that was because I wanted to use up some things I had.  But one thing I've always believed in with Rice Krispy Treats is extra marshmallows and/or a little less Krispies as there is just nothing worse than hard, dry, too crispy Rice Krispy Treats.

17 ounces marshmallows (a 16 oz. bag would be fine)

6 tablespoons (3 oz.) butter, cup up

6-7 cups (8 ounces) Jumbo Whole Grain Krispy cereal (Rice Krispies would be fine, too)

48 caramels (14 ounces), unwrapped (duh ;)

1/2 cup cream

12 ounces (1 package) semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream

pecans (optional)

Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray (or just spray the pan).  I love foil for easy release, I use non-stick foil.)  In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallows and butter until melted.  Stirring very often.  Stir in cereal and combine well.  Spread evenly in pan.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add caramels and 1/2 cup cream and melt together over medium heat.  Stir frequently as it melts, about 5 minutes.  Pour the hot, gooey caramel over the rice crispies and spread it evenly.  It will seep all through the nooks and crannies.

Put the chocolate in a medium sized bowl.  In a small saucepan (or a microwave safe dish--which is what I did), bring the 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cream to a boil.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for about one minute.  Stir with a wire whisk until it is melted and smooth.  Pour that over the caramel rice treats and spread evenly.  Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.  Remove from pan using the edges of the foil.  Peel off the foil.  Set on a cutting board and cut to desired sizes. 

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Do you see the goo-factor here on the underside of these?  They have a perfect chewy-crunch and an immense caramel flavor, not to mention a perfect amount of chocolate.  I sprinkled about 1/3 cup of pecans over about one third of the caramel (some of my kids think they don't like nuts).  I also think pecans on top of the chocolate layer would be good.  Turtle Rice Krispies!  Mmmm!

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These are super rich and so good that they really shouldn't be in my hosue, for my sake.  They are sticky enough that Sam wasn't crazy about them.  Silly, lick your fingers.  Come to think of it, Taylor and Parker didn't like the stickiness either.  I shared some with some friends last night and they liked them.

In closing, it was so fun and wonderful to have my parents here and my mother even longer.  Thank you so much for watching the boys for us while we were in Virginia!  I never seem to forget to take pictures of food, but darn it all, I didn't take as many pictures of my parents and my mom with the boys as I would have liked!  I meant to have all four of them get in a picture with Grandma before they went to school the morning she left, but forgot until it was just Taylor and Sam.   Here's what we got.  Sam screaming and fighting to get away.  Sigh.

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Love you to pieces, Mommy!  Thanks for everything.

30 comments:

Fallon said...

I love gooey things too and the more marshmallow the better!!!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I'm lovin that chocolate topping..

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Cute grandma! You girls look so much alike I think! And how cool of her to have organized your kitchen! Now those treats Katrina, major yummmmmmmm! You know I'm all about gooey stuff!

Anna said...

Those are interesting. Did they stay crispy or did they turn soggy the next day? Also, could you send your mom over to my house to do my cabinets????

Unknown said...

How great of your mom to take care of your kids!! The treats look amazing, I love anything gooey :P

Katrina said...

Anna, These are by far not soggy, a little chewy, but still crisp on day two. I store them in the fridge, which helped them not be quite so sticky/gooey. These are just what I think a Rice Krispy Treat should be as I've never liked the dry, hard, too-crunchy kind.
Rita, yes, I look a lot like my mom. Sometimes I do things that make me feel like, "ooh, I just felt exactly like my mom!"
She left on Wed. I'm still in awe of all my cupboards. Ooh, she could start a business going around helping people organize. Mom, did you hear that? I'm half serious. You should have charge me!

noble pig said...

Yum, but I wanted to see a pic of the organized pantry, LOL!

Anonymous said...

I love the addition of caramel! I'm totally with you on the hard, dry krispy treats - sometimes they hurt your mouth and they're just not as tasty.

I'd love to have your mom come over to tackle my pantry! Since that's probably not going to happen, I should try her idea of bins. I could use them!

Chocolaty Lifestyle said...

Amazing, I love everything with caramel! I would love to eat it all! ;))

Leslie said...

ooeeeyyy goooeeeyyyy goodness. These look amazing.
I love a organized kitchen. I get stressed out when my kitchen gets messy

Katy's Tiny Kitchen said...

Yummy!! I definitely need to try those out - they look amazing!!

Donna-FFW said...

My children would devour thsese!!

Bunny said...

Is your Mom available to help me with my kitchen cabinets?? I need to organize! Mine are stuffed too! Oh my word these treats look fantastic and YES I see the goo factor!

Judy said...

Such nice family photos. Your parents are a handsome couple! Rice Krispy Treats -- so yummy looking. I love the photo with the caramel oozing. BTW, I have the same problem with marshmallows, so when they get near the expiration date I stash them in the freezer till I can use them. works great.

Anonymous said...

They sound amazing!

Emily said...

Oh no! You were so close to getting a good picture with all three!

Your momma sounds so nice. And these rice krispy treats sound amazing. I agree - higher marshmallow/butter ratio.

Amanda said...

What great pics of your mom and kids, even the crying ones :) These treats look amazing, do you think your mom would come do my pantry and cabinets next?? Love the bins idea, think I'll go with that one :)

Maria said...

Love the treats and the photos!

Eliana said...

These look DEEEEEE-VINE.

Valerie said...

Fun family visit, cleaned out kitchen AND these gooey treats? It all sounds wonderful.

Cecilia said...

Katrina, these look absolutely amazing. I think I gained weight just looking at the picture. We miss Kansas and your cookies quite a lot. Looks like the family is doing great. I love your blog!

Ryan, Cecila and Bella

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness those look yummy! Love the idea of adding caramel and chocolate. I am going to have to try these!

Gourmified said...

HOLY COW! Seriously, these look divine! It's already in my favorites so I can make it soon! YUm!

Jaime said...

wow you are my hero :)

Tracy said...

Do you think these would make a good ball and dip them in chocolate instead? I am looking for a good ball recipe for a contest my friends are having. The smores brownies are a good contender!

Katrina said...

Tracy,
I think if you compacted the rice krispies into a tight enough ball you could probably dip them in chocolate.
There are some peanut butter rice krispies on another post of mine here and they were perfect for forming in to balls.
Maybe if you did these caramel ones done put quite as much caramel and/or mix the caramel in with the marshmallow mixture?
Let me know if you try it!
http://www.bakingandboys.com/2008/12/cranberry-bliss-bars-peanut-butter.html

National Cookie Network said...

Wow! You weren't kidding. These look great! I'll have to try this version next.

Thanks!
Tiffany

National Cookie Network said...

Your mom reminds me so much of a good family friend. She seems like a really warm and loving woman. You have a beautiful family.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I love the dark chocolate and the good factor!

Unknown said...

These look sinfully delicious and I think the gooey factor is a definite plus :)