Rethinking Those Treats

 A fun snowy day activity is making Rice Krispy Treats. It's an easy recipe to whip up. There's no baling or flour or yeast to contend with. Yet these squares can be livened up and eleavated to the next level of deliciousness.

Eric Kim gave his spin on them in Wednesday's New York Times food section. He adds in black sesame seeds fried in browned butter ad give a heady dash ofsesame oil Doing such will add a dark peatnut butter flavor and cut through all that marshmallow-y sweetness. It's reminiscent of Japanese and Chinese sweets made with the seeds . The recipe is pretty much close to the original save for that addition.Over the years the New York Times Food section has produced some interesting variations of the Rice Krispie treats. There is Julia's Moskin's adaptation where browned butter is used when the marshmallows are melted. This sounds like something I would like. The browned butter gives it a nuttiness  but also a rich buttery taste. Butter and vanilla should be added to the recipe. for a more vegan option try Melt plan butter which works just as good as the real thing. You can also use vegan marashmallows as well which you can buy on The All Natural Candy site.

What else could you do to vary the recipe. Add  mini chocolate chips would give the treats an extra layer of flavor. Another idea is dipping the ends in melted dark chocolate (using milk chocolate may give them an overpowering sugariness). Use the 90 percent dark to counteract all that sweetness. Then try dipping them in crushed peanuts or sprinkles just to make them fun. You could add peanuts or any kind of nut to the recipe as well just for a different flavor. Surprisingly raisins can also go into the mix along with Craisons. The last again is a niuce tart and tangy foil  and can make the squares taste less cloying if you're not into super sweet. Coconut also works and sorts of makes them like crunchy Mounds bars.Here's a big kicker. for a bright taste of sunshine add lemon juice, zest and extract to the recipe to give them a kind of lemon bar vibe. This is great if you want a more summery , kind of lemonade taste to your snack.  You can also do the same with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest.

Give the treats a different spin. They can be buttery or lemony, rich with chocolate or with oranges or coconut. No matter how you make them, they're still a great snow day snack.