Nutella-Hazelnut Smiley Rice Krispies Treats

Make your kids happy with these quick and super easy smiley rice krispies treats

Perfectly gooey, crispy, nutty, chocolaty... and so much fun!

Rice krispies are so much fun! There are lots of ways to get creative with such simple ingredients.
Here is a sweet recipe made with rice krispies packed in individual round sizes, decorated with white and brown chocolate chips into smiley faces. Super easy and so cute!

You could really use this idea and decorate plain rice kripies treats. But why just stop at plain when you can have more?!? Rice krispies are very easy and quick to prepare. These are just as simple and as fast. All you have to do is add nutella (at the beginning with the marshmallows and butter), and crushed hazelnuts (later with the rice Krispies cereal). You can turn a simple snack into a delicious homemade goodness: perfectly gooey, crispy, nutty and chocolaty.

Listen up! Before you run to the kitchen and grab the marshmallows, here is an important advise.
Remember to set out and measure all the ingredients before you start with the microwave. You need to be quick and mix the cereals and hazelnuts to the melted mixture of mashmallows/butter/nutella when still warm. So I beg you please!  Don't try to figure out how to crush the hazelnuts when everything is cooling down and hardening into a big mass. You won't be able to incorporate the hazelnuts at that point, and it will be harder to shape anything into the muffin cups. So be ready ahead of time, and you will rock this recipe!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: to make about 24 treats

• 1 bag (10 oz = 285 gr) of mini marshmallows
• 4 oz (55 gr) of unsalted butter
• about 2/3 cup (about 220 gr) of Nutella, or other chocolate spread
• 6 cups (about 200 gr) of rice krispies cereal
• 1/2 cup (65 gr) of crushed, roasted hazelnuts
• white chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips for decoration

Preparation time:  20 minutes
Directions:
1. Crush the roasted hazelnuts. Set out and measure the rice krispies cereal in a bowl. So all ingredients are ready.

2. In a microwave safe large bowl, place the marshmallows, nutella and butter (cut in pieces). The bowl needs to be large, because the marshmallows in the microwave will inflate, and you don't want them to spill all over.

   
3. Microwave for 60 seconds. Check and mix. You will probably need another 30 to 40 seconds in the microwave to melt completely the ingredients. Mix again.

4. Add the rice krispies cereal and the crushed hazelnuts and mix quickly, until well coated.

5. Spoon the mixture evenly into about 24 round muffin cups. Press down with the back of a spoon to pack the treats into shape.

5. Flip the rice krispies (the bottom looks better than the top!). Decorate with the chocolate chips. I used 4 white chocolate chips for the mouth, two white for the eyes, topped with a mini (brown) chocolate chip to finish it up. Microwave the smiley faces for about 15 seconds, and let it sit there for  minute, so that the chocolate chips will slightly melt and stay in place (if not they might roll all over!) 

Store in an air tight container. And enjoy!

Halloween Ghost Brownies with Marshmallows and White Chocolate

Perfect recipe for your kids' Halloween party

These cute and spooky ghosts are made with deliciously rich and fudgy brownies, topped with a big marshmallow covered in white chocolate ganache

I'm feeling that Halloween is creeping up on me without warning this year. It's only two weeks away, and I'm not ready.
I just finished with my little boy's birthday party this week, and I need to start worrying about  some fun Halloween recipes for you, costumes for the boys, decorations ...yes, I have not filled my front yard with any scary things yet. Shame on me!
So, here it is - at least one recipe: Easy-to-bake, little ghosts made with a big marshmallow, covered in delicious white chocolate ganache, sitting on top of a dark, rich, and sinfully fudgy brownie.
I know. Spooky, right?!? ... definitely spooky for the waistline! Haha!

I saw this idea the other day on BettyCrocker.com. That recipe uses Betty Crocker's brownie mix and ready-to-use white frosting. You could do that, if  you are feeling lazy ... Ahem. I mean, if you want to save a couple of minutes of your time :)
Homemade brownies and white chocolate fondue sound and taste so much better. And it's really not that much more work. So check out my video, and you will see:

This recipe is so easy, that you can do it with your kids too. You could even be the amazing mom (or dad, of course!) to throw the coolest decorate-your-Halloween-brownie-ghost party!!!!! Sounds fun, right?!? The kids will love it for sure :)
Here is what you'll need to do.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:  to make 6 ghost brownies.            
For the brownies:

• 4 oz (110 gr) of unsalted butter 
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
• 2 eggs 
• 3/4 cup (150 gr) of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (75 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35 gr) of unsweetened cocoa powder (Ghirardelli, or another good quality)
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• pinch of salt

For the top:

• 6 large marshmallows
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of white chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or other good quality)
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• mini chocolate chips for decoration (to make the eyes and mouth of the ghosts) or brown/black frosting

Preparation time: about one hour and and fifteen minutes.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Place the half cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and the butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 30 seconds (set on high). Check, mix and add about 15 more seconds if needed.
If you prefer, you could also melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler - Place the bowl over a steamy pan partly filled with simmering water. Mix until fully melted.

2. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, the sugar and the vanilla extract.

3. Mix in the flour, the cocoa powder, the baking soda,  and the melted butter/chocolate mixture (which should be cool down a bit by now). Stir all the ingredients are combined, do NOT over-mix.

4. Spoon the batter into about 6 muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way. You can use silicone cup as is. If you have tin cups, please spray or grease with butter and flour. Or line with paper cups.

5. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350° F (175° C). Do not over-bake, or the brownies will dry up.
Let the brownies cool down, before removing from the mold. When cooler, remove the brownies and set aside while you prepare the topping.

6. Melt the white chocolate chips with the heavy cream. You can microwave for about 20 seconds, mix and add a few more seconds (maybe 15 more seconds) until melted. Or you can melt the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler, same as before.

7. Place one marshmallow on top of an upside down brownie. Note, the bottom of the brownie is much flatter than the top.
Hold the marshmallow with the tip of a toothpick, and pour some of the melted white chocolate on top. The white chocolate will harden quickly when it cools off, and will hold everything together.

Decorate with the mini chocolate chip and make the eyes and mouth of the ghost.

Happy Halloween!

Rice Krispies Treats with Peanut Butter and Chunks of Snickers

Crunchy, gooey, chocolaty, and nutty rice krispies treats with peanut butter and chunks of Snickers bars

Anytime is a great time for a rice krispies treat if it's this delicious!

Are you planning a last minute party or a simple get together with lots of kids? Here is the perfect recipe for you.
As you know, all kids like rice krispies treats. And when you add a little something special, like creamy peanut butter, and yummy chocolate bars, then everyone will love them too. I promise!
This recipe takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. And the only baking required is a couple of minutes in the microwave. That's all! Just perfect for hot summer days.
What's better, making rice krispies is so easy that your kids might want to help out, or prepare these themselves. Anybody can do it, really!

Here are a few words of advise: use an extra large bowl (as you see in my pictures), to avoid cleaning up gooey and sticky stuff off the bottom of your microwave. If you have never seen what happens to marshmallows in the microwave ... they grow and grow, just for a few seconds. But that's enough to mess up your oven.
Also, measure and prepare all the ingredients before you start with the recipe. You need to quickly mix all the ingredients and shape the mixture into the muffin tins, when the marshmallow mixture is still warm. Once it cools off, it will harden and turn into an unmanageable large sweet lump :)
Check out my video too:

Ingredients: to make 24 round bars

• 1 bag ( 10 oz, 280 gr) of mini marshmallows
• 2 oz (65 gr) of unsalted butter  
• 1/2 cup (150 gr) of peanut butter
• 6 cups (180 gr) of rice krispies cereal
• 1 cup (about 120 gr) of chopped Snickers bar (or 3Musketeers or similar)* 

*I used 16 mini bars

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Directions:

1. Cut the Snickers bars in pieces and measure all the other ingredients, so that everything is ready.
In a large bowl, add the marshmallows, butter and peanut butter. Make sure the bowl is much larger that the content because the marshmallows will inflate in the microwave.

2. Microwave for one minute on high. Mix with a spoon, and microwave for an additional minute.

3. Quickly mix in the rice krispies cereal and the chocolate bars

4. Spoon the mixture into 24 regular size muffin cups. I used silicone cups. If you are using regular cups, please grease with butter or spray.

5. Press down the mixture in the cups with the back of a spoon (or your fingers!) to pack the rice krispies.

Let them cool down for a couple of minutes,  remove from the mold and ...

Enjoy :)