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!

Fourth of July Popsicles Made with Fresh Berries and Greek Yogurt

Celebrate this Fourth of July with these super healthy and cute popsicles made with only three ingredients:
fresh organic blueberries, strawberries and vanilla Greek yogurt. No added sugar or food coloring. 

And, ready to be amazed?? One of these popsicles is only 40 calories. Simply perfect :)

Sweeten up your Forth of July party with these American flag-inspired, patriotic popsicles, made with fresh, organic strawberries, blueberries and vanilla flavored Greek yogurt.
The best part of this recipe: no food coloring is necessary for your red, white and blue. And NO added sugar, just the natural sweetness of the fruit (and well ... what's in the yogurt!). In addition to the fruit, I used one of those 100-calories cup of Greek yogurt. I added the caloric value of the fruit and came up with a total of 160 calories for four servings. Sooooo.... each popsicle is only about 40 calories! Not bad, right?! I say, not bad at all :)

As you can see in my video here, this recipe is quite easy. All  you need is 3 ingredients. 10 minutes of your time, a food processor and pop molds. That's all!

I used a squeeze bottle to pour the yogurt into the molds, to limit spillage on the sides. You can also use a small spoon. If you like perfection, make sure to clean any drops before you move to the next layer. But don't go crazy trying to make precise lines. I really think that homemade dessert doesn't have to look perfect... just wholesome and delicious!!

You can also have fun with this recipe, and change it up a little. Add honey for extra sweetness. Use lemon flavor or plain yogurt. Add some lemon juice for a citrusy twist.
No matter what you do, you won't feel guilty when your kids will ask for one (or more!!) of these popsicles. After all, they are only fruit and yogurt in a frozen and colorful form.
So why make them only for this holiday weekend, when it's a perfect, fresh treat all summer long?!?
Enjoy :)




Ingredients: to make 4 popsicles of about 1/3 cup (80 ml) each      PRINTABLE RECIPE

5.5 oz (155 gr) of (organic) strawberries

1.5 oz (40 gr) of (organic) blueberries

1 cup = 5.3 oz (150 gr) of vanilla Greek yogurt

Preparation time: 10 minutes to prepare, plus 5 hours (or more) in the freezer
Directions:
1. Puree' the strawberries in a food processor or blender. If you'd like, you can add a bit of lemon juice and sugar (or honey) to make it sweeter. If your strawberries are sweet as mine, no need to add anything.

2. Using a small spoon, baking syringe or squeeze bottle, add about one tablespoon of Greek yogurt in each pop mold. Place about 7 or 8 blueberries in each, depending on the size of your mold. With a stick or the back of a spoon, distribute and push the blueberries down into the yogurt.
To make the layers look perfect (they don't have to be!!), you should try not to spill yogurt on the side of the mold. You can also clean the sides if you wish before you move to the next step.

3. Pour a layer of pureed strawberries on top.  Add a layer of  vanilla yogurt, and finish up with one more layer of strawberries. You can decide how many red and white stripes you want based on the size of your popsicle mold.

4. With the ingredients in my list, I made 4 popsicles. Close with the top, or place a stick in the middle. And place in the freezer until frozen. I suggest a minimum of five hours, or more.

5. Run the popsicle molds under warm water to remove from the mold. Careful not too pull too hard on the stick, or it might come off. I suggest to leave the popsicles in the mold until ready to eat!

 Happy Forth of July :)

Nutella and Hazelnut Rice Krispies Hearts

Perfectly gooey, chocolaty and nutty rice krispies hearts with Nutella and crushed hazelnuts.

Great snack idea for your kids' Valentine's day party!

As you can see, today I have one more heart shaped dessert for you.
After my two other recipes  this week, the pear and ricotta cheese mini cakes and the meringue cups, I can now say I made full use of my no-longer-new silicone molds. If you don't have heart shaped muffin cups, you can always use regular round ones. But, as you might know, food looks and tastes so much better in a heart shape.
These rice krispies treats are perfect for your Valentine's day party, especially for the kids. They come in a cute size, that can also be easily packed and made into great valentines for the children. And they are really easy and quick to prepare. With the addition of nutella and hazelnuts, this simple snack becomes a delicious homemade goodness: perfectly gooey, crispy, nutty and chocolaty.
Then, for all Nutella lovers out there (and I know there's a lot of us!), why not drizzle, spread or dip the rice krispies with more nutella?!?
It's for Valentine's day after all, and nothing says "love" as much as chocolate.


Ingredients: to make about 10 cups

• 3 cups (90 gr) of rice krispies cereal
• 1/2 cup (65 gr) of crushed, roasted hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (115 gr) of Nutella, or other chocolate spread
• 3 cups (150 gr) of mini marshmallows

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Directions:
1. Crush the roasted hazelnuts and place the rice krispies cereal in a bowl, so these ingredients are ready. In a microwave safe large bowl, place the marshmallows, nutella and butter. The bowl needs to be large enough, because the marshmallows in the microwave will inflate, and you don't want them to spill all over.

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

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

4. Spoon the mixture evenly into heart shaped muffin cups, it should fill about 10 (mine are 2.5 x 2.5 in). As soon as the mixture cools down a bit, press it down to pack, and shape into a heart.

5. Let cool down for about 5 minutes, remove from the molds, and flip (the bottom should look better than the top!). If you'd like, you can serve by drizzling with melted chocolate, or melted nutella right before eating. Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy!