Tag Archives: no bake

easy cereal treats

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July will be over in two days, and with it so too will be my no-bake recipe streak.  At least that’s the plan.

These weren’t even part of the plan.  These were the result of me actually having cereal for breakfast on Sunday morning, and realizing that I have far too many boxes of cereal… and that the only option (aside form throwing them away) was to eat my way out (much like the Pop Tart in that new commercial).

Clearly, throwing out boxes and boxes of perfectly good cereal is not an option.  So, I made a plan to eat my way out of my cereal problem… With math!

Everyone knows that marhsmallows + cereal = delicious.  See?  Math!  So, I found my last two bags of marshmallows, picked my most promising (and full) two  boxes of cereal… and then… this happened.

See?  Easy.

And the winners?  Well, those were easy to choose.

      

Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you that this was a double feature?  Two recipes, one post.

Well, two cereals, the recipe is pretty much the same, hence the one post.  Cookies & Cream, and Cinnamon Roll.  Yeah, I know I just made oreo krispy treats, but these are different.  You don’t have to add any cookies to them, because the cereal is already full of delicious cookie flavor.

Of course, a few Oreos never hurt anyone, did they?

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BF liked the cookies n cream better, I liked the cinnamon roll better.  You will have to make both and decide for yourself.

As an added bonus, you can easily modify the recipe to your liking with any cereal of your choosing.  Think: Trix, or Peanut Butter Crunch, even Kix!

And now, with 2 boxes down, I’ve only got 7 more to get through before I can start buying more cereal…. I’m totally not exaggerating.

Cookies & Cream Cereal Treats

Makes one 9-by-13-inch pan

Printable Recipe

  • 6 cups cereal
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag mini marshmallows
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

1.  Melt butter in a large pot over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and add cereal, stirring to coat.  Add chocolate and vanilla chips.

2.  Press mixture  into 9 by 13-inch pan.  Cool completely and then slice into desired-size bars.

 

Cinnamon Roll Cereal Treats

Makes one 9-by-13-inch pan

Printable Recipe 

  • 6 cups cereal
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag mini marshmallows
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup cinnamon chips

1.  Melt butter in a large pot over low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.  Remove from heat and add cereal, stirring to coat.  Add cinnamon chips.

2.  Press mixture  into 9 by 13-inch pan.  Cool completely and then slice into desired-size bars.

s’mores icebox cake

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Did we all enjoy our break from whipped cream and sugar?

I hope so, because it’s over.

So, so, so over.

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Because who can say no to s’mores?  Not this girl.

Especially in the summer, when you don’t even need any fire to make them.

Ok, maybe just a little fire.  After all, how can you have a s’more without a toasted marshmallow?

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You can’t.  You absolutely cannot.

So, for this cake, we keep our roasted marshmallows and layer them with graham crackers, whipped cream, and chocolate pudding.  Not just any chocolate pudding, though, HERSHEY’S chocolate pudding!  I didn’t even know Hershey’s MADE pudding… but as soon as I saw it my brain instantly went to s’mores, and my no-bake frenzy turned those s’mores into an icebox cake.

Because you can’t have s’mores without Hershey’s!

hershey pudding

Well, you can, but they aren’t the same.

After we layer our ingredients, we use the magic of the refrigerator to turn those crunchy grahams into soft layers of cake.  It’s magic!  For real! And those marshmallows, the whipped cream does some crazy refrigerator voodoo and makes them become one with the whipped cream.  It’s like biting into sweet, toasty little clouds in between layers of chocolate and graham.

Like I said, magic.

S’mores Ice Box Cake

Makes 1 9-by-5 inch cake

Printable Recipe

  • 2 ¼ graham sheets per layer (1 sleeve total), 1 cracker reserved for crumbling
  • 1 ¾ cups milk
  • 1 (3.5-ounce) package chocolate pudding (I used this one)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese (optional)
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar, separated
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows, toasted if you’re feeling motivated; 2 Tablespoons reserved
  • 1 Hershey bar, chopped

1. Whisk pudding mix and milk in a medium bowl until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Place in fridge to thicken up, at least another 5 minutes.

2. Make whipped cream:

Note: I added cream cheese to my whipped cream, because I read somewhere that it would help to “stabilize” the whipped cream.  I’m not sure if it works, but you can leave out the cream cheese if you like.

In a small bowl, whip cream cheese with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.  In alarge bowl, whip heavy cream until thickened.  Add ¼ cup powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whip until it reaches firm peaks.  Gently fold cream cheese into whipped cream and stir to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Toast your marshmallows (if desired, trust me, you desire).  I used this adorable handheld torch that the BF got me for Christmas, or my birthday, or some celebratory event.  I don’t use this thing nearly enough.  It works SO WELL.  I love it.

4. When ready to assemble, layer your cake starting with graham crackers, then whipped cream, mini mallows, and chocolate. Some icebox cake recipes tell you to start with a thin layer of whipped cream (like lasagna has you start with a layer of sauce).  This is optional, but will help your bottom layer to soften faster.  I prefer to skip this step and not have my bottom layer glue itself to my serving platter, but to each his (or her) own.

A 9 by 5 cake will require each layer to have 2 1/4 sheets of graham crackers.

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Repeat your layering until you reach the top (3 layers in all, of course you could make it taller with extra grahams. There was plenty of whipped cream and pudding left over).

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Spread whipped cream over sides as well, if you would like a fully-frosted cake, or leave the sides unfrosted for a more whimsical look. Sprinkle with chopped Hershey’s, mallows, and graham crumbs.  Chill for at least 4 hours to allow grahams to magically turn into cake.

 

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cookies & cream krispies

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We are no strangers to rice krispy treats in this house, they are one of the BF’s favorite foods.  Especially when he gets to use cocoa krispies for them.

These bars were basically made for us, combining his love of rice krispy treats and my deep love of Oreos unite to create an amazing cookie-filled krispy treat.  BF made them all by himself (well, with the help of my owl apron), and they were delicious.

aaron cocoa krispy treats

I noticed that (possibly due to Oreo cookie magic?) they stay fresh way longer than regular krispy treats.  We kept eating them all week long.  After they were gone, I may or may not have sniffed the container.

They’re that good.

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Cookies & Cream Krispies

Printable Recipe

  • 1 (10.5 ounce) bag of mini marshmallows
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 cups Cocoa Krispies (could use regular crisp rice cereal, if desired)
  • 3 cups Oreos, coarsely chopped

1.  Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with saran wrap, then grease with butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2.  Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir with a silicone spatula until melted.

*Alternatively, you can melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave, then add marshmallows and microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds or so.

3.  Add cocoa krispies and chopped cookies to marshmallow mixtures and stir until well-mixed.  You are going to need all of your arm muscles for this, so I hope you’ve been working out!

4.  Press mixture into prepared 9 x 13-inch pan and set aside to cool and firm up, about an hour or two.  (Or about 30 minutes in the fridge).  Once cooled, cut into bars and enjoy!  They will keep for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

 

 

reeses pieces no-bake peanut butter pie

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It’s no secret that I love Reese’s.  If “Reese’s” was a real man, he would need a restraining order against me.

What is a lesser-known thing about me, is that I hate Reese’s pieces.  To me, they are the bastard child of the Reese’s corporation.  It’s weird, I know, because I love peanut butter so much (along with just about every other item that Reese’s makes), but these pieces… they just don’t do it for me.  I think it’s because they lack the flavor contrast provided by the chocolate, nor do they have the saltiness that gives peanut butter such a special place in my heart.

They’re just… bland.  Or something.

I don’t know what it is but I just don’t like them.  (Give me a bag of peanut butter M&Ms, however, and I will eat it until I’m sick to my stomach)

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But the BF, he loves Reese’s pieces.  With a passion.  They are pretty much his most favorite thing ever.  Clearly if the person I love could love something so much, it can’t be all bad, right?

So, I tried to make something that would satisfy both his love of Reese’s pieces, and my love of everything else that is peanut butter in the world.

Turns out that he’s onto something, because this pie is pretty awesome.

This pie makes up for everything those poor pieces lack on their own, like chocolate.  The pieces even help the pie out a bit, too, by offering a nice crunch to complement the otherwise creamy texture.  In fact, I think that without the pieces, the pie might even be a little too creamy… if that’s really a thing?

I mean, you don’t want your mouth to get bored when you’re eating dessert.  “Too creamy” will do that.  Bore your mouth.

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A little salty, a little sweet, a little creamy and a little crunch.  Yeah, this pie has pretty much the best of everything… no boredom here.

And, if you’re not too fancy for a store-bought Oreo crust, you don’t even need to turn on the oven!  Which is going to be a popular thing around here this month, since we are battling an excruciating heat wave.

It was 119 over the weekend.

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So yeah… I’m not trying to turn the oven on anytime soon.

In fact, it’s been so hot that I’ve been thinking about testing that whole “baking cookies in your car” thing to see if it really works.  I mean, if it works, what better place to test it?  Put the cookies in my car on my lunch break, let them bake in the sun, get into a car that smells like fresh-baked cookies after work… I don’t see any way that this could possibly go wrong.

I’ve made this dessert in another way, once upon a time ago.  I’m pretty sure all the pictures were taken with my old-school cell phone a million years ago.  But this, this is a faster, easier version.  If you want to make it the hard way, feel free to make every ounce of it from scratch following the directions here.

But since it’s summer, and it’s hot, and this is all about takin’ it easy, I recommend you follow this one below:

Reese’s Pieces No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Printable Recipe

Makes 1 9-inch pie

  • 1 9-inch Oreo pie crust (homemade or store bought)

  • 1 cup chopped Reese’s Pieces, I chopped mine, but I’m sure that’s not really necessary

  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed (freshly-whipped cream works, but ya know, we’re being lazy)

  • ½ cup powdered sugar

  • 6 ounces cream cheese, room temp

  • 1 cup peanut butter (I always use Jif Creamy)

  • 2 Tbsp whole milk (I used 2% and the world did not collapse)

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • 4 oz bittersweet (I used leftover semisweet mini chips) chocolate, chopped

1.  Toss chopped Reese’s Pieces, mini chocolate chips, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2.  In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese with powdered sugar. Start slow, once incorporated mix at medium speed until cream cheese is smooth. Beat in peanut butter, milk, and ¼ cup of the “crunch”.

3. Stir in ¼ of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture.  Once incorporated, stir in the rest of the “crunch” mixture (I left some aside to sprinkle on top). Then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream, being sure to scrape the bottom.

4. Pour peanut butter mixture into the crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cover with plastic wrap once the mousse firms.

5. To finish, heat heavy cream in the microwave until almost boiling (about 2 – 3 minutes).  Add the chopped chocolate (I used leftover mini chocolate chips) and stir vigorously with a fork until it’s smooth and shiny. Pour the “ganache” over the pie, and smooth (or tilt the pie) to cover the top. Sprinkle with reserved crunch (if you saved some) and place the pie back in the refrigerator to set for at least 20 minutes.

no-bake s’more bars

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Today is the last day to celebrate National S’more Month!!! So hurry up and make these quick and easy S’more Bars!!

You can make these babies in the microwave, which means you don’t have to endure any extra heat – no stove, no oven, no fire, no outside. Just sweet, delicious s’more goodness in the comfort of your air-conditioned home.

For these bars I used a recipe that melted the chocolate with the marshmallow, but I think my usual recipe of s’more bars that mixes chocolate chips in at the end is actually better.

Also, these are SUPER STICKY!!! REALLY, REALLY STICKY. I suspect the corn syrup is to blame… the recipe I usually make is just the good ol’ Rice Krispy Treat recipe with Golden Grahams in place of Rice Krispies and add the extra mini mallows and chocolate chips at the end…

Luckily, these are so easy to make that you can make them both ways and judge for yourself.

No-Bake S’more Bars

[ Printable Recipe ]

  • 8 cups (1 box) Golden Grahams cereal
  • 6 cups (1 bag)  miniature marshmallows, reserve 1 cup
  • 1½ cups chocolate chips*
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
  1. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and line with parchment paper or plastic wrap; set aside.
  2. Place the cereal in a large mixing bowl; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine 5 cups of marshmallows, chocolate*, light corn syrup and butter. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
  4. Pour the melted mixture over the cereal and, using a buttered spatula or wooden spoon, gently stir until all of the cereal is coated. Stir in the additional cup of marshmallows (and chocolate, if you didn’t melt it with the marshmallows)
  5. Turn the mixture out into the prepared baking pan. Butter your hands and press the mixture evenly into the pan, pushing it down into a flat, even layer. Cool for at least 1 hour at room temperature (refrigerate to speed up this process).

**READ THE TIPS BELOW**

*You can either melt the chocolate with the 5 cups of marshmallows, or stir it in with the last 1 cup. Make sure you use a REALLY BIG BOWL and REALLY STRONG ARMS for stirring. It’s REALLY HARD!!!

*Cover with parchment paper and smoosh down to help you spread them more easily.

*These can also be made on the stovetop, just like you would make regular rice krispy treats, melt it all over low heat, and then stir in cereal and mix-ins, and pour into pan and spread. 

*These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, but good luck with that.

[ Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker ]

OG No Bake S’more Bars

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 10 oz large marshmallows
  • 4 1/2 C Golden Grahams
  • 1 – 2 C mini mallows
  • 1 C mini chocolate chips

1. Melt butter & marshmallows together. Once melted, add cereal. Once the cereal is mostly coated, add the mini mallows and chocolate chips.

2. Spread into greased pan. Sprinkle with additional mallows/chips, if desired. I think it’s fun to drizzle a little criss-cross of melted chocolate over the top, too. If I’m feeling motivated.

3. Once cooled, cut into squares and store in an air-tight container.

*Tip: Cover with parchment paper and smoosh down to help you spread them more easily.

[ Adapted from the Rice Krispies box ]

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