See that picture above there? Youve got that beautiful gingersnap, a revamped brownie in the back, and in the front, that yummy rice krispie square. The up-scaled brownie recipe is here. We’ll be be making them at Thursday night’s workshop!
The first time I made Rice Krispie squares without marsmallows (petroleum byproduct, gelatin and corn syrup), refined sugar or butter, they turned out pretty good. However, they weren’t as close to a REAL rice krispie square as I wanted them to be. They were healthier, certainly. But I wanted something decadent and really desserty.
Last week I was messing around with these ingredients, to figure out how to get everything to stick together. Now, for the moment the amounts in the recipe are approximations- I was so busy throwing it together that I’m going to have to remake it to get the amounts right (I’ll probably try to redo the recipe tonight togive you some exact proportions). In the meantime, though, here’s the starting point. I’m actually pretty thrilled that I was able to pull off a solid chocolate top without soy lecithin or any milk product to bind it together! This gives me great ideas for Christmas…
Now, a note about Rice Krispie squares. Please read the package before buying the rice cereal, because they are not all the same. Kellogg’s brand, although designated as ‘gluten free’ in Britain, in Canada it is not gluten free. Our regulations require a product to have 20 parts per million or less of gluten, whereas as far as I know, in Britain its 200 parts permillion. That can make a big difference if you are sensitive to cross contamination. Another suggestion- if you see ‘barley malt’ on the ingredient list, that means there is gluten (barley= gluten).
Another point- boiling the honey is important. I will try the recipe again tonight to see what temperature to get it to, I eye-balled it, but essentially you want it to get really bubbly for at least 5 minutes or so, to get it to the soft crack candy stage- yes you can do that with honey not just refined sugar. (although nutritionally its not a big difference, its a placebo for me ;) “See, its honey. Way better. Not refined sugar.” When really, its about the same… lol).
If you are vegan- I haven’t tried it but you could give a go at boiling maple syrup or agave nectar, or making a simple sugar syrup and boiling that- I don’t know what the resupts would be but I bet its worth a shot. If you can’t get it as thick as you would like, perhaps sprinkling a little agar agar powder on it might help? If you experiment, let me know how it goes- I’m curious!
Ok, here we go guys! Remember, these amounts are approximations. I’ll remake it and get some more specific amounts together.
MyRealFoodLife.com
Marshmallow-Free Chocolate Covered
Rice Krispie Squares
Ingredients
- 2 cups solid creamed honey ( Vegan: agave nectar or maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1/2 cup almond butter (these butters are the best, but you can sub for other nut or seed buters)
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract if you wish)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 10 cups rice cereal
- 5 tsp tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp espresso powder (or you can try instant coffee granules- espresso powder you can get at Loblaws)
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey (Vegan: agave nectar or maple syrup or brown rice syrup)
- parchment paper
- large cake pan
Directions
- Line a large cake pan with parchment paper.
- Put the honey and vanilla seeds in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for at least 5 minutes.
- Add in the nut butters and the almond extract, stir to disolve and boil another 2 min. You want the mixture to get super, super hot so that the chemistry of the honey changes and it starts getting like hot toffee. That way, when its poured over the rice and cooled, it actually hardens. Neat eh?
- Pour half of the mixture over the rice cereal and stir to coat in a large bowl. If you find its not totally coated, add more of the hot goey mixture until everything is coated to your liking.
- Pour into the lined cake pan and press down- I cover my hand with a plastic bag to press it down well, it helps.
- In the pot with the leftover honey and nut butters, add the coconut oil and melt it, mix continuously.
- Mix the tapioca starch and cocoa powder and espresso powder with 2 tbsp water in a separate bowl- you might need a touch more water to make sure its at least a paste form.
- Add the tapioca mix to the the honey mix and stir well, make sure it simmers. Add in the second amount of honey.
- If you have a hand blender or regular food processor, you might wish to use it to make sure the mixture is fully incorporated, sometimes its a pain to get it to mix.
- If you are finding its not mixing, you may wish to let it cool in the fridge for 40 min, and then take it out and manually stick it in the food processor or use a hand blender to mix it.
- Whenever the chocolate mixture is fully mixed, pour over the rice crispies and let harden in the freezer.
- To cut, lift out the cold rice krispies with the edges of the parchment paper. Get a large knife and oil it. Cut it while still cold, and you’ll get perfect edges.
- Done! Now I’ll retry this recipe tonight to make sure I’ve got the proportions right!
Sorry, these did not turn out… looking back and comparing to my original way of cooking, here are my suggestions!! Make it clear in the recipe to boil the sweetener for 5 minutes BEFORE adding nut butters. The almond brand flakes burned on me…Salt would be very helpful 1/8 teaspoon to balance the sweet. Also, when I used to make caramel corn I added a pinch of baking soda at the end it makes the syrup fluffier and less dense!!! Thanks for your website!!
wow.. lee that is definetly something i’m going to investigate… i’m always looking for good new binding agents that are egg-free. Yes, agar agar is a seaweed – good for vegan short baking (like cookies)- for cakes and lighter fare i actually prefer unflavoured gelatin instead of egg substitute. My big thing with going gluten free is avoiding xanthan gum. that stuff is SO bad for you- and even more suspect is how difficult it is to find any info on it.
I hear you on the candida issues- thats a big one for me too. too many carbs or too much starch/sugar and the room spins and i basically pass out. I”ve found Ozovit is really helpful in clearing out the bad bugs. For food, you might want to look into the paleo diet- for me its the one thing my gut is always good with. That and the GAPS diet.
Hey- for additional sweetener ideas, check out my post on sugar substitutes. I found when i did a hardcore candida clense, (i didn’t even allowmyself any legumes or cheese or over cooked vegetables, anything that had significant natural sugars), that the first time i bit into an apple afterwards, the sweetness blew my mind lol. Anyways, right, what i meant to say was for a sumbstantial cookie thats low on the sugar and high on protein check out the molasses gingersnaps- i make them with almond and coconut flour. Instead of molasses, try using yacon syrup- its much less sweet but just as flavourful. Same thing with coconut sap.
Oh! and one last thing – BREAD. On a candida diet, i found the most helpful bread is my almond bread- its super high in protein and low in starch, my gut alway tolerates it really well.
ah- wait- right your chips. Ok, so, for the thicker ones, you want to toss them in olive oil and put them on a pre-heated cookie sheet to roast – it will make the bottoms crispy. THen flip them over. For the thin ones, you still want to toss them in olive oil, ut try cooking them at a lower heat but for longer (try like 300 degrees instead of 350).
Let me know how it goes! You can always try baking them on a silicone mat or on parchment paper as well- that helps alot.
I wish you lots of success in your journey to wellness- you will get there.
Alea: Re. Kuzu, rhe package i have says “Wild Japanese Arrowroot” and the brand is Mitkou. Agar Agar I think is a seaweed. I’m not really sure what the cooking difference is but I think one is that KUZU works better with HEAT/baking. Try: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDE/is_1_26/ai_n27127355/
I’m a novice at evolving comfort treats and other recipes into a healthier, more organic fare so I’m grateful to have finally found a practical, pleasing way into the kitchen to make life style changes. My single digestive challenge is Candida and borderline Diabetic and have, over the last year, cut down or out trigger foods. Homeopathy has helped tremendously. Eventually I plan to do a targeted diet when I have enough ‘allowed’ recipes that I can enjoy or at least tolerate so afterward managing any condition will become part of an integrated lifestyle choice. Two life/time savers are my food processor and blender for increased and varied vegetable salads and fruit smoothies consumption and using Ezekiel bread for French Toast (1 egg + egg white) with Agave Syrup, Goat Yogurt and Fresh Fruit … weekend treat … YUM. I do have a question: I have used my mandolin to make baked potato chips but the thin ones burn and thick ones are more like thin home fries … any prep or timing/temperature suggestions? Cheers, Lee
hey there Lee!
i’m so glad it worked out decently for you :) depending on your gluten sensitivity you may want another brand of rice cereal- rice krispies uses barley malt for sweetening so its full of gluten. I don’t react to them but if you are celiac you may.
give me a shout any time if there’s any particular recipe you want to see on here! i totally take requests :)
btw- i’ve never used kuzu- is it similar to agar agar? (or is it another name for agar agar?)
Healthy Rice Krispy Squares with Kuzu:
I’ve been craving rice crispy squares lately but unwilling to eat the original recipe. I had been wondering about using agar agar but saw your recipe and remembered I had kuzu. So, just now and in a hurry I tried this small batch as a test: 1/4 c. maple syrup and 1/4 c. raw agave syrup and 1/4 c. butter, 1 in. piece vanilla and 1-1/2 tsp Kuzu (then followed pkg. directions) to 3 c. Special K (all I had). Heated wet ingredients, simmered about 3 mins until bubbles are thick, took off heat and mixed with cereal, pressed into pan and put in freezer for 20 min. Cut into squares, (good consistency) eat one, it was, for a first effort, good but strong tasting. Satisfied my craving. Next time I’ll just use maple syrup or mix with light agave for less favoring. Otherwise a success. Thanks. Will return to your site.