Every so often, my guy’s stomach starts rumbling late at night. Since most restaurants shut their doors by 10 and the grocery stores close at 11, he often heads over to Walmart, the one place guaranteed still to be open, to find something to satisfy his midnight snack attack.
Last weekend, he walked back in the door loaded down with bags: lots of soda, beef jerky (our new favorite snack!), Skittles, gum, and… A family-sized box of Chocolate Toast Crunch.
Many of you know by now that my guy avoids chocolate like the plague. (It’s a bit rough when I’m testing new recipes, but at least I know my pantry stash of dark is always safe!) He also steers clear of sweet breakfast foods, usually in favor of “lunch for breakfast,” but on the rare occasion he does devour a typical morning meal, it’s always savory: eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage…
So when he pulled out that box of Chocolate Toast Crunch, my jaw nearly hit the kitchen floor. He saw my mouth gaping open and chuckled. “I thought it’d be Amy-approved!”
So. Umm. I kind of finished off half of the box before he realized what happened during the few days after… However! He did mention that he thought the cereal would make excellent rice krispie treats, and because my guy so rarely suggests or requests sweet goodies, I dropped everything and mixed up a pan.
We both agreed—they tasted exactly like the Swiss Miss cocoa we grew up on—so that’s what we named them: Hot Chocolate Cereal Treats!
Marshmallow cereal treats are super simple to make. Butter, marshmallows, and cereal—that’s it! Yet I make mine a little differently that the recipe on the side of the Rice Krispies box. I always add extra marshmallows! The extra marshmallows make the treats much gooier, not quite so hard and crunchy. It also means that they’ll stay fresh longer instead of turning stale within a few hours. It’s the best fail-proof secret to cereal treats!
Unlike Rice Krispies, these Chocolate Toast Crunch squares are rather large, and they’re much harder to stir into the gooey melted marshmallows. Use your biggest pot, and add the cereal to the marshmallows while the pot is still on the stove. Be careful when stirring so you don’t burn yourself on the pot, but if the treats start to harden before you’ve mixed in all of the cereal, turn the burner back on—really low—to make the marshmallows a little melty again so you can keep stirring.
Because of their hot chocolate taste, I topped these with the same itty bitty marshmallows that came in the Swiss Miss packages. Kraft makes them and calls them “Mallow Bits.” They come in a tall round container, and it’s usually on the drinks aisle near the hot chocolate and tea. Sprinkle those over the top to make them look incredibly cute and tempting!
Despite all that chocolate, my guy absolutely adores cereal treats, and he ate three the same day I made them. I was more surprised about that than the fact he brought home chocolate cereal in the first place!
That must mean these Hot Chocolate Cereal Treats are a real winner!
These cereal treats are extra gooey and taste just like hot chocolate! The itty bitty marshmallows on peeking out takes them over the top. They’ll stay fresh for up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.
- Generously coat a 9”-square pan with cooking spray.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the miniature marshmallows, and stir constantly with a spatula until the marshmallows have melted. Remove the pot from the heat, and stir in the cereal. If the mixture begins to harden before the cereal is fully incorporated, return the pot over the lowest heat setting, and carefully stir until the cereal is coated with the melted marshmallows.
- Evenly spread the cereal into the prepared pan using a spatula coated in cooking spray or your hands coated in cooking spray. (Be careful; it’s hot!) Sprinkle the mallow bits on top, and gently press them into the cereal to make them stick. Wait to slice until after the cereal has cooled completely.
{low fat, low calorie}
Japanese is my favorite season is autumn.
Will introduce the Kyoto autumn.
Reblogged rude.
My URL, and I forgot the input.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
Aw! So sweet. Isn’t it heart-melting when our guys love what we make them? My triumph last night was a feta, onion, and kale pizza I brought home from Arizmendi… he hates all of those toppings, but I topped it with chopped-up turkey bacon (which he also isn’t a fan of), but he ate three pieces and then sang its praises all night. Love it!
These treats are adorable! Those mini marshmallows are TOO cute!
That’s so wonderful Andrea!! That pizza sounds right up my alley, but I know my guy wouldn’t even try a bite. Even with turkey bacon. 😉 So happy for you!
Love these Amy! Chocolate + marshmallow = perfection. Looks like you’re doing a good job converting him. 🙂
Thanks Karen! It’s a process, slowly but surely. 😉
I have been on a HUGE cereal kick lately!! I don’t know where it came from, but I’m loving it. These look SO good. I love the tiny marshmallows, so cute!
Me too!! Even though it’s chilly outside, I’m still craving cereal ALL the time. So… Sometimes I just eat it dry. 😉
what a fun cereal bar!
Thanks Sarah!
I love the random assortment of things he brought home – skittles and gum?! Haha! So glad he brought the cereal too 🙂
He even brought home Twinkies too! He always goes for the junk food when he gets hungry…
Ahhh — there’s soo much of this recipe that I love!! First, I had no idea what there was a chocolate version to cinnamon toast crunch!! Mind.Blown. And also, I LOOOVE cereal treats!! The fact that this tastes like hot chocolate makes it a must-make for moi!!
Thanks Sharana! I didn’t know about the chocolate version either until he brought it home. And I’m such a big chocolate and cereal addict that I devoured the entire family-sized box… Sans what was in these treats, of course! 😉 If you try them, I’d love to hear what you think!
Oh god these chocolate cereal bars look delicious. They are so simple to make too.. definitely need to make myself a batch!
Thanks Thalia! If you try them, I really hope you enjoy them!