The last time I made Rice Krispie Treats was when I was just barely at kitchen counter height. I remember being at my elementary school friend Katie’s house and making the gooiest, sweetest, and most tempting snack ever…Rice Krispie Treats! My grocery store was having a massive cereal sale this week when I happened to be doing my weekly shopping and with $1 Kellogg’s cereals staring me in the face, and picturing a barely used bag of summer marshmallows sitting in my home cupboard, I picked up a box of Rice Krispies and headed home.

Cutting the Vanilla Bean in Half and Scraping out the “beans”

I had never scraped a vanilla bean before today, and I’d always assumed there were actual beans in there. When I cut mine open, I saw that it was like black sticky stuff and thought I had a dud. But then I realized, hey wait, this looks like the stuff in vanilla ice cream…those little black flakes! I scraped that stuff out with a small spoon and added it straight to the marshmallows and butter concoction that was melting on the stovetop.

It really all went quite fast and after I’d poured the mix into the pan to cool/form into a rectangle, I melted about 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips with a teaspoon or two of water in the microwave, stirred it until sauce-like, and drizzled the chocolate sauce over the top of the treats. I could only resist about a half hour until I sliced them into squares/rectangles and had one. They were so much better than the store-bought kind that can be hard and tough to bite. They were soft and melted in my mouth.

Rice Krispy Treats ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

Vanilla Bean Rice Krispie Treats

Recipe By: The Crepes of Wrath

Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  5 mins
Makes: 25 bars (9″x13″ pan)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 10 ounce bag marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large vanilla bean, split and beans inside scraped out, pod discarded
• cooking spray

Directions:
1. Spray a 9″x13″ pyrex pan with cooking spray. In a large saucepan, melt together your marshmallows and butter, until smooth. Add in the scraped vanilla bean and stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in your cereal until well coated.

2. Press the mixture into the greased pan, using greased spatula or parchment paper. Set aside to cool, then cut into bars and serve. These will keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.