Decadent Krispies Bar

justcallmetoni's Note:

A childhood favorite grows up. A new twist on the classic Rice Krispies treat makes this snack a hit with kids and adults alike. (This recipe was developed for RSC #9, contest ingredients included here were brown sugar, cinnamon, apricots, white chocolate and orange liquor.)

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 12 bars

• cooking spray

Bars

• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
• 1⁄3; cup sliced almonds , toasted
• ½ cup dried apricot , diced
• 4 -4 ½ cups Rice Krispies

Topping

• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 1 -3 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier

Directions:

1. This bar comes together rather quickly. Begin by preparing a 9 by 9 inch pan with a good coating of cooking spray and set aside. Also apply a bit of spray to your cooking spoon (preferably wooden).
2. If your almonds are not already toasted, place them in a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, routinely tossing the almonds around the pan. The almonds should add just a small amount of color and become slightly aromatic.
3. To make the bars, begin by adding the butter and brown sugar together in a large sauce pan over medium to low heat. Stir while the both the butter and sugar melt for 2 minutes or so. The result is smooth to the feel with a wooden spoon. In addition, you should be able to move it about the bottom of the pan with the spoon (sort of a blob).
4. Add in the 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and stir.
5. Add the miniature marshmallows and stir continuously helping the puffs to melt. Continue mixing until you have a pale brown mixture that is still rather loose.
6. This is where things begin to move fast. Once the marshmallows are fully melted and mixed with the sugar, add in the Rice Krispies, almonds and apricots. Stir quickly to get all of the ingredients incorporated.
7. Turn the mixture out into the 9 by 9 inch pan, distributing as much as possible using your spoon.
8. To level the bars in the pan, give your palms a quick shot of cooking spray and pat down.
9. Place the bars in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.
10. Invert pan and give the pan a good whack to release the Krispies bar. Slice into 12 pieces (4 by 3).
11. Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler over very low heat. (If you do not have a double boiler, you can fashion one using a large bowl over a smaller saucepan. Just be certain the fit is tight and no steam is being released).
12. Add the oil to the chocolate and stir while the the chips continue to melt. If the chocolate begins to harden, this is sign the heat is too high and you should lower the flame or remove the top half of the double boiler from the bottom.
13. Stir the Grand Marnier into the melted chocolate and use a spoon to stripe the bars on the diagonal allowing the melted chocolate to drip down the side. If you are a big fan of white chocolate, you can skip the drizzling and just dunk the bars into the white chocolate and place on waxed paper to cool.
14. (Timesaver tip: If you want to speed things up a bit. You can melt the chocolate after placing the bars in the pan and drizzle over the entire pan before cooling and cutting. Not quite as pretty, but just as tasty).

Reviews

[Cookinwaitress]

Made these for a friend at work who does not like chocolate. She devoured them! Didn't have and Grand Marnier, but I used just a little vanilla instead. They were incredible!! They will be going on my holiday baking list. Thanks for sharing!

[L DJ]

This caught my eye this morning. Wanted to take something to a friend feeling a little down. She loves krispy bars. I added about 1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries. She was delighted. Very pretty. Thanks for sharing.

[Cat^..^atude]

Great twist on the classic Rice Krispies treat. I didn`t have any Grand Marnier, so skipped the icing altogether... Dh loved the new version, but he eats way more sugar type treats than I ever do. Cat^..^atude