Chocolate Rice Chex Treats

You can make crispy rice treats with Cocoa Krispies, but it just ends up being too sweet.  I prefer to replace some of the butter with unsweetened chocolate.  (Yes, you can use margarine.  It will taste better if you use butter.)

The picture shows a double batch made with the smaller amount of chocolate.  If you want a dark chocolate taste, use 1 oz for every 10 oz. of marshmallows.

You can try different cereals, but avoid cereals that have more than 3 or 4 grams of sugar of per serving.  You get all the sugar you need from the marshmallows.  I sometimes replace 1 c. of the Rice Chex with Crunchy Flax.

3 T salted butter, plus extra for pan
1/2 ~ 1 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 oz. marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
6 ~ 6 1/2 cups Rice Chex

Butter an 8x8 or 9x9 pan, and save some of the softened butter for finishing.  (I usually leave it sitting on the piece of the wrapper that I cut off.

Melt 3 T of butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Stir in the marshmallows and continue to heat until fully melted.  If you're using extra vanilla, stir it in before adding the cereal.  Use a folding motion to mix in the cereal until everything is covered with the chocolate marshmallow, and then pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Use some of the reserved butter to grease either your fingers or the bottom of a clean measuring cup, and press the cereal mixture firmly into the pan.  You'll need to re-butter the fingers or cup 2 or 3 times to keep the cereal from sticking.

Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before turning it out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares.  Store in a container with a tight lid, or take to a party where they will all be consumed before they go stale.