Obsessions of a Cooking Blogger

Tonight, as I was frantically doing various Google searches (which have been mysteriously and curiously replaced on my server by Bing searches without an iota of market research from me) about Rice Krispy Treats, my husband walks by and says “Face it, you’re obsessed.” And as I follow him into the kitchen where he is cataloging a few (ha!) baseball cards he adds “And I know obsessed.” My simple observation on both comments is that he is dead right.

As my faithful readers (I think there are a couple) have already learned from my June 8th posting, I use an alternative recipe for Rice Krispy Treats. My assertion at the time was that the Kellogg’s company at some point changed the recipe to lessen the butter and marshmallows and, thus, the palatability. Now I have the proof!

One night, after the rest of my household was asleep, I was flipping through the myriad of useless satellite channels searching for a reason to stay up much too late. I tuned in to The Food Network’s show Unwrapped and was thrilled to see that they were reviewing the history of the Rice Krispy Treat! They flashed a 1940’s cereal box with the then recipe very quickly but made no mention that the recipe has since changed. I jumped to my remote and hit the record button for the DVR. Yeah technology!

As I was able to watch, pause, rewind and pause again, I found the original recipe ingredients, concocted by an employee named Mildred Day in 1928 and first printed on the cereal box in 1940, read as follows:

1/3 cup butter
1/2 lb. marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla, optional
5 1/2 oz rice krispies

What??? In terms of my version’s quantity of cereal, that would translate to about:

15 tbsp butter
1.4 lbs marshmallows (1 plus 2/5 of a large bag)
1 plus 1/4 tsp of vanilla

Bottom line, it’s way more butter and marshmallows to cereal than I even use, so I totally feel vindicated. (Okay, I’ll freely confess that I’m obsessive about both my postings and my specialty dishes.) And who ever knew about the vanilla? Next time I make treats I’ll have to try the extract. My friend Debbie commented that she has also seen a recipe with almond extract. Wow, that sounds good too. It seems we’ve blown the roof off of the current politically correct Kellogg’s official recipe!

Power to the people!

What Snap, Crackle and Pop Won’t Tell You

One of my fatal flaws is that I tend to believe some of the more reasonable conspiracy theories.  Nothing on the level of aliens abducting Elvis, but maybe, for example, I believe that the danger of  high fructose corn syrup is being hushed by the big soda company lobbies.  I am quite open to the possibilities of cover-ups, bribes and hush money being afloat in our world.  And while I won’t say for certain that any conspiracy exists without tangible proof, I definitely won’t discount that odd coincidences sometimes are more than just coincidence.
One of these so-called coincidences intersects with the culinary world, I am here to report.  It is that the recipe printed (now both in English and Spanish, you may be surprised to know) inside the box of Rice Krispies for Rice Krispy Treats is all wrong.  Have you tried it lately?  It’s dry, lacking in sweetness and too heavy on the Krispies.   One thing it has going for it is that it cuts and retains its shape while serving, but that is only because it’s terribly dry.  Was it always like this?    Perhaps Kellogg’s adjusted the measurements a few years back when recipes began to report nutritional information per serving.  I don’t know.

What I DO know is that a neighbor from Utah once made our family the BEST Rice Krispy treats ever tasted and since then I have known that I had been lied to by the powers that be.  Shortly after tasting the evidence, I quizzed Julie and she admitted she used more butter and more marshmallows than called for in the printed recipe.  She is one of those talented cooks who eye-balls the measurements, so my recipe below is an approximation of hers that I have tried and tested.  They aren’t as bricklike as the official recipe, so you’ll have to take more care in serving, but that sacrifice is well worth the perfectly tasting rice krispy treat experience.  Pass the word.

Better Rice Krispy Treats
1 stick of butter
16 oz. bag of marshmallows
8 cups of Rice Krispies
Pam cooking spray
In an extra large glass or ceramic bowl, microwave butter and marshmallows on high for 2 minutes.  Spray bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan or larger jelly roll pan with Pam.  Also spray a wooden or plastic spoon and the bottom of a spatula.
Stir butter and marshmallow mixture with coated spoon.  If butter is still not fully melted, microwave an additional 30 seconds and stir.  Repeat until butter is melted and mixture is well combined.  Add rice krispies, mix and pour into pan.  Press top of mixture down with spatula until it appears to be uniform.  Cool completely (if your family will let you) before cutting.

after pressing flat with spatula

Happy 8th Birthday Jack!!!