Adding a Twist

When I was a kid, I really loved rice crispy treats.  I grew up in a traditionally Chinese household.  This meant that we very rarely had marshmallows in the house, and when we did, it certainly was not for rice crispy treats. No, those lovely, puffy cubes of crunchy gooeyness were reserved for birthday parties and special events.

That was then.  Today, the rice crispy treat is everywhere.  You can drop a few quarters in a vending machine, and get one wrapped in bright turquoise foil.  Every cafe has them sitting in their baker’s cases.  At small mom-and-pop grocery stores, you can find huge chunks of them, about the size of your face (maybe even bigger), snugged up in plastic wrap with a bright orange sticker announcing their price.  They’re really everywhere these days, and simply don’t feel as special.

But a few weeks ago, a marketing manager friend of mine asked if I’d whip up a few batches of these treats for Goetze’s Candy‘s annual sales meeting.  She also said she’d send over some ingredients and comp me for my time. Heck yeah I’ll play with Caramel Creams and Cow Tales!  I love Goetze’s!  When I was in college, I used to reward myself with a Cow Tale every time I finished a rough study session.  Don’t know what a Cow Tale is?  It is a rope of soft caramel yum, with a deliciously creamy center.  Not too sweet, not too sticky, it’s just the right kind of candy.

Two of the recipes she requested were variations on the crispy treat.  I was skeptical.  Boy, was I wrong.  These ended up reviving my love of crispy treats, and I know this is going to be in our bake sale arsenal from now on!

To give you an idea, you take your standard crispy, but you add ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon or even allspice.

Then, you take it a step further and add chopped up Cow Tales!  I used the original, and the caramel apple.  The caramel apple is super sweet, maybe too sweet for me by itself.  However, it is really wonderful with the apple cinnamon treats.

First, my favorite: Caramel Apple Spice Crispy Treat

This was was no slacker either, I just really liked the cinnamon in the first one: Cow Tales Crispy Rice Bites

Enjoy!