Reese's Puffs~Rice Krispies Squares with Peanut~Butter~Chocolate Drizzle

I very rarely eat really sweet cereals, but when I spotted the Reese's Puffs on sale, I thought they would make a great low-calorie, crunchy snack.  Then after a couple of weeks, it occurred to me they would make the traditional Rice Krispies Treats Recipe much more interesting and a whole lot better!  When I was ready to do my twist on the traditional recipe, I was feeling particularly lazy.  I wanted a really quick and easy topping for my squares and found myself in the ice-cream topping area of the grocery store!
                        
                           Even Better Than Rice Krispies Treats...

                    
                                 At Least That's What My Kids Said!


Approx. 24 ea. 2" squares

Ingredients

• 3 TB butter
• one 10 oz. pkg. regular (about 40 ea.) or 4 c. miniature marshmallows
• 3 c. Reese's Puffs cereal (chocolate and peanut-butter-flavored corn puffs)
• 3 c. Rice Krispies cereal
• 7 oz. bottle Reese's Peanut-Butter Topping*
• 7.25 oz. bottle Hershey's (Chocolate-Flavored) Shell Topping*

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a deep sauce pot over low heat.  Add the marshmallows and stir constantly until completely melted.  Remove from the heat.
2. Working quickly, with a large plastic spoon, mix in both of the cereals.  Finish mixing well by kneading with your hands which you have sprayed with a butter-flavored cooking spray.  Still using your hands, spread the mixture as evenly as possible into a 13x9x2 inch pan (I prefer glass for this recipe).
3. Let cool and set up for about 1/2 hour.
4. Cut the set mixture into 2" squares and place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
5. Drizzle the peanut-butter topping over the squares.  Freeze for about five minutes or until set.  Then drizzle the chocolate-flavored topping over the peanut-butter topping.  Freeze the squares again for another approximate five minutes.  Alternate cookie sheets in the freezer between drizzling the squares.  (The peanut-butter topping requires a good squeeze, whereas the chocolate-flavored topping flows easily without hardly squeezing...shake both toppings well before using.) 
6. For presentation, serve the squares in paper cups.

Tips*:

The toppings can be located in the ice-cream topping area of a grocery store.  You will have some topping left over (enjoy it on your ice cream!).  With these toppings, the squares have to be refrigerated.  If you want to transport the squares or ship them in a college-care or similar package, melt some chocolate-flavored-candy coating and peanut-butter-flavored candy coating and drizzle over the squares in lieu of the ice-cream toppings. The candy coatings (found at craft stores or online) will set and hold up better at room temperature than the ice-cream toppings.

If you use the ice-cream toppings, keep the squares in the refrigerator (until ready to serve) in a covered plastic container with sheets of wax paper between layers.  You can freeze the squares if you need to store for more than a week and thaw them a little before serving (again, keep extra ones in the refrigerator).

Spray all working utensils with a butter-flavored cooking spray before using.

To clean your pot easily: add a little dish detergent, fill with warm water and let soak a while.

                                                So Addictive...

                                 
                                         You Can't Eat Just One!

Make them for an after-school snack or with the kids for fun (or just make them because you're craving them)!  Enjoy!

Printable Recipe