The Squeaky Wheel Gets What It Wants.

 

 

I have a trio of sweet delights for you today.

 

 The squeaky wheel has been squeaking for some time now and it's gotten to the point where I had to grease it to make it shut up.  Unable to forage and fend for himself lately, Mr. Hawthorne has been whining for Rice Krispy Treats and Granola Bars.  He used to make them all the time, but, because of circumstances, he's had to stay OUT of MY kitchen for the time being.  But he wouldn't shut up about the sweet treats he wanted.  I finally broke down and made the dang things for him.  Plus I threw in a bonus - blueberry muffins.  And I have to say, mine, of course, were better than his.  He's scowling, so I think that means he agrees.

Let's start with the Rice Krispie Treats.

 

Rice Krispie Treats

I kinda went with the original recipe, and then I didn't.  Because that's just how Rosie does things.

5-6 TB  unsalted butter

1 10-oz package mini-marshmallows 

6 cups rice krispies cereal (I used Food Lion Crispy Rice cereal cause it's cheaper and because they spell it correctly.)

kosher salt to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp)

 

And my secret ingredient that's not so secret because you can plainly see it in the mix -

Chopped up pretzels (Maybe 2-3 cups.)  I like sweet and salty.  And you can experiment with the amount of pretzels you throw in.

 

Melt butter in medium sauce pan over low heat.  Add in marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows are melted. Add the salt.  (I gave you some wiggle room with the butter because of extra items you might find to add to the basic rice krispie/marshmallow scenario.)

 

Have cereal and pretzels in a large bowl and pour the butter/marshmallow mixture over it all, scraping and turning with a spatula until everything is coated and combined.  You need to go rather quickly with this as the marshmallow glop will get stubborn to deal with. Press evenly into a buttered 9 x 13-inch  pan.  I put plastic wrap over top, then use a mini-rolling pin to press down and compact the mixture and I use an offset spatula to press along the edges.  Let mixture cool, then cut into small squares.

 

These are from the first batch I made, before I thought to put the pretzels in there.

 And these are from the second batch.  With crushed up pretzels.  YUMMY!

Hmmm...  Just thinking out loud here.  Now here's a what if:  What if --- you folded in a handful or two of white chocolate chips right before you spread the mix into the pan?  They'd just melt slightly, but still kinda hold their shape.  Yep.  Think I gotta try that next time.

 ETA:  Yup.  I was right!

 Those white chips are tyro-rrific.

 

 

Up next - GRANOLA!

 

Rosie's Granola

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 cups coconut

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 cups quick cooking oatmeal

Combine all ingredients very well.

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup honey

3 TB molasses

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 TB vanilla

1 tsp kosher salt

In a small sauce pan, combine corn syrup, honey, and molasses.  Bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut oil, vanilla, and salt.  Let cool a bit.

Slowly pour syrup into dry ingredients, stirring to coat evenly.  Take your time here, because you want that syrup distributed throughout the oats and nuts.

Line a 10 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper and heat oven to 325°.

Press granola mixture evenly into pan.

 I use an offset spatula to press around the corners, then I cover the mixture with plastic wrap and use a mini rolling pin up and down and back and forth to press and even out the mixture.

Bake in a 325° oven for 35-40 minutes total.  Every 10 minutes or so, rotate the pan and press down the granola mixture with your rolling pin.

When it's golden, remove from oven and let cool a bit.  Lift parchment and granola out of pan and slice into bars.

   

Rosie Note:  Sometimes, in spite of our best intentions and worst distractions, we leave things in the oven a minute or two longer than we should. Not that that's ever happened to me. Should this happen to you when making granola, your granola won't be burned, but it will be rock-like and could possibly inflict dental damage.  NOT TO WORRY!  What you do, is take all those granola squares, put them in a zip-lock bag along with some slices of apple.  Wait a couple of hours and your granola will be toothsome and delightfully delicious with a subtle apple flavor imparted to them.

 

Lastly, Rosie made Blueberry Muffins because Food Lion had blueberries on sale and they were actively growing mold on the drive home from Nags Head Food Lion to Colington. I hate it when that happens.  Usually, it's a race to get the strawberries home before they turn on me.  But I digest.

 

 

 

 

Rosie's Blueberry Muffins 

 2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk

1 pint fresh blueberries, stemmed, rinsed, and dried

Crumb Topping

4 TB unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour
2 tsp cinnamon

zest of one lemon

With a fork or pastry blender,

combine all ingredients until crumbly.

I  used lemon zest since lemons and blueberries

seem to be made for each other,

but you could use orange zest

or a combination thereof.

Either one.

I like the citrus spark.

For the muffins:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add vanilla.

Add flour mixture alternatively with buttermilk,

starting and ending with dry ingredients

beating until well-combined.

Fold in blueberries.

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners

and fill each evenly with batter.

Top with crumb mixture.

Bake in a 375° oven for about 30 minutes,

or until tester comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool about 30 minutes.

 

 

Enjoy.