Single-Serve Cereal Crispies

Good morning everyone! Today for breakfast i've been making rice crispy treats without the Rice Krispie cereal! I've replaced the "snap, crackle, pop" with leftover cereal from my pantry, making perfectly gooey and crispy single-serving treats.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's sad when you look down into your favorite cereal box and see only a meager amount of its crunchy deliciousness?  There's not enough food for a meal with milk, and gobbling it up straight from the box is momentarily fun, but otherwise unfulfilling. So why not let that little bit of cereal go to good use?! Experiment with different cereals to make this quick treat-just like you did when you were a kiddo. :)
*This idea for what to do with a little cereal was inspired by my friend Ariana. Thank you!

Ingredients: (makes one peach-sized crispy treat)

2-3 marshmallows (I like the Kraft Jet Puffed kind)

1 pat of butter, a lil more than a tsp (click here for a pic of what I mean) 

1/3 cup of your favorite cereal (I used Honey Nut Cherios, TJ's Low Fat Vanilla Almond Granola, and Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Shredded Wheat Biscuits) 

1 T of chocolate chips, nuts, M&Ms, other candies, etc...(OPTIONAL) or 2 tsp cocoa powder, peanut butter, etc. 

Chocolate Topping:

1 T chocolate chips

1 pat butter (you'll already know how much this is!)

Directions:

1.  Microwave the butter in a small bowl for about 6 seconds, or until melted. 

2. Chop the marshmallows into fourths, and microwave with the melted butter for 20 seconds, or until melted., DO NOT OVER COOK! They will burn and become taffy-like (my mistake hehe) It's better to microwave for less time than for more. 

3. Stir the melted marshmallow and butter together until well blended. It will look kinda goopy. Mix in desired chips, candies, powders, butters, etc. 

4. Add the cereal to the mixture. If using large cereal pieces, break them into smaller pieces (I had to do this with the Kashi wheat biscuits). Stir until well blended and and wet the spoon with water if the marshmallow mixture is stringy and sticky. 

5. Spray two new spoons with cooking spray (I like PAM) and squeeze the mixture together to form a tight ball. It may get a lil messy!

6. Let cool in your refrigerator until it is no longer sticky to the touch, about 5 min. 

To make the chocolate drizzle: 

1. In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and butter until melted. Stir. 

2. Drizzle over desired treats with a spoon. OR For a fancier effect, spoon the chocolate mixture into a small sandwich bag. Push the mixture into one bottom corner and cut the tip of the corner with scissors. Squeeze out the chocolate;  it should come out of the bag like a ribbon!  You just made yourself a pastry bag/decorating bag!

3. Place the crispie back in the fridge for the drizzle to harden. 

* You can also make peanut butter drizzle by replacing the chocolate chips with 1 T of peanut butter!