I had quite a few baby sitters when I was a kid. Some I liked better than others, understandably.
In the summer after third grade, I had one of my least favorite sitters. I honestly don’t even remember her name. She had mostly worked with boys and was just a bit rough for me. After Mom and Dad’s then annual July vacation, Granny came to visit to stay with me while Mom tried to find another sitter.
But I have one awesome memory with this sitter. A memory that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.
We had gone to the library to pick up some books and a few movies. Then we headed back to her place where we popped a movie in and made Rice Krispies treats. She had this giant pot, at least it seemed huge to me then. The butter, or maybe it was margarine, melted with the marshmallows and then we poured the cereal into the pot.
There was no measuring, just pouring and stirring, her carefully watching as I did most of the fun work.
And then we did something crazy. Something I can’t imagine doing again. Something I loved.
We brought the pot to the sofa and ate straight from the pot as we watched the movie.
Don’t get me wrong, I have lots of great RKT memories and will eat them still anyway I can get them, but RKTs right from the pot are infinitely better than any other way. That’s just an indisputable fact. No argument opposing it. They taste better.
Now I get a little jolt of that memory when I make a batch of cereal treats and take a taste from the bowl. Maybe they aren’t quite as good as eating almost the whole batch that day, but they are pretty awesome.
To take things to the next level and just have some major fun, I made Seven Layer Cereal Treats. These are not your mom’s cereal treats. They are massive treats with complexity, balance, and layers, perfect for kids or the kid hiding in all of us.
Let’s go over the layers. The base is Fruity Pebbles, because Fruity Pebbles. Then we have crushed Reese’s Pieces. If you want to keep these peanut free, try M&Ms or chopped up candy bars, Skittles might even be fun. Classic rice cereal is next, topped with white chocolate, followed by Lucky Charms, salty potato chips, and finally another layer of Fruity Pebbles. These also happen to be gluten free since I used all products marked gluten free, but be sure to check whatever you use!
It sounds like all these flavors might not work together, but they do, and the bar manages not to get too sweet. Some bites the peanut butter hits you, others the potato chips, and nostalgia is served up in every single morsel.
PrintSeven Layer Cereal Treats
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 36 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 4–6 cups Fruity Pebbles, divided
- 2–3 cups puffed rice cereal
- 2–3 cups Lucky Charms
- 8 heaping cups marshmallows of your choice, I used jumbo vanilla hearts and jumbo vanilla classic
- ½ cup Reese’s Pieces, lightly crushed
- ½ cup white chocolate, broken into bite sized pieces
- ½ cup potato chips, lightly crushed
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Place 2 heaping cups marshmallows and 1 tablespoon butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir to combine and add Fruity Pebbles until a sticky mass forms, about 2 cups. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan using an oiled spoon or spatula. Top with Reese’s Pieces and press them firmly into the cereal.
- Place 2 more heaping cups marshmallows and another tablespoon of butter in the same bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and add the puffed rice, creating the same sticky mass. Spread it into the pan using the oiled spoon and top with white chocolate, pressing firmly down to form one treat.
- Place the next 2 heaping cups of marshmallows and tablespoon of butter in the bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute and stir in the Lucky Charms. Spread them in the pan and top with potato chips, pressing firmly down.
- Place the final 2 heaping cups of marshmallows and tablespoon of butter in the bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and add the last approximately 2 cups of Fruity Pebbles. Spread over the mixture. Top with an oiled piece of parchment paper and press down as hard as you can so the treat becomes cohesive. Allow to set at least two hours and up to overnight.
- Cut into small bars and serve. Bars may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen individually, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
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