Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Vegan Mofo: Recreate a Meal From Your Childhood

It’s the second day of Vegan Mofo, the Vegan Month of Food — the month when bloggers, Instagramers, and the like pledge to blog as much as possible and fill the internet with delicious vegan food. And this year, there are fun daily themes! Today’s theme is “Recreate a Meal From Your Childhood.”

So technically, I didn’t create a meal. I created a dessert. But hey, dessert can be a meal, right? Don’t try to tell me you’ve never had cake for dinner. Just cake. Lots of cake. All by yourself, over the sink so you don't make a mess with the crumbs. I've been there. You've been there. We've all been there. Don't judge.

If you can make a meal out of cake, you can make a meal out of rice krispie treats. When I was a kid, I loved when my mom would make rice krispie treats. I don't remember it being all that often, but when she did, they were awesome. My mom made amazing meals every single day, so I could have recreated any of them. But honestly, I had some Dandies that needed using. So I made Cookies 'n' Cream Rice Krispie Treats with Semi-sweet & White Chocolate Drizzle.


Okay, so my mom didn't make cookies 'n' cream krispie treats. She just made the regular kind with marshmallows, butter, and rice krispies. And those simple treats are fantastic. But y'all don't need a recipe for those! So I figured I'd step it up a bit. Dandies sent me some vegan marshmallows to develop recipes with, so I whipped this up. I used the new cookies 'n' cream Oreos (yes, they're vegan!), but regular old Oreos would work just fine. For the topping, I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. I brought these to a non-vegan potluck, and they were a huge hit! Paul loves them too.


As y'all may know, I'm working on a retro vegan cookbook right now. And turns out rice krispie treats have quite a history. It's believed that they were invented in 1939 by Malitta Jensen and Mildred Day at the Kellogg Company home economics department as a fund-raiser for the Camp Fire Girls, the first secular, multicultural organization for girls. How cool is that? So I'm definitely including this recipe in my cookbook! Oh, and Oreos debuted in 1912, so those home-ec ladies totally could have snuck some into their rice krispie treats.

Well, without further ado, here's the recipe! This one's for you, Mama Crunk! Thanks for keeping me fed all these years.

Cookies 'n' Cream Rice Krispie Treats
Yields 12 treats

3 Tbsp. vegan margarine
1 10-ounce bag Dandies vegan marshmallows (about 3 1/2 cups if using the minis)
6 cups rice crispy cereal
10 Oreos, roughly chopped
1/2 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup vegan white chocolate chips
1/4 cup almond milk, divided

Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the margarine in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until they melt, about 8 to 10 minutes. Vegan marshmallows melt a little weird, just keep stirring. They won't liquify. They'll stay in a melty blob, and that's okay. Just make sure the marshmallows are melted down and have lost their shape. Stir the entire time! Turn off heat.

Add the cereal one cup at a time, stirring to incorporate each time. As you add more cereal, it will be harder to incorporate. But put some arm work into it. Make it a workout! 

Once the cereal is all mixed in, add the crushed Oreos and stir to incorporate. 

Press the cereal into the casserole dish, spreading to all the corners and sides of the pan. Press down to make it even all the way around. Set aside.

In a double boiler, add the semi-sweet chips and 2 Tbsp. of the almond milk. Melt the chips slowly, stirring often. When they're melted, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a pastry bag or a ziploc bag. If using a ziploc, trim the end with scissors and drizzle over the treats.

In a double boiler, add the white chocolate chips and 2 Tbsp. of the almond milk. Melt the chips slowly, stirring often. When they're melted, allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a pastry bag or a ziploc bag. If using a ziploc, trim the end with scissors and drizzle over the treats. Not all vegan white chocolate is created equal. Some melts better than others. I've had great luck with Vegan Sweets chips. They melt a little clumpy, and the color changes from white to off-white, but that's okay. When it dries, it will be white again. 

Cut treats into 12 equal-sized pieces. Eat!

8 comments:

Susan said...

Dessert is its own meal. :)

Amey said...

rice krispie treats are so special! Sometimes I make rice krispy treats instead of cake for my birthday. Yours look extra special and fancy!

J said...

Yum, this looks amazing! :D

Anonymous said...

Wow oreos and rice crispies go way back -and cool it was for a girls camp fundraiser. These are crazy, I can see how they'd be a hit with vegan and omni's alike!

Rose said...

Rice krispie treats are almost synonomous with childhood (at least in the US) in my opinion. If this version was around when we were kids, it would have blown our minds and rocked our world!

Your retro recipe book sounds interesting; I'll be looking forward to that.

Anonymous said...

They look so good! I've just moved abroad and there are no puffed rice cereals to be found. I never knew how much I wanted them until I couldn't find them!

Joey said...

Cake for breakfast is a staple in my world - it almost makes getting out of bed OK! I used to love marshmallow krispies as a kid - I haven't had any for years, and now it's just what I fancy!

Anonymous said...

Mama Crunk said
Those Rice Krispie treats look awesome! I am definitely making treats tomorrow.