No-Butter Nutty Rice Crispie Treats aka Avalanche Bars

This week I realized that I had two care packages to send off. One for a friend in Colorado who was an AMAZING host a few weeks ago, and another for the boyfriend’s little sister whose 22nd birthday is next week.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet (as though more than my three faithful friends are reading this), but my part-time job in college was—that’s right—a counter girl at a local gourmet chocolate and sweets shop. Did I eat so much that I would have been the store’s best customer had I actually paid for any of it? Obviously. While it was no good for my morality as an employee (The truth: One does not get sick of chocolate when surrounded by it every day), I spent my days surrounded by caramels, dipped strawberries, truffles and creative concoctions like triple-dipped chocolate pretzels and tiger bark (Don’t. Even. Ask.).

One of my favorite chocolate-shop confections (that I’ve made regularly up through today) is one that we called Avalanche Bars. These nutty treats put a spin on traditional rice crispie squares by filling them with a natural disaster’s worth of marshmallows and mini-chocolate chips, held together by—not butter—peanut butter.

Send these in a care package and the recipient with definitely feel the love—no matter how far they’ve got to travel.

¾ c. peanut butter
1¼ c. dairy free white chocolate chunks
3 c. puffed rice cereal
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. mini chocolate chips

The Recipe
1. Put the peanut butter and the white chocolate chunks in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until melted, taking it out to stir in every 30 seconds. It will probably need about a minute and a half.
2. Let cool for about five minutes.
3. Stir in cereal. Let cool five more minutes. This is to ensure that the chocolate and marshmallows don’t melt when you add them.

4. Stir in the marshmallows and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
5. Spread evenly into a 9x13-inch, greased baking dish. Refrigerate until solid to the touch.
6. Cut and serve.

Swaps and Substitutions
* Rice Crispies: Any puffy, rice-based cereal would work. Try Puffins for a gluten-free version.
* Peanut Butter: Almond butter, cashew or even hazelnut butter would give it a new twist.
* Stir ins: Chocolate and marshmallows are complementary, but add sprinkles for a festive flair or chopped nuts for an extra crunch.