Cadbury Caramilk, my grandmother's favorite chocolate bar. I love the Cadbury whole hazelnut chocolate bars.
Cadbury Caramilk, my grandmother's favorite chocolate bar. I love the Cadbury whole hazelnut chocolate bars. I am still convinced the ones that I purchase in London are better than the ones I get in California! For rice crispy treats, I am not crazy about having nuts in them (unlike brownies!). Chocolate and caramel hidden in rice crispy squares is dreamy.
The scenic view through the kitchen window of snow gently drifting down this Christmas morning was inspiration for my “S’mores No More” Cadbury Caramilk rice crispy secrets.
S’mores are probably everyone’s favorite childhood fire-side treat. What child, or adult, can resist gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate squeezed between two crunchy graham crackers. Curled up beside a warm campfire, with fingers all sticky, the comforting crackle of the wood logs… S’mores conjures up this little piece of childhood nostalgia.
Yet what happens when it gets too cold outside, when snow has chased away any desire to sit on a rock outside and toast marshmallows?
Well, you bring all the gooey goodness inside with my “S’mores No More” Cadbury Caramilk rice crispy secrets.
This recipe marries several iconic themes into a smorgasbord (no pun intended) of a secret treat.
Thematically, it captures the dominant tastes of marshmallow and chocolate of a S’more, but the S’more no more! Instead, the spirit is encased in a classic rice crispy recipe, the one off the back of a box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. Finally, it playfully references the highly successful “Caramilk Secret” advertising campaign conceived by Gary Prouk which centered around the question of how the caramel gets into the center of a Caramilk chocolate bar. Here, the question to ask is, how does the Caramilk bar get in the middle of the rice crispy treats?
One bite of these “S’mores No More” Caramilk rice crispy secrets and you will crave “S’mores no more!”…at least until you have completely devoured the batch!
“S’mores No More” Caramilk Rice Crispy Secrets Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
40 large white fluffy marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
6 cups of rice crispy cereal
2 Cadbury Caramilk bars
Start by melting 1/4 cut of unsalted butter in a large measuring cup. Melt it, and then add 40 large fluffy white marshmallows. These large measuring cups are super practical. I love having them in my California kitchen. Here, I am borrowing my mother-in-laws measuring cup...and her Canadian kitchen!Stick the marshmallows and butter into the microwave for 45 seconds on high. Take it out of the microwave, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and stir it gently with a large spoon. You can also follow the stove top recipe, but on a busy Christmas morning, stove tops are hard to find so the microwave method is perfect!Place in the microwave for another 45 seconds and stir once more. The marshmallows should start looking like a homogenous mixture. Resist all temptation to scoop a dollop of this into your mouth. You will be guaranteed a sugar high and not enough marshmallows to cover up all the rice crispies. Is this what marshmallows look like before they are made into little cloudy pillows?Pour in increments, 6 cups of rice crispies. Mixing gently after each cup. Make sure to cover each rice crispy with gooey goodness.Looking my Christmas morning best. Yes, I just rolled out of bed to make this :-)...yes, it's one of "those" recipes.
Flatten 1/2 of the rice crispy mixture in a pan. I use a silicon spatula and occasionally dip it in water in order to keep the utensils used from getting too sticky.Break 2 Cadbury Caramilk bars into its pieces and place the chocolate equal distance apart. If you plan on taking photos like I am, make sure all the "Cadbury" words face the same direction :-).Now for the "secret" part. Pour the other half othe rice crispy mixture on top of the chocolate. If the rice crispy mixture has started to set and is too difficult to work with, stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften before placing the mixture in the pan.Flatten the other 1/2 of the rice crispy mixture over the pieces of Cadbury Caramilk. Do this gently so you don't break the pieces of chocolate. Try to make the top layer as even as possible and hide as much of the chocolate poking out as possible. Remember, it is a secret!Cut the rice crispy "secrets" into even squares. You can cut them into whatever size you desire. I generally like them smaller so I can either grab a couple or have just one small square as a treat. Generally, you do want at least 1 piece of Caramilk square per treat.Place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to settle. Then, remove from fridge and break apart the square and serve. One bite of these Caramilk rice crispy treats and you will think "S'mores No More"...at least until camping season starts again.
