I MADE UP SLASH FOUND A RICE KRISPY TREAT RECIPE THAT I CAN ACTUALLY EAT WITHOUT GAINING 30 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[insert ear splitting squeal here]

This is a Big Deal. I absolutely adore rice krispy treats. I have no idea why, but there’s something that is just PMS-satisfyingly joyful about those little (ok, sometimes not so little) squares of puffed rice deliciousness that just makes me smile. Until I finish the final bite, and then I frown. Unfortunately for me, I rarely get to eat them due to my problems with sugar.

Until now.

During a slow period at work, I was chatting online with my coworker Rebecca. She’s an amazing baker, and currently perfecting her homemade copy recipes of her favorite restaurant meals. I mused that it would be awesome if I could find a sugar free marshmallow recipe. We both agreed this to be impossible, as the main ingredient in marshmallow is…well, sugar.

Enter the Google search engine.

Just for shits and giggles, I searched for “sugar free homemade marshmallows.” And bingo!

Slowly, Gus the Proverbial Hamster living in my brain slowly awoke from his spreadsheet induced coma.

What if…just what if…I found a healthy cereal…

Gus brushed the sleep from his eyes, and ambled towards his wheel, rusty from days (ok fine, years) of laying idle.

…then mixed it with dried fruit…

Front legs on the wheel.

…and something else awesome…like COCONUT!!!

With a Herculean effort, Gus heaved his entire body on the sphere.

…AND CHOCOLATE!!!!

One step.

…then…and then…AND THEN…mix it together…

Creak.

…with homemade marshmallow made from agave nectar instead of sugar!!!

And with that, the wheel hit warp speed.

Oddly enough, my marshmallow recipe came from an eHow article. Go figure. The recipe bills itself as “sugar free,” but in reality, it’s not. Agave is a type of sugar, but it’s a natural, sweet extract of the agave plant.

What I find amusing is that tequila, an agave product that has resulted in a lack of bad memories for me, and agave nectar, something that lets me enjoy desserts again, originate from the same plant.

Go figure.

So here it is. My recipe for…

Kicked Up Rice Krispy Treats

The Whats:

One box Kashi 7 grain puffed rice cereal

One large handful dried pineapple, chopped

One large handful dried cranberries

1 ½ cups shredded coconut

1 bag dark chocolate chips

1 cup agave nectar

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

6 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

The Hows:

Following the recipe for the homemade marshmallows, I mixed the 2 envelopes of gelatin with the 6 Tablespoons of water, and microwaved it for 30 seconds.

Working quickly so the gelatin wouldn’t firm up too much, I combined the agave nectar, gelatin, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of my Kitchenaid (which needs a nickname, btw. Please submit suggestions via comment or to thestudiofoodie@gmail.com) and beat it on high for 12 minutes.

Ordinarily, I would pour the marshmallows into a pan and let them set up. But that was not in the plan!

While the marshmallows were…marshmallowing, I quickly gave a rough chop to the pineapple, then dumped the cereal, pineapple, cranberries, chocolate chips and coconut into a bowl.

After the twelve minutes were up, I combined the now very fluffy marshmallow liquid with the cereal mixture, and gave a strongly assertive stir. It took a few minutes and a lot of finessing to get every little morsel covered with the marshmallow, but being a Dedicated Cook, I persevered.

Pour that sucker into a 9×12 inch Pyrex baking dish, then slip it into the fridge until completely set.

Wonderful.