{"id":1389,"date":"2025-12-21T13:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T13:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1389"},"modified":"2025-12-21T13:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T13:09:12","slug":"my-moms-no-bake-cookies-made-her-a-vip-at-my-elementary-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1389","title":{"rendered":"My Mom\u2019s No Bake Cookies Made Her a VIP at My Elementary School"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Nothing takes me back to my childhood like a Rice Krispies Treat. I grew up helping my parents stock the aisles of their gas station and convenience store in the suburbs of Denver, where they sold everything from lottery tickets and cigarettes to hundreds of pantry items. While Mama and Papa retired in 2018 after operating the business for 35 years, I have vivid memories of the minimart\u2019s many shelves, one of which was neatly stocked with more than two dozen types of cereal.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

When I was in elementary school, Mama would pull boxes of Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Cheerios\u2014whatever had the nearest expiration dates\u2014off the shelves to make no-bake cookies. They were her version of the classic Rice Krispies Treats, ooey-gooey goodies made with marshmallows, butter, and cereal that might otherwise go to waste. I loved watching the marshmallows melt into a glossy blob, mixing in different combinations of cereal, and folding the finished squares in plastic wrap.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Leah Maroney<\/span>
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We\u2019d snack on them at home and regularly gift them to my classmates and the gas station\u2019s customers. Mama and I were so enchanted with the recipe that we once made a mini house<\/a> out of marshmallow treats for Christmas and squished them into different shapes and bedazzled them with sprinkles and candy to give out for various holidays (think pumpkins for Halloween and bunnies for Easter). These days, I make my own version of her kitchen sink recipe, adding ingredients such as pretzels, nuts, and whatever I\u2019m craving to the cereal-marshmallow mixture. Here\u2019s how to whip them up yourself \u2014 with as many ingredients as you want.\n<\/p>\n

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How To Make Mama\u2019s Kitchen Sink Rice Krispies Treats <\/span> <\/h2>\n
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Recipe Tip<\/h3>\n
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The key to customizing this no-bake cookie recipe\u2014which is a variation of the original<\/a> recipe printed on the back of the Rice Krispies box\u2014is to substitute one to two cups of cereal with whatever you want. I recommend roasted nuts, crumbled cookies (yes, really), and pretzels, but the sky\u2019s the limit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ingredients <\/span> <\/h3>\n
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  • Nonstick cooking spray<\/li>\n
  • 1 (4-ounce) stick of salted butter<\/li>\n
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag of marshmallows (mini or large)<\/li>\n
  • 6 cups cereal (such as Rice Krispies or any combination of whatever cereals are in your pantry) and\/or mix-ins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Directions <\/span> <\/h3>\n
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    1. Grease a 9×9-inch pan with cooking spray; alternatively, you can use butter or parchment paper. \u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n
    2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in marshmallows, coating them with melted butter. Return the pan to the heat and stir mixture over low heat until marshmallows are completely melted but not bubbling, 4 to 5 minutes. (Once marshmallows get foamy and bubbly, that means that they\u2019re caramelizing, which will yield chewy, potentially hard treats. So take the pan off the heat before they reach this boiling stage!)<\/li>\n
    3. Fold in cereal and\/or your choice of other mix-ins until incorporated.<\/li>\n
    4. Press the cereal mixture evenly into the prepared pan.<\/li>\n
    5. Let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before cutting into squares.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      <\/p>\n

      Tips and Variations\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n
      <\/p>\n

      Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n

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      • Measure out your ingredients: <\/strong>Make sure the combination you come up with is the equivalent of six cups\u2014or you might need to add more marshmallows to bind everything together.\u00a0<\/li>\n
      • Have everything ready: <\/strong>To ensure you don\u2019t overcook the marshmallows, which is easy to do if you\u2019re scrambling around the kitchen, measure out everything you need in advance.<\/li>\n
      • Add salt: <\/strong>Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt with the cereal to balance out the sweetness of the marshmallows. I\u2019ve also seen recipes that call for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.\u00a0<\/li>\n
      • Brown the butter:<\/strong> To give your marshmallow treats a more complex, nuttier flavor, use brown butter, which takes just a few extra minutes to make. You\u2019ll also need to substitute the\u00a0salted butter in the recipe for unsalted, which is better for browning.<\/li>\n
      • Don\u2019t compact: <\/strong>Gently press the marshmallow-cereal mixture into your pan to ensure your treats stay light and airy.<\/li>\n
      • Jazz them up at the end: <\/strong>While the Rice Krispies Treats are cooling, top them with sprinkles or chocolate chips (you can also stir the latter into the marshmallow-cereal mixture, but they\u2019ll get melty).<\/li>\n

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      • Go dump-cake style: <\/strong>Try the one-pan method, which involves putting all of the ingredients into a baking dish and popping it in the oven.<\/li>\n
      • Get creative: <\/strong>Drizzle melted chocolate over Golden Grahams and marshmallows to produce s\u2019mores-inspired treats, or mix Rice Krispies with Lucky Charms or Fruity Pebbles for rainbow-colored goodies. You can form shapes with cookie cutters or press the mixture into molds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n


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        Nothing takes me back to my childhood like a Rice Krispies Treat. I grew up helping my parents stock the aisles of their gas station and convenience store in the suburbs of Denver, where they sold everything from lottery tickets and cigarettes to hundreds of pantry items. While Mama and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}