What's For Dessert: Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Crispy Rice Treats

This recipe is exactly why this blog is called "a less processed life" and not "an unprocessed life." Sometimes you just gotta go with the processed ingredients to make a quick treat to share with friends. Of course, I could have chosen to make my own marshmallows from scratch, but let's face it, it's just a lot easier to buy the pre-packaged products when you're crunched for time. 

And really ... these crispy rice treats are seriously yummy. D and I shared them with friends last night, and we nearly demolished the entire pan ... I saved just enough for photography (and, uh, afternoon snacking) purposes today.

And of course, to help celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, I opted to take them up a (tiny) notch with the addition of red, white, and blue sprinkles. (You'll notice I also added in some leftover red and white hearts from a Valentine's set of sprinkles, as my mixture seemed to be heavy on the color blue.) With the addition of sprinkles, you could customize these treats for any holiday -- brown and orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, pink, white, and red for Valentine's Day, multicolored confetti for birthday celebrations ... you get the picture.

And the best part? These crispy rice treats come together in mere minutes. Meaning, if, say, you've forgotten that you promised to bring something to the July 4th picnic, you can whip these together in no-time flat. You're welcome in advance. :)

Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Crispy Rice Treats (printer-friendly version)
makes about 32 squares

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 package (10 ounces) miniature marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal
2 tablespoons red, white, and blue sprinkles (plus additional for sprinkling on top)

1. Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl (30-45 seconds).
2. Add the marshmallows to the bowl and toss to coat in the butter. Microwave for 45 seconds, then stir. Microwave for an additional 30-45 minutes, or until melted. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
3. Stir in the crispy rice cereal and sprinkles.
4. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray (or grease with butter). Press the marshmallow-rice mixture into the dish, forming an even layer. Top with a few more sprinkles, and then lightly press to help them adhere. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

(lightly adapted from this Kraft recipe)

What's Baking: Baked Chocolate Donuts with a Chocolate Glaze

You want to know what's creepy? When you type "baked chocolate" into the Google search box, and "donuts" immediately fills in. How did Google know I wanted to make donuts and not cake? Should I not be freaked out by Google algorithms? Am I that predictable that Google just knew I wanted to bake up a batch of chocolate donuts on a rainy Sunday morning? Apparently so.

Meanwhile, thanks to Google's spookily correct reading of my mind, I found the perfect baked chocolate donuts recipe to try -- but of course I couldn't help but make a few changes here and there. The resulting baked goods are basically little chocolate cakes masquerading as donuts. So ridiculously good! And don't even get me started on the chocolate glaze. I may or may not have started looking for additional things to glaze when there was some extra left over. Luckily, I got a hold of myself. But, dang, a chocolate-glazed graham cracker would have been delicious!

Baked Chocolate Donuts (printer-friendly version)
makes six donuts

For the donuts:
3/4 cup unbleached cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

sprinkles, shredded coconut, chopped nuts or other toppings of your choice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. Add in the yogurt, milk, egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
4. Carefully spoon the donut batter into the prepared baking pan. Fill each cavity about 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until the donuts just spring back when touched.
6. Remove donuts from the pan and let cool completely.
7. While the donuts are cooling, make the glaze: In a small sauce pot over low heat, stir together the butter, corn syrup, skim milk, and vanilla extract. Once the butter has melted, add in the chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Whisk in the powdered sugar and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth.
8. Use the glaze immediately to coat the top of each donut. Decorate the donuts with sprinkles, nuts, or shredded coconut if desired.

(adapted from this recipe)