I am in love with ChocZero's amazing new keto-friendly marshmallows. As soon
as I received my first order, I knew I wanted to pair them with Magic Spoon
cereal to make a healthier version of my husband's favorite marshmallow
cereal treats. However, I didn't want to make just a plain,
garden-variety, healthified version of the traditional treats. Instead, I came
up with this fabulous, extra-delicious recipe where the vanilla flavored
marshmallow and frosted cereal is studded with bursts of extra flavor from
chopped salted pistachios, unsweetened dried cherries and sugar-free dark
chocolate chips.
In today's review, I'm delighted to share my brand new, original recipe that
is gluten-free, grain-free and has no added sugars. Enjoy!
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My photos don't do justice to these firm yet ooey-gooey, healthy
marshmallow cereal treats studded with chopped pistachios, dried
cherries and dark chocolate chips. They're insanely good!
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Healthy Marshmallow Cereal Treats That Taste Even Better Than the
Original!
One of my favorite things about these treats is that they are firm and
non-sticky when cooled while also having a fun, ooey-gooey, chewy consistency
when you bite into them. This recipe truly exceeded even my high expectations
for developing it. More importantly, it also earned the ultimate compliment
from my husband, a dyed-in-the-wool Rice Krispie treats lover who said these
are even better than the ones made from the sugar-laden original recipe!
I do want to give credit to two recipes that influenced the development of
mine. The first is Scott Loitsch's
Rice Krispie Treats recipe
(account required) from The New York Times' "NYT Cooking" section,
which gave me the idea to brown the butter before stirring in the
marshmallows. The second is Maya Krampf's
Healthy Rice Krispie Treats recipe
from the Wholesome Yum website, which recommended coarsely chopping the cereal
(I decided to coarsely crush mine instead).
The idea of adding chopped pistachios, cherries and sugar-free dark chocolate
chips was entirely my own.
Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Ingredients Are Just Healthy
Options. Make These Treats Your Way!
If you aren't concerned about healthy eating, feel free to substitute
conventional marshmallows, chocolate chips and your favorite plain or frosted
cereal (including Rice Krispies, if you like) to make these scrumptious sweet
treats.
You definitely don't want to miss out on this fabulous, extra-special version
of the beloved, traditional Rice Krispie treats recipe. Your family is sure to
love my new variation!
Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats
Recipe
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I wish you could taste these incredibly yummy treats that no one
would believe are actually healthy!
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Author: Margaret Schindel
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooling Time: 60 minutes
Servings: 16
Ingredients
Directions
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Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Line it with baking parchment,
leaving enough overhang to serve as handles. Generously butter both the
parchment-lined pan and an additional small sheet of parchment paper. Set
aside.
-
Use your hands to mix the coarsely crushed cereal with the chopped
pistachios and dried cherries. Gently rub the cherry pieces between your
fingers to coat with cereal crumb "dust" so they don't stick together. Set
the mixture aside.
-
In a
5-quart, nonstick stock pot, melt the unsalted butter over medium heat until it starts to foam. Reduce
heat to low and continue cooking for another two to three minutes,
stirring constantly with a silicone spoon or spoonula (spoon spatula), until the milk solids turn a deep golden
brown. (Note: It took about five minutes on my glass top electric
stove.)
-
Use the back of the silicone spoon to smear some of the melted,
browned butter halfway up the sides of the pot and add the marshmallows,
salt and vanilla. Take the pot off the heat and immediately start stirring
the marshmallows into the hot butter until they are mostly melted.
- Quickly stir in the cereal, pistachio and dried cherries mixture.
-
Pour/scrape half of the mixture into the prepared baking pan, then sprinkle
with half of the dark chocolate baking chips. Use the extra sheet of
buttered parchment to press down gently to level the surface. Quickly repeat
with the other half of the marshmallow mixture and the remaining chocolate
chips.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for 60 minutes.
-
Use the overhanging parchment paper "handles" to life the cooled slab out of
the pan and invert it onto a cutting board. Peel off the parchment and use a
long, sharp chef's knife to cut the slab into 16 squares.
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Turn the squares right side up, then serve. Wrap any leftover pieces
individually in either wax paper or parchment paper and place inside an
airtight storage container. Store at room temperature (do not refrigerate,
which will cause them to harden too much) or freeze.
Nutrition Facts
Here are the nutrition facts for one serving of this recipe as calculated by
the Carb Manager premium app, using the My Recipes feature to create a custom
recipe and entering the ingredients and quantities listed in this recipe post.
My photo of all the ingredients to shows the exact brands and products I used
for each ingredient (the butter is Vital Farms unsalted grass-fed butter).
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I used the Carb Manager premium app's custom recipe feature to
calculate the nutrition facts for this recipe, using the exact brands
shown in my ingredients photo.
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Tips for Making My Extra-Special Healthy Marshmallow Cereal Treats
Here are my tips for getting great results.
Choose the Ingredients That Fit Your Dietary Requirements and Taste
Preferences
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These are the exact ingredients and brands I used, and the ones on
which the nutrition facts are based.
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I chose
ChocZero marshmallows with no added sugar
and
ChocZero dark chocolate sugar-free baking chips, which are sweetened with low-glycemic sweeteners that don't upset my tummy,
unlike some other brands that give my husband and me gastric distress. (Note:
I bought my baking chips last year, before the packaging was updated.)
Similarly, I chose
Magic Spoon grain-free, gluten-free frosted cereal with no added sugars, one of the few such cereals that doesn't cause us digestive issues. (I
initially bought a variety pack to try several flavors after reading my fellow
Review This Reviews contributor Barbara's
Magic Spoon keto cereal product review and both my husband and I really like all the flavors we have tried so
far.)
If you want to make these treats low carb and keto-friendly, be sure to choose
unsweetened dried cherries with no added sugars and minimal other ingredients.
I chose
unsweetened Sunrise Dried Cherries
that contain only one ingredient: sweet cherries. They are surprisingly sweet,
moist and delicious, and since the 1/3 cup used in this recipe is divided
among 16 servings, the net carbs can fit within all but the most strict keto
diet regimens. They also add a nice bit of dietary fiber and healthy
polyphenols.
Crush the Cereal While It's Still Inside the Bag
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I used a rolling pin to coarsely crush the cereal inside the bag
before opening it.
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The first time I made these I tried coarsely chopping the cereal, but found it
made a mess that was hard to corral. Pressing on the cereal with a rolling pin
while it's still inside the sealed bag is a much neater and, for me, easier
way to accomplish the same end.
Line Your Baking Pan With Parchment and Butter Generously
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After crushing my cereal and chopping my pistachios and dried
cherries, I measure and set out all my ingredients ("mise en place") so I can move quickly during this recipe, when time is of the
essence.
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Keto marshmallows with no added sugar do not behave exactly the same way as
conventional marshmallows made with sugar, especially when they are melted.
Trust me when I tell you that butter alone, no matter how generously applied,
is not enough to prevent this marshmallow mixture from gluing itself to your
baking pan!
Make sure to butter your 9x9-inch square baking pan (to help prevent the
parchment paper from sliding around), paying special attention to the corners,
line the buttered pan with two sheets of parchment paper and then generously
butter the parchment. Make sure to cut the parchment paper long enough so that
the overhang can serve as handles to let you lift the cooled marshmallow
cereal treats out easily.
Mix the Crushed Cereal, Chopped Pistachios and Dried Cherries
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Mixing the cereal, chopped pistachios and dried cherries ahea of time
helps to ensure that they are evely distributed into the browned
butter-marshmallow mixture quickly.
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As soon as the marshmallows are added to the browned butter, the mixture will
be very thick and can harden if stirred too long or reheated. Combining the
pistachios and dried cherries into the cereal ahead of time lets you
incorporate these dry ingredients into the thick, melted marshmallow and
butter mixture quickly and still get a fairly even distribution.
Tip: Use your hands to mix the nuts and fruit into the coarsely crushed cereal
and rub the sticky chopped cherry bits between your fingers to coat them with
cereal crumb "dust" and separate them.
Brown the Melted Butter for a Rich, Slightly Caramelized Flavor
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When the melted butter starts to foam, turn the heat down to low and
stir constantly...
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...until the milk solids turn a deep golden brown.
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This is a trick I picked up from Scott Loitsch's Rice Krispie Treats recipe in
NYT Cooking, and it's a dandy one.
The added richness and depth of flavor is subtle but significant!
Add the Chocolate Chips in Layers (vs. Mixing Them In)
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To avoid partially melting the chocolate chips, sprinkle them in the
middle and on top of the marshmallow-cereal mixture.
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I wanted the chips to stay intact and produce distinct "pops" of dark
chocolate flavor rather than having it marbled throughout the vanilla
marshmallow cereal base. So, I decided not to mix the chocolate chips into the
coarsely crushed cereal with the chopped pistachios and dried cherries to
avoid the risk of them partially melting when they were mixed into the warm
marshmallow and butter mixture.
Instead, I pressed half of the marshmallow-cereal mixture into the prepared
pan, sprinkled on half the chocolate chips, then repeated before pressing
gently with a piece of buttered parchment paper to level the surface and press
in the baking chips.
Note: I love the paring of the dark chocolate with the pistachios and dried
cherries, but you could substitute
ChocZero milk chocolate chips
if you prefer.
Cut With a Long, Sharp Chef's Knife
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Using the long parchment paper overhang as handles makes it easy to
lift the cooled, uncut slab of marshmallow cereal treats out of the
pan in one piece.
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Invert the cooled slab onto a cutting board, peel off the buttered
parchment and cut into 16 squares.
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Using a long, sharp knife to cut these treats is extremely helpful. I use the
chef's knife from our excellent, inexpensive
Astercook 15-piece high-carbon steel knife set with steak knives and
storage block (read my review). I had no trouble cutting the slab into squares with this knife, but if
yours starts to stick, run it under hot water in between cuts.
As you can see, the slab was inverted after I peeled off the parchment paper.
I cut them that way and then turned them right side up before serving.
Enjoy!
Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats
Recipe by Margaret Schindel
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Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part One
Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part Two
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Hamama Microgreens Growing Kit Review & Success Tips
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The Good Chocolate 100% Organic No Sugar Dark Chocolate Review
The Best Advice to Maintain Your Keto Diet Weight Loss
My New Irresistibly Delicious Keto Cheese Crackers Recipe
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