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Showing posts with label keto recipes. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Quick, Easy & Delicious Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins — Low Carb Recipe

I posted a photo of these quick & easy Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins on social media recently and many people commented asking me for the recipe. So, by popular demand, I'm sharing and reviewing my quick and easy recipe for these mouthwatering, keto-friendly, low carb Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins.

My husband loved these so much he couldn't wait for me to make them again!

I wanted a quick and easy recipe for weeknights, so I used Good Dee's Corn Free Bread Mix, which is excellent and has clean, wholesome, healthy ingredients.

However, you could easily make this recipe with your favorite low carb or conventional cornbread or corn muffin recipe instead of the prepared Good Dee's Corn Free Bread Mix, if you prefer. You can also substitute another favorite shredded cheese for the cheddar. See Recipe Variations, below, for more information and variations.

Enjoy!

Recommended Tools and Equipment

I like to use reusable silicone baking cups AKA muffin tin liners lightly sprayed with avocado or olive oil for these cheddar corn dog muffins. Baked goods are released from these cups very easily, and they help keep leftover muffins or cupcakes fresher during storage. These silicone liners are also very easy to clean, especially if you spray them lightly with oil before adding the batter.

The silicone liners I use for this recipe (I have two types) are the GIR: Get It Right Premium Silicone Cupcake Liners Reusable Non-stick Baking Cups, which have a slightly larger capacity than my heavy-duty standard silicone baking cups and also have helpful tabs for lifting muffins or cupcakes in or out of the pan without accidentally touching or marring the tops. The set I have is in the Strawberry Swirl colorway (shades of red, pink, and pale gray), but they also come in a pretty Frosty Mint colorway (shades of dark and pale blue and green).

The handy tabs on the large GIR silicone baking cups make it easy to lift the filled liners in and out of the muffin pan.

I prefer to use these silicone baking cups as liners in a nonstick muffin pan, which helps distribute the heat evenly and helps keep the muffins shaped nicely, while the nonstick pan finish helps prevent any stray bits of batter or cheese from sticking. Chicago Metallic is an excellent brand; I have a couple of specialty (jumbo and mini) muffin pans from them and they're great. Since my standard nonstick cupcake pans are getting a bit long in the tooth, when it's time to replace them I'll be buying the Chicago Metallic Commercial II Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin Pan.

I use a three-tablespoon scoop to measure out the batter, using one rounded scoop of batter for each muffin cup. I have a set of Norpro stainless steel measuring scoops that I love and use all the time, and the 50MM (3 Tablespoons) Norpro Stainless Steel Scoop is perfect for this recipe.

Ingredients for low carb cheddar corn dog muffins

I use Good Dee's Corn Free Bread Mix along with eggs, butter, apple cider vinegar, cornbread flavoring, cheddar cheese, hot dogs, and avocado oil spray in this recipe, but you can also substitute other ingredients (see Recipe Variations).

Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings: 12 (one muffin per serving)

Ingredients

For the Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins:

Avocado or olive oil spray (for greasing muffin pan liners)
3 large eggs
3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Amoretti Sweet Corn Extract or 20 drops of OOOFlavors Corn Bread Flavor Concentrate Unsweetened
1 package Good Dee’s Corn Free Bread Mix
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 hot dogs, fully cooked (I recommend Applegate Farms brand The Great Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dogs)

For the optional dipping sauce:

2 Tablespoons sugar-free ketchup (Primal Kitchen regular or spicy unsweetened ketchup)
2 Tablespoons sugar-free raspberry jam (ChocZero No Added Sugar Raspberry Jam)
1 Tablespoon teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 F. Lightly grease 12 silicone muffin cup liners and place in a muffin tin.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, vinegar, and cornbread flavoring or sweet corn extract. Stir in the Good Dee’s Corn Free Bread Mix until well combined.
Reserve 4 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) of the grated cheese and mix the remaining cheese into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the greased muffin tin liners.
Slice each hot dog into four sections. Place one section on end in the center of each batter-filled muffin cup, then sprinkle each muffin with 1 teaspoon of the reserved shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake until lightly golden, approximately 18 minutes. Do not overbake or the muffins will be dry.
Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove the silicone muffin cup liners and serve, with or without optional dipping sauce.

Optional dipping sauce:

Mix the sugar-free ketchup (Primal Kitchen), sugar-free raspberry jam (ChocZero) and Dijon mustard. Serve 1.25 teaspoons of dipping sauce with each cheddar corn dog muffin.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: one Cheddar Corn Dog Muffin (without optional dipping sauce)

Calories: 189

Fat: 16.3 g

Sat. Fat: 5 g

Cholesterol: 70.3 mg

Total Carbs: 6.3 g

Net Carbs: 1.3 g

Fiber: 5 g

Sugars: 0 g

Added Sugars: 0 g

Sugar Alcohols: 0 g

Protein: 8.6 g

Recipe Variations

If you want some hot dog in every bite, consider dicing the hot dogs and mixing them into the batter instead of inserting 1/4 hot dog into the center of each muffin.
If you're not a fan of cheddar, consider substituting another cheese such as shredded Swiss, provolone, or gouda.
If you want to make this low carb cheddar corn dog muffins recipe entirely from scratch instead of using a mix, try the Keto Corn Dog Bites recipe from All Day I Dream About Food but mix in the shredded cheddar before scooping the batter and add the shredded cheese topping before baking.
Alternatively, you could substitute a conventional corn muffin mix or recipe for the corn dog batter if you aren't watching your carbs.

Plate of freshly baked low carb cheddar corn dog muffins

Cheddar corn dog muffins, fresh from the oven!

Quick, Easy & Delicious Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins — Low Carb Recipe by Margaret Schindel

Posts About My Keto Diet Journey

My First Year on The Keto Diet

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part One

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part Two

Low Carb Muffins & Cupcakes: Treats to Enjoy on a Keto Diet

Low Carb Keto Chocolate Yogurt Granola Chip Pudding Recipe

Good Dee’s Keto Cookie Low Carb Baking Mix Review

Hamama Microgreens Growing Kit Review & Success Tips

My Favorite Hamama Microgreens Seed Quilt Accessories

Keto Cheddar Cheese Biscuits With Chives Recipe

The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe

The Best Low Carb Keto Gift Ideas: Keto Gift Guide

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins

Wholesome Yum Keto Bread Mix and Yeast Bread Recipe

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

Luscious Low Carb Keto Triple Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Quick & Easy Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix Review

Snack Better With The Best Healthy Keto Cookie Dough Bites

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Pizza Recipe

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe

Comparing the Best Keto-Friendly Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads - No Added Sugars

The Best Low Carb Keto Sandwich and Burger Buns Mix

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — New, Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe

The Best Keto Pizza Crust Mix With 0 Net Carbs

An Unusual, Delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea With 0 Calories

Delicious Sugar-Free Keto Cookies That OREO Fans Will Love

Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats Recipe

Easy, Decadent, High Protein, Sugar-Free Rocky Road Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream)

Quick, Easy & Delicious Cheddar Corn Dog Muffins — Low Carb Recipe

Reviews of the Keto Diet by Barbara C. (aka Brite-Ideas)

My Personal Keto Testimonial

How I Stayed Committed to the Ketogenic Way of Eating

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream)

Couldn't you go for a chilly, refreshing, nonalcoholic beverage to help keep you cool and hydrated during the dog days of summer (or any time)? This quick and easy Italian vanilla soda recipe reminds me of the lovely, lightly sparkling cold drinks we enjoyed many years ago during our honeymoon in Italy. It can be made with regular or sugar-free vanilla syrup and with or without a splash of heavy cream (Italian Vanilla Cream Soda) and takes less than a minute to prepare. The sugar-free version of this recipe is also low carb and keto friendly.

This post includes not only the Italian Vanilla Soda recipe, including the Italian Vanilla Cream Soda variation, but also a product review of the delicious ChocZero sugar-free vanilla syrup I prefer to use when preparing this delightful cold drink recipe.

Homemade Vanilla Italian Soda Regular or Sugar-Free

This delicious Italian soda is light, refreshing, and can be made with regular or sugar-free vanilla syrup and with or without a splash of heavy cream.

Choosing Your Ingredients

Vanilla Syrup Options

You can make this delightful cold drink with a conventional commercial vanilla syrup, such as Torani Puremade Vanilla Syrup, DaVinci Gourmet Classic Vanilla Syrup or Monin Vanilla Premium Gourmet Syrup, if you aren't avoiding sugar.

Sugar-free vanilla flavoring syrups are also an option, and the one I prefer. While there are several widely available brands of sugar-free flavoring syrups on the market, most include questionable ingredients that can be detrimental to your health. For example, Jordan's Skinny Syrups vanilla syrup contains cellulose gum, sucralose and acesulfame potassium; Starbucks Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup contains maltodextrin, cellulose gum and sucralose; and Torani Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup contains acesulfame potassium and sucralose.

That's why I love using the new ChocZero Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup. See my product review just after the recipe to find out why it's far superior to the other options on the market.

Italian Sparkling Mineral Water

When my order of the new ChocZero sugar-free vanilla syrup arrived, the first thing I did was to add it to some club soda, since I had some in the fridge.

It was tasty, but definitely not similar to the lovely cold drinks we remembered from our trip to Italy. Also, my husband isn't crazy about most carbonated beverages (or, at least, about his body's reaction to them) and he had asked me to suggest non-carbonated, sugar-free cold drinks he could enjoy during the summer other than lemonade.

So, thinking about the Italian sodas we had enjoyed during our honeymoon, which were far less carbonated than conventional sodas, I decided to try to recreate one by mixing the ChocZero Vanilla Syrup into some chilled Italian sparkling mineral water. What a difference! My husband loved it and didn't have a bad reaction to it, as he does to conventional carbonated drinks. Success!

You can use any genuine Italian sparkling mineral water, such as S. Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water or Whole Foods Market Italian Sparkling Mineral Water for the authentic Italian flavor and carbonation level.

Optional Cream

I find this cold drink much more refreshing during the summer without the optional addition of a splash of heavy cream, but I enjoy the added richness of the cream during the colder months. Try this recipe both ways and see which way you prefer. With the addition of the cream, this drink is often called an Italian Vanilla Cream Soda.

Extra-Tall Pilsner Glasses for Serving

Libbey Giant Wheat Beer Glasses, 23-ounce, Set of 6

During the hot weather, it's important to stay hydrated. This Italian vanilla soda recipe is a delicious way to get in extra water! So, I like to make a large, 16-ounce serving and serve it in an extra-tall Pilsner glass.

I find that the curved shape and narrower bottom of these Pilsner glasses make it much easier to hold a very tall drink much more comfortably and securely versus tall, large-capacity cooler drinking glasses with straight sides.

Our glasses were purchased many years ago and are no longer available, but these attractive Libbey Giant Wheat Beer Glasses with a 23-ounce capacity are very similar to ours and have enough room to add ice to your beverage, if desired.

Vanilla Italian Soda Recipe

Italian Vanilla Soda with bottles of ChocZero vanilla syrup and Italian sparkling mineral water

Prep Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 1 minute

Servings: 1 serving

Ingredients

16 ounces Italian sparkling mineral water, thoroughly chilled

3–4 tablespoons regular or sugar-free vanilla syrup for flavoring beverages, such as ChocZero Vanilla Syrup

3–4 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled (optional, for Vanilla Italian Cream Soda)

Instructions

To make Vanilla Italian Soda, pour the chilled Italian sparkling mineral water into an extra-tall Pilsner glass or cooler glass. Stir in the vanilla syrup to taste.
To make the Vanilla Italian Cream Soda variation, follow the instructions for Italian Vanilla Soda, then pour the heavy cream over the prepared soda. You can stir in the cream or just leave it at the top, whichever you prefer.

Enjoy!

ChocZero Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup Product Review

Bottle of ChocZero Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup

ChocZero Vanilla Flavoring Syrup is sugar-free, contains no sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, blends easily into cold or hot drinks, and tastes delicious!

ChocZero sugar-free vanilla syrup is made by one of my favorite brands of yummy keto-friendly, low carb products with no added sugars. Their vanilla syrup is sweetened with monk fruit, which doesnt spike blood sugar levels, instead of artificial sweeteners and contains 8 grams of functional fiber per two-tablespoon serving (great for gut health).

It also isn't thickened, so it mixes instantly and effortlessly into cold drinks as well as hot beverages. (It's a delicious addition to hot or iced coffee or hot cocoa.)

I love having a healthy alternative to the big-name sugar-free vanilla syrups with questionable ingredients!

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream) by Margaret Schindel

Posts About My Keto Diet Journey

My First Year on The Keto Diet

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part One

Preparing to Succeed on the Keto Diet, Part Two

Low Carb Muffins & Cupcakes: Treats to Enjoy on a Keto Diet

Low Carb Keto Chocolate Yogurt Granola Chip Pudding Recipe

Good Dee’s Keto Cookie Low Carb Baking Mix Review

Hamama Microgreens Growing Kit Review & Success Tips

My Favorite Hamama Microgreens Seed Quilt Accessories

Keto Cheddar Cheese Biscuits With Chives Recipe

The Ultimate Keto Hot Chocolate Recipe

The Best Low Carb Keto Gift Ideas: Keto Gift Guide

The Best Low Carb Keto Cinnamon Muffins

Wholesome Yum Keto Bread Mix and Yeast Bread Recipe

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

Luscious Low Carb Keto Triple Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Quick & Easy Livlo Blueberry Scones Keto Baking Mix Review

Snack Better With The Best Healthy Keto Cookie Dough Bites

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Pizza Recipe

The Best Quick and Easy Low Carb Keto Shortcake Cupcakes Recipe

Comparing the Best Keto-Friendly Chocolate Hazelnut Spreads - No Added Sugars

The Best Low Carb Keto Sandwich and Burger Buns Mix

Blueberry Biscuit Scones — New, Easy, Low Carb Keto Recipe

The Best Keto Pizza Crust Mix With 0 Net Carbs

An Unusual, Delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea With 0 Calories

Delicious Sugar-Free Keto Cookies That OREO Fans Will Love

Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats Recipe

Easy, Decadent, High Protein, Sugar-Free Rocky Road Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

The Best Quick & Easy Low Carb Sausage and Ricotta Calzones

How to Make Refreshing Vanilla Italian Soda (With or Without Cream)

Reviews of the Keto Diet by Barbara C. (aka Brite-Ideas)

My Personal Keto Testimonial

How I Stayed Committed to the Ketogenic Way of Eating

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Healthy Pistachio Cherry Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cereal Treats

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!

Low carb, keto-friendly pistachio cherry chocolate chip marshmallow ceral treats <5 net carbs per serving

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!

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

Platter of healthy pistachio cherry chocolate chip marshmallow cereal treats

I wish you could taste these incredibly yummy treats that no one would believe are actually healthy!

Author: Margaret Schindel

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

Cooling Time: 60 minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients

7-ounce (198 g) box grain-free cereal, Frosted flavor (I used Magic Spoon), coarsely crushed with a rolling pin
1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios (I used Wonderful), coarsely chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened dried cherries (I used Sunrise), chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsweetened butter (I used Vital Farms), plus extra for greasing baking pan and parchment paper
10-ounce (283 g) bag keto-friendly marshmallows, no sugar added (I used ChocZero)
1 tsp. kosher flake salt (I used Penzeys)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used Penzeys double-strength)
1.75 ounces (50 g) sugar-free dark chocolate baking chips (I used ChocZero)

Directions

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.
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).

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.

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

These are the exact ingredients and brands I used, and the ones on which the nutrition facts are based.

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

Magic Spoon frosted grain-free cereal crushed with rolling pin

I used a rolling pin to coarsely crush the cereal inside the bag before opening it.

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

"Mise en place" of prepared and measured ingredients with parchment paper lined and buttered baking pan

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.

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

Coarsely crushed cereal mixed with chopped pistachios and dried cherries

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.

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

When the melted butter starts to foam, turn the heat down to low and stir constantly...

...until the milk solids turn a deep golden brown.

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)

Keto marshmallow cereal treats mixture pressed into lined pan and sprinkled with chocolate chips

To avoid partially melting the chocolate chips, sprinkle them in the middle and on top of the marshmallow-cereal mixture.

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

Cooled keto marshmallow cereal treats lifted out of baking pan with the help of the parchment paper overhang

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.

Inverted cereal treats slab cut into 16 squares

Invert the cooled slab onto a cutting board, peel off the buttered parchment and cut into 16 squares.

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!