no bake

Double Chocolate Marshmallow Chex Bars

Today I cleaned out my pantry and the cabinet that houses all of the medicine, vitamins, paper goods, cookie cutters, cake decorating gadgets, and some other random junk I own. It felt so good to throw some things away and get everything organized.

The most impressive things I tossed were a box of generic NyQuil from HEB that expired in 2007 and a pretty large container of Gatorade mix that also was “Best By” June of 2007. Why did we still have these things? We moved to Amarillo in 2008. Why did I not throw them both away when we moved?

Anyway, our pantry is not exactly spacious. A few items that I don’t use often had been tossed on top of a bunch of other things on the very top shelf. Out of sight, out of mind.  After cleaning everything out I couldn’t find another place for these items, and I couldn’t bear to put them back where they had been after I’d cleaned everything up. So, I made these cereal bars.

I used the rest of a box of Chex I’d needed to make Chex mix a while back and a bag of mini marshmallows. It was nice to get rid of those items, but I still have a few other items that I’ve got to use up to have a truly tidy pantry. Stay tuned for what’s coming next! I have some very interesting ideas.

Once I had mixed up these bars and pressed them into the pan I had some doubts about how they would taste.  I let them cool in the fridge for about an hour, then I sliced a small corner for myself.  Then I sliced a large hunk of this stuff for myself!  The Chex mix gives a different texture than Rice Krispies would, and the combination of white, milk chocolate and marshmallow is pretty addictive.  You could use any cereal, any combination or any flavor of baking chips and probably add any other tasty bits your heart desires and come up with something quite yummy.  So, run wild and go create goodness with cereal!

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Lazy Sunday: Coconut, Oatmeal, Toffee Chocolate No Bake Cookies

These little “cookies” are pretty tasty and incredibly easy to make.  Since these cookies are ball shaped they reminded me more of a truffle and less of a cookie.  From start to finish, including the 30 minutes chilling time, these were ready in less than an hour.  Pretty close to instant gratification.  I used a 2 1/2 quart saucepan and it was big enough to do all the melting and mixing so clean up was a breeze.  Well, we are dealing with melted marshmallow, butter and chocolate so clean up isn’t really a “breeze” but it’s just one sticky pan, not half a dozen, like some recipes require.  So it isn’t too bad.  Great for a lazy day when I want to do a little cleaning as possible.

The cookies on the left were just scooped, the center cookies were scooped, then rolled between my palms, and the far right were rolled in my palms then in coconut.

nobakes

The combination of flavors and textures is terrific.  The sweetener in these candies/cookies is marshmallow instead of the usual white sugar typical in no-bake cookies like this.  The oats make the cookies hearty, the coconut gives them a nice chew, and the toffee pieces add a nice crunch.  So, if you need a sweet fix and you’re not in the mood to bake a batch of cookies, try these.

Coconut, Oatmeal, Toffee Chocolate No Bake Cookies

  • 6 ounces chopped milk or semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 16 large marshmallows
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flaked coconut
  • 1/2 cup toffee pieces
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  1. Melt butter, chocolate and marshmallows over low heat in a saucepan (or you can use a double boiler).  Stir until mixture is smooth, 5-10 minutes.  Remove from the heat.
  2. Mix in in peanut butter, vanilla.  Stir in coconut, oats and toffee pieces until well combined.
  3. Scoop by tablespoons onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Optional: You can roll the mixture into smooth balls and then roll the balls in coconut or toffee pieces for a fancier looking cookie.
  4. Chill the cookies for 30 minutes, then serve.