Gourmet Rice Krispies Squares with Dark Chocolate, Dried Cranberries & Walnuts

I have eaten various forms of rice krispie squares since as long as I can remember. The most frequent "twist" on this classic when I was a kid was changing the white marshmallows with the colored ones. Yes, that's right. A rice krispies square with gooey strands of pink, green, and white. That was as daring as it got.

Move forward 20 years, and I am still crazy about these oozy squares of puffed rice. The difference is that I like to put a bigger twist on things. And by that I mean the addition of dark chocolate, cranberries, and walnuts. It is just as simple to make as the original, but it takes this classic recipe up to the caliber of gourmet treat while still maintaining all the delicious, gooey, satisfying qualities of the original.

Does it get any better than that?

Gourmet Rice Krispies Squares 

with Dark Chocolate, Dried Cranberries & Walnuts

Makes 1 pan- 9” by 13”

4 tbsp Butter

1/4 tsp Salt

4 3/4 cups Mini Marshmallows

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

6 cups Rice Krispies

3/4 cup Dried Cranberries

1 cup Walnut Pieces

1/2 cup Dark Chocolate, cut into chunks (about 100 grams), cold or frozen

(this prevents the chunks from melting too much)

Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan with butter. Set aside.

In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat. As it is melting, rotate the pan to ensure that it is entirely coated with butter. Add the salt and marshmallows and stir constantly until almost melted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Then add the rice krispies, cranberries, and walnuts and stir until coated with marshmallow. Quickly fold in the dark chocolate chunks and immediately transfer to the prepared pan. Press the mixture into the pan (** trick, use a piece of wax paper and press with your hands to get an even batch without making a mess!).

When cool, cut into squares. Store in an airtight container for about 2 days or freeze and let stand for about 10 minutes before eating!