Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats with Trader Joe's Mini Peanut Butter Cups

I need to post a retraction.  In my last post, the Valentine's Day Double Chocolate Pudding, I misspoke when I commented, "Mr. and Mrs. Romance we are not."  That was only half true.  While I did lovingly make the Double Chocolate Pudding complete with chocolate truffle heart on top, that was about the extent of my romance.  Not bad, or so I thought....

You'll remember that my Valentine was some 2500 miles away on the shores of Waikiki on the 14th.  He lovingly sent text photo after text photo of swaying palms, sunlit beaches, his beer at lunch, as well as a few surfers catching the waves with Diamond Head as a magnificent backddrop.  Little did I know, he had also done a bit of shopping.

The following afternoon after watching him gracefully land his enormous 767 at Lindbergh Field (San Diego) he popped into the car and we raced up the highway to hopefully make our 6PM date with my Dad for our monthly Wine Club pickup.  As the traffic slowed somewhere near Sea World, he glanced my direction and said, "Grab my backpack".  Well, it was all the way in the back and I looked at him and thought, "Really?  You want me to climb all the way into the back for your backpack?"  But I dutifully crawled over the seats and brought the pack up front.

Thinking he was rummaging through the pack for some work related item, I was surprised when produced a small, colorful bag with a little gold box inside.  He smiled and said, "I picked this up for you!" and slid it my direction.  A little giddy, I opened the box to find a lovely, gold rendition of my favorite tropical flower, the Plumeria, hanging from a delicate gold chain.  Knowing my love for the tropics he couldn't have chosen anything better!  With my heart melting, I quickly removed the pendant and necklace from the box and had it around my neck in seconds.  He smiled and said, "I knew it would look perfect!"  

I hereby retract my comment above and proclaim:  

Mr. Romance he IS!

Making our date with Dad, we enjoyed our special monthly evening chatting while tasting our wine selections, then selected our favorites.  Arriving home I had a surprise for the third special man in my life, my 14 year old son.  He has been begging for Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats for weeks, but alas, the last time we went to make them the peanut butter was gone.  Hence, we created the Nutella Rice Krispie Treats, which he truly enjoyed, but his heart was set on Peanut Butter.

Perfect for baking, if you can stop yourself from eating them out of hand!

With the ingredients finally in the pantry, a box of Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups considerably boosted the peanut "butteriness" of these sumptuous treats.  Topped with a chocolate/peanut butter ganache-like frosting these krispies are anything but ordinary.  Enticing peanut butter aromas from the melty cups and the ganache permeated the kitchen requiring us to set the ganache in the freezer so we could indulge faster.  Peanut buttery, chocolaty, krispy and beyond delicious, these treats won't last long on your counter!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

6 cups Rice Krispies (or 3 cups Rice Krispies and 3 cups Chocolate Puffed Rice)

1 container (12 oz) Trader Joe's Mini Peanut butter cups
1 bag (10.5-oz) miniature marshmallows
¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter
1¼ cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups chocolate, chopped

Prepare a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix the cereal and mini peanut butter cups, set aside. Melt the marshmallows and butter together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the cereal mixture, quickly stirring well to evenly coat the cereal. Pour the cereal mixture into the prepared pan and evenly press into the pan.

In a small sauce pan melt the peanut butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring to combine.  Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal mixture, spreading with a rubber spatula to cover.

Allow the topping to set, then cut and serve!

Note:  We were too impatient to allow ours to set, so we placed it into the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour to speed up the process!!

Reese's and his little brother, Mini Joe

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