Chocolate Coconut Cereal Treats

/ Uncategorized

This recipe came about quite by accident.  For some reason we have a giant tub of coconut oil from Costco.  Now that we’re going to the grocery store a lot less, I’ve been making more use of it.  Anytime I can use something instead of butter, I do, and coconut oil is a worthy substitute in certain applications.  I had a hankering for something sweet and saw we had a random partial bag of marshmallows.  I realized I could use those, some cereal, and the coconut oil, for cereal treats and, voila, this recipe was born!  I was also craving chocolate, so  I threw some chocolate chips in there too.  Of course I didn’t get a picture or write down the recipe the first time, so I’ve made them again and am sharing the recipe with you!

Let’s get to it!

Start by melting the coconut oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. 

Once the oil is almost completely melted, add your marshmallows and salt.  I used homemade ones, but store-bought ones are fine too. I noticed my homemade ones browned a little bit as they melted.  Don’t worry if that happens, it’ll just add a toasty flavor to your treats!  Stir the marshmallows occasionally as they melt to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. 

Once the marshmallows are almost completely melted, add the cocoa powder and the Cheerios.  I like Cheerios in these treats, but you could obviously use Rice Krispies or another cereal.  Chex would also be really tasty, I bet!  I would steer away from a sugary cereal, or these treats might get too sweet.  

Turn off the heat and stir in the cereal until it’s all combined with the marshmallow mixture and cocoa.  If you have chocolate chips or pieces, feel free to toss those in now too!  Some of them will start to melt at this point, so delicious!  The point is to just use what you have, so the chocolate pieces are optional.  The treats will already have chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder. For some reason we have a ton of chocolate bars hanging around, so I figured I might as well throw some in.

Grease a 9 by 13” casserole dish with cooking spray or coconut oil.  Pour in the cereal treat mixture and press with your hands or a rubber spatula to compress it.  If using your hands, grease them first.  This is very sticky business, so this will help prevent it all from sticking to your hands! 

I had some sprinkles on hand so used those too.  This is a great opportunity  to embellish if you want!

Let them sit for at least an hour to firm up a bit.  Plop them out onto a cutting board and cut into squares.  These cereal treats are sticky, crunchy, sweet, and chocolatey without being sickeningly sweet.  They’ll last about 3 days in a covered container.

Enjoy!