We’ve all heard the saying ‘the best things in life are free’, which of course is mostly true. But allow me to suggest that the second best things in life are ‘simple’.
When I had only just met Mr. Scrummy and was showing him around Athens, we spent one glorious late afternoon sitting at one of the oldest, most traditional little tavernas in the old neighbourhood that sits on the slopes of the Acropolis. (< You thought I was going to suggest Mr. Scrummy was ‘simple’ then, didn’t you? 😉 ) The warm sun was sinking lower over this ancient part of the city as we ate the most beautiful fried cheese with honey you can imagine. We squeezed over some lemon, cut the oozing, just-cooked snack into small squares and devoured it with little pieces of fresh bread and glasses of iced ouzo. The free entertainment was provided by the neighbourhood’s resident cats performing their sneaky Mission Impossible style antics to catch the tastiest morsels dropping (or being dropped in our case) from the tables.
Now for the best part. We returned a couple of weeks later to this same spot to repeat our experience, enjoyed it just as much, drank a little too much ouzo, then went for a stroll and had our first kiss right under the lit-up night-time Acropolis. The rest is history and I’m guessing you’re either saying ‘Aw, how sweet!’ right now or wanting to vomit with the ‘cheesiness’ of it all (< sorry, very bad joke). For those of you in the ‘wanting to vomit’ camp, it might make you feel better to hear that on our last day in Athens recently we promised ourselves that we would get everything finished early and leave time to enjoy our favourite cheese and honey one last time, but we just didn’t manage it. Not even close. Unfortunately our ‘simple pleasure’ that time was not to be.
You would be forgiven for thinking that I’m now going to give you the recipe for that wonderful cheese with honey. Well, sorry, no. Maybe another time (but in the meantime have a go at this baked feta which is just as good, I promise).
What I am going to share today is how to make these marshmallow & swirly chocolate crispy squares, because they too are almost too simple and good to be true. You would also be forgiven for wondering why I am sharing a sort of posh rice krispy treat that you would probably more suitably imagine yourself making with children. But trust me, these were shared with the three other adults I’m living with at the moment and they were raved about by them all. If you’re British and have ever tried a ‘toffee crisp’ chocolate bar, these crispy squares really reminded me of those. If not, I bet there’s a similar chocolate bar in your country that you’ll think of if you make these and when you first bite into them.
So all that is required to transport you to crispy, chewy, marshmallow-y heaven is to melt marshmallows with a little butter, stir in rice krispies and press the mixture into a baking tin. It’ll be too sticky to use a spoon so press it in with your fingers (go on, just do it!) Pop into the fridge for an hour or so to set, cut into small squares, then dip them into melted chocolate. I chose to melt both milk and white chocolate together so that when I dipped the crispy squares in it the chocolate set in a swirly pattern (as you can see from this post, I’m getting a bit obsessed with swirly patterns!) I also dipped the ‘pointy’ edge of the squares in chocolate only so that half of them were covered in chocolate and half were left plain, but you could dip the whole square in if you wanted to. You could even add a little peanut butter to the rice crispy mixture (mmm … now there’s an idea). The possibilities are many!
As you can see in the photographs below, I decided to package these marshmallow squares to give as little gifts. Well, sort of. Actually, I just packaged them up like this to show you that you could and then presented one of them to each member of my family. Completely silly, but they all seemed to like having their own little bag of treats. My mum even ate two of her four little squares and put a note on the bag that said ‘MINE!’ to stop anyone from eating the rest. (< haha … hope she doesn’t read this!)
These simple little chocolate treats might not be quite as satisfying as an afternoon scoffing fried cheese and honey and drinking ouzo on the slopes of the Acropolis, but they aren’t too far off.
What ‘simple pleasures’ have you enjoyed recently?
Homemade food gift: marshmallow & swirly chocolate crispy squares
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 7 3/4 ounces marshmallows I used pink and white!
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 5 ounces rice krispies
- 11 ounces good quality chocolate I used about two thirds milk chocolate and one third white
Instructions
- Line a baking tin with baking paper (I used a 10 x 7 inch tin but it would be fine to use a slightly larger one
). - Put the marshmallows into a large pan along with the butter and melt on a low-ish heat. (The mixture might start to look as if it’s turning to caramel in spots – that’s OK, but just make sure it doesn’t burn. As soon as it has more or less melted, take it off the heat.)
- Quickly add the rice krispies and stir until they are all covered with the sticky mixture. Tip into the baking tin and press down into the corners and flatten as much as you can with the tips of your fingers.
- Put the whole tin in the fridge to harden for an hour or so. Just before the hour is up, melt the white and milk chocolate in a small but deep bowl in the microwave in 30 second or so bursts until just melted. Swirl the chocolates together a little if you like with a knife.
- Lift the whole crispy-marshallow slab out of the tin and cut it into bite-sized squares on a cutting board. Dip each crispy square into the melted chocolate (I dipped them so that only a triangular-shaped half was covered in chocolate), letting some of the excess chocolate drip off before placing on a fresh piece of baking paper (non-chocolate-covered side down) to set.
- After the chocolate has set, package the squares nicely in clear gift bags tied up with a piece of ribbon if you like. If not giving as a gift, keep the squares in an airtight container.
).Notes
- Add a couple of tablespoons of melted peanut butter to the mixture before pressing it into the baking tin.
- Cover the whole square in chocolate, or keep the different types of chocolate separate and dip some squares in each. To stop your chocolate from developing white streaks after it dries, barely melt your chocolate and let the last chunks melt into the rest without heating any more. This is a 'cheat's' way to temper your chocolate.
Nutrition
I love homemade food gifts! Other food gifts to try:
mango & pistachio chocolate bark
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shashi @ runninsrilankan says
These might be “simple” but they are gorgeous – adorable!
I love these – what a wonderful gift idea! I also love the story of your and Mr. Scrummy’s first date and first kiss at the same spot your first date was…awww… 🙂
Helen says
Thanks so much, Shashi! And so happy that you like the story. Beautiful memories, for sure!
ATasteOfMadness says
Aww.. I have always wanted to go to Athens!! How very romantic ;).
Also, I kind of was expecting that recipe. Oh well, good thing chocolate is also my other weakness apart from cheese. This looks great!
Helen says
Ha! Sorry about that, Kathleen! Well, I am actually thinking of posting the cheese recipe too sometime soon, so please do check back later! Glad you like the chocolate as well, though! 🙂
Karla says
omg Helen, this crispy squares looks divine! I love giving sweet stuff as a gift, I think everybody loves to receive it 😀
Helen says
I agree! I would love to receive any kind of food gift (hint hint to any friends reading this!) So glad you like these crispy squares, Karla!
Aimee / WallflowerGirl.co.uk says
Sounds like a wonderful memory and this recipe… well, it couldn’t sound any more delicious!
Helen says
Thanks, Aimee!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Love the swirly effect with the chocolate and dipping them in for the extra chocolate is only a good thing right! 😀
Helen says
Agreed!! Glad you like them!
Isadora @ she likes food says
What a great story! I love hearing about people’s first meetings and first dates, it is so special! I also really want to eat some fried cheese and honey right now, but I think these rice crispy treats will do! Homemade gifts are the best! Every Christmas I make a bunch of homemade treats and send them out to family and now everyone expects them, so I guess I can’t stop 🙂 I love the chocolatey swirl you created on these and they look perfect all wrapped up in their little bags!
Helen says
So glad you appreciated the story, Isadora … and don’t worry, I’m considering making the fried cheese and honey for the blog very soon! That’s funny that you are sort of ‘stuck’ making your homemade treats. Thankfully, it sounds like you enjoy it, though! 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
Helen, you paint a very beautiful picture 😀 I’m oohing and ahhing at the romance. I can see the kids and I truly enjoying these chocolate crispy squares. They look absolutely divine!
Helen says
Thank you, Cindy! So glad you like both the story and the crispy squares. I feel honoured! 🙂
Pam says
YUM! These would be a huge hit for my kids and their friends. Bookmarked.
Helen says
Thanks, Pam!
Melanie @ Carmel Moments says
These look so scrumptious! Such in fact that I literally want to reach through the screen and grab em. I guess it’s my fault that I still haven’t taken the time to feed myself. Whoa is me.I need someone to start making me breakfast. 🙂
Have a great Monday!
Helen says
Aw, Melanie! If I was close by I would pop over and make you some brekky! So glad you like these … I have to admit I was pleased with how they turned out. 😉
Joanne says
Aww that is such a sweet story!! And yes, I do think the best things in life are simple. I haven’t made rice krispies treats in FOREVER…but I believe it’s time to change that.
Helen says
I hadn’t made them for literally YEARS and decided it was time I changed that! So glad you like the story! 😉
Samina | The Cupcake Confession says
That story is just SOOOO CUTE!!!!!!! No date is truly complete without a delicious meal and the fried cheese with honey sounds GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!! These squares look ADORABLE!!!!!!!!! I love that you dipped them in two kinds of chocolate and that swirly pattern! Oh God! Too much cuteness! And your mom!!! hehehe!!!! How sweeeet of her that she labelled her gift pack! <3 I wouldn't want to share mine either!!!!
Helen says
I think I’m going to have to make that cheese for the blog soon, Samina. Since writing this post I’ve been craving it again. It is funny that my mum labelled her treats, isn’t it? It worked, though … no one touched them! 😉
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
I am looking for fun foodie gifts for xmas and these might just be the thing to make with the kiddoes.
Helen says
Oh, they would be sooo easy to make with children, Bintu. You don’t even have to do the swirly thing with the chocolate if you’d rather keep things really simple. So glad you like them! 🙂
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
I’m loving all these food gifts you make for friends and family! It is beyond cool and awesome!! And you totally had me laughing with this: “You thought I was going to suggest Mr. Scrummy was ‘simple’ then, didn’t you? ;-)” It was so funny!!
Helen says
Ha … glad I made you chuckle, Chris! 😉 It suddenly struck me that I probably should have left more of a gap between mentioning ‘simple’ and my husband, so I thought I’d just make it clear that the two weren’t at all related. So glad you like these food gifts. I think they are a developing ‘passion’ of mine!
Liz says
OK, I am totally swiping this dipping idea from you!!! I’ve been meaning to make Rice Krispie Treats for my daughter since she ripped a recipe out of a magazine months ago. You’ve given me the perfect way to finish them off. THANK YOU! (I’ll definitely link back to you if they are a success).
Helen says
That’s great, Liz … I’m honoured! I found that my chocolate ‘streaked’ a tiny bit after it had set because I overheated my chocolate. After doing some research I found out that just barely melting it and then stirring the unmelted bits of chocolate in and letting them melt without any more heat helps to stop that from happening. Good luck!
Lilli @ sugar and cinnamon says
What a cute story about your romance in Athens! You’re so right the simple things are what you remember and cherish after holidays and just in general! These bars look so easy but mainly delicious!
Helen says
Thank you, Lilli … so glad you appreciated my story and liked the easy, tasty treats!
Kiss & Make-up says
That doesn’t just look super tasty but also suuuuper pretty, with the swirls 😀
Helen says
Thank you! So glad you like them … and thanks for visiting!