When I was young, my mother would make me rice krispy treats. And not just for school bake sales or or birthday parties. She’d make them with me whenever I was down. I not only remember how I loved the way they tasted. But I used to love the way they made me feel. Making them with her, was the treat. My trivial childhood disasters and ‘problems’ would dissolve in her recipe and all I would see was her. She would take moments like these to really talk with me. She’d tell me that life isn’t fair but you have to look for the goodness in people and in the world. My favorite part was right after we’d transfer them from the pan to the baking dish to cool. She’d give me the wooden spoon to lick off all the extra but she’d always leave more on ‘extras’ on the spoon for me to finish off.
She’d tell me that life isn’t fair but you have to look for the goodness in people and in the world.
I’m writing this post in the midst of not only a global pandemic. But during a time when the whole world overnight has become activated to fight for racial equality. It’s a confusing time for some people, a beautiful time, but more than anything it’s an emotional time. Personally, I am taking this moment to find my voice and fight anyway I can for racial equality. It’s something I’ve always spoken out against wherever I could. Not only as a black woman, but as a human who believes we are all the same no matter what.
This past week has been overwhelming – overwhelming with the good and the bad. Despite there being a ton of negativity out there, I do believe there is even more love and humanity to conquer it. But, either way, we all need to take a minute to ourselves and recharge and reboot. The way I do that is through cooking and this week I had to make my mothers Rice Krispies Treats. I took some time to channel those moments, recharge and remind myself where I came from, to have the emotional capacity to keep fighting, speaking up for injustice, and continue to seek for the goodness in the world.
I encourage you to do the same.
Rice Krispie Treat Recipe: Tastes Like Childhood
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp of butter
- 1 10oz bag of marshmallows
- 6.5 cups of rice krispies treat cereal
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking pan with lightly greased parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, brown your butter over low-med heat. Use a spatula to move the butter around until it reaches a brown color. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Then, add in your bag of marshmallows and continue to stir until they are fully melted.
- Add in your vanilla extract.
- Fold in your rice krispies one cup at a time until all of the cereal is combined with the marshmallows.
- Then, carefully transfer the rice krispies to the parchment paper lined baking dish.
- Grease the back of a spatula (so it doesn't stick to the treats) with cooking spray or butter, and press down the treats so they're flat.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Lift up the parchment paper out of the baking dish and move to a cutting board.
- Cut into squares and serve!