Sweet start of school

Ahh.. do you hear that?  It's a quarter less fighting!  School started today and as much as I love having the kids home all summer, sometimes it's nice when Ma Bacon gets a break.  Of course give me a week and I'll miss them!  Bacon Jr. headed off on the bus today (Little Miss Bacon starts Thursday and Little Boy Bacon in a few days... Ok I'll really miss them when there are 3 gone for part of the day) and I wanted him to have a sweet treat for his return. I wanted to try something different, beyond the standard chocolate chip cookie.  And I happen to be completely out of sugar!  How did that happen?  I thought I had another bag in the basement but I guess not.  Nothing like a challenge, a sweet treat for back to school that has no sugar in it?  No I didn't say it had to be healthy! I happened to start digging though my Christmas recipes (you know there are always sweet treats in there) and I found what I was looking for. I used to make these, but hadn't in years. 

Peanut Butter Crispies

What you need to gather:
1 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rice crispies

First start with a mini muffin tin.  Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Next spoon a few chocolate chips in each muffin spot.  I just used a kitchen teaspoon and filled them under half full. 
 

 Place them in a 350* oven for 2-3 min (or less warm just until they start to melt. I had my oven already going to bake up some danish puff). 

Once the chocolate chips start to melt, use the back of a spoon to smoosh them around a little. Don't worry if they don't look perfect, they still taste delicious!  If you want them looking nicer, you can melt the chocolate and then spoon in the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate firm up and cool a bit on the counter.  If it's really hot inside, put them in the fridge for a few minutes.

Next work on the batter.  Mix peanut butter and butter in bowl.  Once mixed well, add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Then add in rice crispies only until mixed, do not over mix them. 

Butter and peanut butter

Rice crispies waiting patiently!

Now it's time to top the chocolate.  Take a large tablespoon of the dough and smoosh it on top of the chocolate in the muffin cup.  

 Once all of them are full, pop them in the fridge to cool.  After about 15-20 minutes take a knife and pop them out. Place them in a container and store them in the fridge.  Or the freezer, I stuck mine in there in hopes to make them last longer.  However Little Miss Bacon knows they are in there since she helped make them, I'm guessing they won't last that long!

 Now after you've made your two dozen delicious treats, you noticed there is a little more dough left in the bowl.  Or there should be if you haven't snitched it all by now!   What to do with it?

I decided to toss in a handful more chocolate chips and mixed well.  Yes go ahead and get messy. I used my hands to mix this.  

Take the mix and roll into small balls, place on wax paper and pop them in the fridge to firm up too.  These are AMAZING! I'm almost thinking I'll forgo the muffin pan next time and just make these.  They are like eating the cookie dough right from the bowl, only without having to worry about the raw eggs!  Either way you make them, the kids LOVED them.  And so did Mr. and Ma Bacon.  Go ahead and whip some up, I bet you can't eat just one.