Crispy rice cereal treats were one of the first treats I learned how to make. It requires heat and a pan, but the recipe was so simple that even my 12-year-old self could do it, and I wasn’t particularly coordinated. (You don’t want to know what happened to the first batch of chocolate chip cookies I ever made. Disaster!)

I go years without making them, and then one day, I get an urge to whip up a batch. This time, the urge hit while I was in the cereal aisle picking up my usual box of plain Cheerios. I noticed a box of chocolate-flavored crispy rice cereal, and my brain when, “Hmm!”

Playing on the flavors of the Red Hot Fudge that I love so much, I decided to give this batch of crispy rice the same treatment and see what happened. Crispy red hot love, indeed!

Ingredients

• 6 cups crispy rice cereal, chocolate flavor
• 1 10 oz. package marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Spray a 9×12 cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. (Do not let a wandering cat lick the pan, or you will have to wash the pan and start over.)
2. Pour the cereal into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
4. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
5. Add the cinnamon and cayenne pepper and stir until evenly distributed.
6. Remove the pan from heat.
7. Pour the marshmallow/butter mixture over the cereal.
8. Stir until the cereal is well coated.
9. Using a buttered spatula or buttered hands, press mixture into the cat-free pan.
10. Cool and cut into 2-inch squares.
11. Store in an air-tight container.