This is my Xmas present to all my vegetarian friends.
I’ve always been a fan of Rice Krispies Treats but they’re made with marshmallows, which are made with egg whites. This version is a mixture of a bunch of recipes I found on the Internet. And I even made a few adaptations of my own.
I hope you and the rest of my friends enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them.
BROWN RICE KRISPIES TREATS
1 cup light corn syrup with brown sugar (Karo brand)
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cups brown puffed rice krispies
1 cup carob chips
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and almond butter until their all pretty warm, mixed together and syrupy.
- Remove from heat and pour in the puffed rice cereal. Stir well until all the cereal is covered in the sticky mixture. This is where going to the gym will some in handy…
- After all the mixture is combined, stir in the carob chips. They’ll melt a bit, but that’s part of the charm, in my humble opinion.
- Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish. I greased using my Canola Oil Spray.
- Spray your hands with the Canola Oil Spray too and press flat.
- Let cool for 1 hour before cutting into squares. Don’t put in the refrigerator, it gets rock hard there. I had a tough time cutting it.
KarmaFree Cooking 
Forgive my ignorance, but is there a reason vegan and vegetarians don’t eat chocolate? I have a vegetarian niece who is working towards becoming vegan, and I seem to keep making mistakes regarding her diet when we have family get-togethers.
Don’t worry Alison,
The main reason I know why vegetarians and vegans don’t eat chocolate is because it contains high levels of caffeine – as much as coffee. Caffeine, being a stimulant that affects your nervous system, is not a food or ingredient that contributes a whole lot to someone’s health and well-being.
I also heard stories about chocolate companies using animal products to manufacture chocolate… but I have no first hand knowledge on that one…
Carob is a product very similar to chocolate, and when it’s well made, you would not even notice the difference. When I travel to NYC I usually bring bars of carob from natural health food stores over there, which tend to have a wider variety than what I can find locally in Puerto Rico.
Most american chocolate is made with milk. Duh.
As a note, we don’t all avoid chocolate. Dark chocolate (that is made without any milk products) is generally suitable for vegans, but many people have allergies or sensitivities that prompt them to use carob instead. Myself, I have a number of chocolate producers that I like and purchase from to use in my baking.
(P.S. When looking at ingredients in chocolate, cocoa butter is safe for vegans, being not butter at all, but items like whey are not.)
Interesting take on rice krispie treats – I love it! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Actually, chocolate is made with milk. Vegans can eat carob or dark chocolate, but not milk chocolate. Nothing to do with caffeine.
Actually, marshmallow has gelatin in it, which is why vegetarians and vegans won’t eat it. Vegans and vegetarians usually will eat chocolate, but for vegans it has to be chocolate without milk in it. 🙂 The krispies look delicious though. I’m going to try making some this weekend!
Thanks guys…
Ana – you’re right. Marshmallows are indeed made with gelatin. I saw Tyler Florence’s recipe on TV and I remembered the egg whites, but forgot they also have gelatin in them.
Carrie – Thanks for letting me know about the milk in chocolate being the reason why vegans don’t consume certain chocolates. I guess I was just expressing the main reason I don’t have chocolate.
Hi, I was trying to find the receipe from Today’s Show..the chef made healthy treats for kids. “brown rice krispies”.. heated almond butter/p-bttr/and rice syrup..then had AL pour it over some brown crispies.poured into a 8″ glass pan..had AL put his hand into a baggie & pat it out…they never gave amounts & too quick for me..It was a sm amt. & that would be nice, not knowning if I’d like it..they sure liked it..Chef was Kathy McCord..also made brownies with agave no eggs..and cookie dough with graham crks & no eggs..oh well..sure looked healthy & good! any help?
Someone mentioned earlier about this being good for someone with allergies. Unfortunately I am extremely allergic to carob, and accidentally ate some of this that I got at a family reunion. It was pretty scary because it resembled anaphylaxis, but fortunately did not affect my airway. I’m just posting this to try and raise awareness that some people have strong reactions to uncommon allergens.
@Angela… my apologies. I guess we should clarify that this recipe would be OK if you are allergic to either eggs or peanuts, because it doesn’t include any. I guess it will not apply if you have a carob allergy. Nothing is allergen-free if the person you’re cooking for has an allergy to any of the ingredients in the recipe. Hope you feel better and tell your friends you’re allergic to carob, and to avoid this ingredient at all costs.