Chai-Spiced Rice Crispy Bars
Melt, stir, press, cut. A pan of spiced cereal bars made on one burner at the van or the picnic table.
- calories
- 190
- weight
- 1.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 12, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 18 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Crispy rice cereal | 4 cups | pack it in a rigid tub or it turns to dust |
|---|---|---|
| Mini marshmallows | 10 oz bag | |
| Unsalted butter | 3 tbsp | |
| Honey | 2 tbsp | |
| Chai spice blend | 1 tsp | or cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom mixed at home |
| Vanilla extract | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Line a square pan or a shallow lidded container with parchment. Cut it oversized so you can lift the slab out later.
- Set the stove as low as it will go. Melt the butter in the pot, then add the honey and the chai spice and stir until it smells like spice instead of butter.
- Add the marshmallows. Keep stirring, scraping the edges of the pot, until the mix is smooth. Low heat the whole way. Sugar scorches fast on a camp burner.
- Pull the pot off the flame. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the cereal until every piece is coated.
- Scrape it into the pan and press flat with a greased spoon or damp fingers. Press firmly, not hard, or the bars go dense.
- Let it set at least 30 minutes before cutting into 12 squares.
Marshmallow is a sugar syrup that has already been whipped and stabilized, which is why this works on a camp stove with no thermometer and no fresh dairy. You are just re-melting it. The honey adds a little invert sugar so the slab stays chewy instead of hardening into candy overnight, and the butter keeps it from gluing itself to the pot.
Heat control is the only real skill here. A canister stove on full throttle puts all its output through a two-inch circle of pot bottom, and scorched marshmallow tastes burnt through the whole batch. Lowest flame, constant stirring, cereal off the heat. Keep the finished bars dry — condensation off a cooler lid softens the cereal faster than time does.
Packing
Measure the spice blend into a small bag at home so you carry one container instead of three. Cereal rides in something crush-proof. Cut and wrap the squares individually before you break camp or they weld into one block in the food bin.
Variations
- Make them at home and pack cut squares as a day-hike snack.
- Swap the honey for corn syrup or maple syrup and the bars are vegan-friendly once you also swap the butter and check the marshmallows.
- A pinch of salt in the melt keeps 10 oz of marshmallow from tasting flat.
https://camprecipes.com/van-life-chai-spiced-rice-crispy-treats