Krispie Slab
Marshmallow, butter, and puffed rice pressed into a pan at home. Cut it, wrap it, carry it.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 2.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 128
- protein
- 2 g
- serves
- 12, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 20 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.
- Snack
- Dessert
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Butter | 6 tbsp | |
|---|---|---|
| Mini marshmallows | two 10 oz bags | |
| Crisp rice cereal | 12 oz box | |
| White chocolate chips | 1/2 cup | optional, for drizzling |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | cuts the sugar |
Method
- At home, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the salt.
- Add the marshmallows and stir until they are just melted. Pull the pot off the burner the moment they go smooth.
- Dump in the cereal and fold until every piece is coated. Work fast, it stiffens as it cools.
- Press into a greased sheet pan. Wet your hands first or you will wear it. Press firm, not packed, or you get a brick.
- If you want the drizzle, melt the white chips in 30-second bursts and stir between each. Spoon it over the slab and let it set.
- Cool completely, then cut into bars and wrap each one.
This is the Easter dessert version stripped of the food coloring and the parsley garnish. Shapes do not survive a pack. What survives is a dense rectangle of sugar and fat, which is what you actually wanted from it on the trail.
It works because there is no water in it. Marshmallow and butter set into a solid at room temperature and stay there for a week, so nothing needs a cooler and nothing needs a stove. Press the slab firmly enough that the bars hold their edges, but stop short of compacting it, since over-pressed bars turn hard and chip apart in the bag. The salt is an addition. Without it the whole thing reads as one flat note of sweet.
Packing
Wrap bars individually in parchment or wax paper, then load them into a hard container. Loose in a pack they compress into one large bar. Above about 85 F the marshmallow softens and the white chocolate goes to paste, so keep them low in the pack and out of the sun.
Variations
- Swap half the cereal for granola or crushed pretzels for something less sweet.
- Brown the butter before the marshmallows go in. Two extra minutes, noticeably better.
- Stir 1/2 cup of powdered milk into the cereal to push the protein up.
https://homeandkind.com/blogs/food-recipes/carrot-rice-krispie-treats