Do you know what happens when I have samples from Madecasse, Cocomels and Chicago Vegan Foods on hand? I bake with them of course! I recently discovered the Veganic Brown Rice Crisps Cereal which have been a great breakfast when I’m wanting something more than a smoothie (and don’t even get me started on their Cacao Crisps). With vegan marshmallows, peanut butter, caramels, rice crisps and baking chocolate on band…I went a little crazy. I came up with these 3-layer vegan and gluten-free treats that are vegan and omnivore-approved. Seriously, my mom took most of these with her to work and they were gone in no time. Make these for your next potluck, get-together, or Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale which is happening on May 2nd this year. Read on for this incredibly delicious recipe!
Growing up, I used to love Rice Krispy treats. I found out through blogs like Fettle Vegan that it’s actually really easy to make a vegan version of them! I had some Dandies (aka vegan marshmallows) given to me from Expo West that were just begging to be used for this recipe. For the marshmallow portion the only other ingredients you need are some vegan butter, such as Earth Balance, and vegan crispy rice cereal.
JJ’s Sweets Cocomels was super generous to send me A TON of their vegan caramels! I don’t even know where to begin with these. I’ve had my dad try them, and normally he can’t stand coconut, but he kept asking me for more pieces! They come in four different flavors: Original, Sea Salt, Vanilla, and Espresso, and honestly I don’t have a favorite because they’re all so good! For the middle layer of these bars, I mixed some melted Cocomels with PB for a sweet and salty addition. The caramels melt like any non-vegan variety, and the flavors are super versatile.
Now, what kind of dessert is complete without chocolate? That’s where Madecasse comes in! I’ll be doing a review of their chocolates on this blog soon, but Madecasse was super sweet to send me a few of their best selling bars and some baking discs. Like the Cocomels, the baking discs melt down super quickly when you use a double broiler on the stove (the tricky part is just making sure to not let anything burn). They add a lovely rich, dark chocolate taste to tone down the sweetness of the other flavors in the bars. I can’t wait to experiment with more of these baking discs in the future!
Thank you to JJ’s Sweets Cocomels, Chicago Vegan Foods, Madecasse and One Degree Organics for making these sweet treats possible. Let me know in the comments below if you get a chance to make this recipe! Or, what are your favorite ways to enjoy caramel, marshmallows, peanut butter and/or dark chocolate!
- 2 Tbs Earth Balance Buttery Spread
- 1/2 bag Dandies Vegan Marshmallows
- 3 cups Brown Rice Cereal
- Splash non-dairy milk
- 1 Tbs water
- 1 package Vanilla Cocomels (or 11 Vegan Caramels)
- 1/2 cup salted, smooth peanut butter
- 6 oz dark chocolate (I used Madecasse's 70% baking discs)
- Heat a saucepan on medium and add the vegan butter until it melts. Add in the vegan marshmallows, and continue stirring until they liquify being careful not to burn. Add in a splash of non-dairy milk if needed. Once the mixture is smooth, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the brown rice cereal until well-mixed. Place in a square, 8x8 pan and flatten to form a bottom layer. Put in the fridge to let the marshmallow and rice cereal layer cool.
- Meanwhile begin making the caramel and peanut butter sauce. Placing the water in a saucepan over medium low heat, slowly add the unwrapped Cocomels and continue mixing until the caramels melt. Once melted, add in the peanut butter and stir rapidly. Add a little non-dairy milk if necessary. After the mixture has combined, pour over the rice/marshmallow layer in the chilled pan and smooth across the top. Place the dish back in the fridge to allow the second layer to cool.
- For the chocolate, simply boil a pot of water over the stove. Using a double broiler pan, place the chocolate in the top and stir constantly until the chocolate melts. Be very careful not to let the chocolate scorch or burn. Once melted, pour the mixture over the PB caramel layer.
- Place the square baking dish back in the fridge for a few hours before cutting into it and serving the bars. Cut into 9 squares, or make 18 smaller rectangles since these bars are rather rich, and enjoy!
Do you have the Calorie amount and sugar,carbs, but I’m on a low cal diet, I don’t think these are low cal, I hope they are, if there around 100, that would be so awesome
Hi Barbara, unfortunately I don’t have the calorie count on these (with my diet luckily I don’t have to count calories). I would imagine they are not under or around 100 calories since these are more of a treat. However, you could always cut them up into smaller pieces and savor them a little more 🙂