Lavender Crispy Rice Treats

OK, everyone who grew up loving those ooey, gooey crispy rice treats, raise your hand. Such a simple, sweet treat, and always well worth the effort of melting the marshmallows and delicately combining the light, airy, crunchy rice cereal. These treats are the taste of childhood. I say, stay in touch with your inner child. They know a good treat when they see one!

These Lavender Crispy Rice Treats are a great make-ahead treat to have on hand for guests, lunch bags, or a snack for the road. Of course, it’s also easy enough that you can make this the day you need it, whenever the marshmallow spirit strikes.

There will be some purists who say you shouldn’t let anything interrupt the marshmallow goodness of these time-honored treats. But you’ve seen them dressed up with candies and chocolate for years. Now, take this sweet treat up a notch with flavor straight from your garden.

All those lavender stems you’ve been harvesting and diligently tying up to dry? They’re going to come in handy here.

Keep the cooking-with-lavender mantra in mind when you’re making these no-bake treats: a little lavender goes a long way. Any gardener you talk to, any cookbook you open, the message will always be there: don’t overdo it with the lavender, or whatever you’re making will come out tasting bitter, or like soap, or both.

That being said, you still may need to experiment a little with just how much lavender you use in your recipe. If it were me, I’d make a test batch first—just to make sure I got the lavender level right.

You can serve these Lavender Crispy Rice Treats as a simple lunchtime treat. Or dress them up a little with a scoop of vanilla ice and a sprig of lavender as a garnish. Either way, they’re going to be delicious!

Lavender Crispy Rice Treats

Take your crispy rice treats to a new level with the flavor and fragrance of lavender! These crispy rice treats are casual enough for everyday snacking, and fancy enough with their lavender layer to make a bold statement at dessert.

• Author: Norann Oleson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cooling Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 12 1x
• Category: Desserts

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup butter (the real thing)
• 1 10-ounce bag of marshmallows
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender buds, crushed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal

Instructions

1. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat.
2. Add vanilla and lavender. Stir.
3. Add marshmallows and stir until marshmallows are melted.
4. Take the pot off the heat and fold in the crispy rice cereal.
5. Spread the mixture in a greased baking dish (9×9 inch or 9×13 inch).
6. Cool at room temperature for about a half hour.
7. Cut into squares and serve.

While these treats are usually best made and eaten on the same day, you can make them a day or two ahead and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you make a big batch, you can freeze some in layers separated by waxed paper for up to 6 weeks. Bring out of the freezer at least 15 minutes before serving.

And if you’re interested in growing your own lavender, check out Lovely Lavender: The Complete Guide to Growing, Harvesting, and Enjoying Lavender. Take a deep breath near a lavender field and you’ll walk away both energized and relaxed by the heady, heavenly scent of this beautiful, versatile plant. A cold-hardy, drought-tolerant evergreen, lavender is more than just a pretty plant. The culinary variety of lavender is delicious in cookies and cakes, teas and lemonades, as a garnish, and as a secret ingredient in herbal blends. Start growing lavender today with our guide.

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