When I say, “Rice Krispie Treats” what comes to mind?
If you’re American you immediately picture a tasty, addictive, marshmallow and rice cereal square. If you’re in Ireland you imagine something different. Such was my predicament a few years ago when, for my older daughter’s mid-week birthday, I sent her to school with a batch of…you guessed it…American Rice Krispie Treats. We weren’t in the classroom door five minutes when one little darling shouted out, “These aren’t Rice Krispie Buns! There’s no chocolate!!”
Hmmm…chocolate?
Yes, it turns out in Ireland our beloved Rice Krispie Treats, correctly called Rice Krispie Buns, are a delicious mixture of melted chocolate and rice cereal.
Flash forward to present day…earlier this week (can that be a flash-forward?)…Monday to be exact. My sweet third-grader asked me to speak to her class on all things Saint Patrick and Irish. With her direction, I brushed up on my edited-version of Irish history and Saint Patrick and prepared a 30-minute presentation. But what’s a presentation without a snack? Not much if you’re in third grade (third class or KG3 for my Irish readers).
Wanting our Irish-talk to be about all things Irish, my daughter and I decided to make…you guessed it…Irish Rice Krispie Buns. Together we measured and melted the chocolate and added the cereal. In a matter of minutes we were done and well on our way to taste-testing. Can I get a “yummmmm”?
The talk on Saint Patrick and Ireland went well. My youngest daughter and I are turning the talk into a children’s book and will start submitting it to publishers in the coming weeks. If we’re lucky enough to get it published we’ll let you know. In the meantime, whip up a batch of these tasty Irish Rice Krispie Bun Treats…they’re simple and delicious.
Irish Rice Krispie Bun Treats
Makes approximately 30-35 Treats
4oz/113g good quality semi-sweet or milk chocolate
3 cups/75g/3oz Rice Krispie Cereal
Directions
1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering, but not boiling, water.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Put 30-35 mini muffin cases on the baking tray in preparation of adding the mixed treats.
3. Gradually add the Rice Krispies to the melted chocolate and stir well to ensure the cereal is completely coated with 
chocolate.
4. Spoon a heaped teaspoon into each mini muffin case.
5. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to cool completely before serving.
Note: For a nice Irish-American twist, add a cup of mini-marshmallows to the chocolate covered rice cereal and mix well. For an Irish surprise, top the treats with colourful Smarties (M&M’s).
Related articles
- Featured Post: Chocolate-Covered Rice Krispie Treat Pops (thelushnest.com)
- Loaded Rice Krispie Treats (ideasinfood.com)
- http://www.chickabug.com/blog/2011/09/extra-yummy-rice-krispie-treat-recipes.html (chickabug.com)
In an Irish Home 
Yummmm!! Ali is has given up chocolate for Lent so she made it the American way this weekend with marshmallow!! Missed taking to you over St Patrick’s weekend. We went to the parade in Greystones, very elaborate this year. Lashed rain towards the end but sure nobody noticed!! L xx
Way to go Ali!! I heard the weather was mixed. Thankfully most of the showers held off until the parades had passed. The photos of the Dublin parade were amazing…some of the costumes were fantastic. What did you end up making for dinner on Paddy’s Day? Did you see I mentioned you in the blog I wrote about Paddy’s Day?! Ha, you’re famous!!! 😉 Miss you. Hope we catch up again soon. xo Kim
You heard an Mmmmmmm!
Hi Angela! Thanks for your sweet reply…”Mmmmmm!” is right!! Just wanted to say that I admire the work you are doing on your blog A Silver Voice from Ireland. Your articles/blogs/posts (again, what do we call them???) are well written and informative. I’ve been following your pieces on the Titanic with fascination. I took a few minutes and read your “About This Blog” and find we share some similar experiences…both left our home country for an extended period and both believe in preserving the beauty of the culture of Ireland. My second book Irish Love & Wedding Customs was a labour of love. I really wrote it in order to share the rich cultural traditions that Ireland has in relation to love and marriage. I’ve written a much bigger third book which I hope to have published in the not too distant future which continues theme of the second book. Anyway, it’s lovely to touch base with someone who shares similar passions. Please stay in touch and visit me at In an Irish Home whenever you have a chance. xo Kim
Hi Kim! Thanks for linking to my blog! Your post is so interesting – I had NO idea that Rice Krispie treats don’t translate internationally. ; ) I think the Irish version sounds even better than the American recipe – but then, I *love* chocolate!
Heather : )
Hi Heather! Thank you for checking-out the blog/story/piece (what do we call them?) on Irish Rice Krispie Treat Buns! It’s such a yummy recipe and so easy to make…perfect for busy families and kids of all ages. On a personal note, just wanted to say how much I love your Chickabug blog and Etsy site! You have so many great ideas…how do you get them all?! Any suggestions for a lovely girl who’s about to turn 12? Would love to throw my older daughter an easy but fun birthday party. xo Kim
[…] may seem a lot like Rice Krispie Squares, made with marshmallows, or Rice Krispie buns, made with chocolate, but they are entirely different. The Mars Bars (or Milky Way bars, if you […]
I just had this exact conversation with my fiancee, me being a chewy-marshmallowy-square American, Dec being a choco-rice-krispie-bun Irishman. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi Ana. Thank you for stopping by In and Irish Home and for “following” too! Seems we are sharing a similar path! Did you make the Avoca recipe or did you make the traditional Irish recipe? I have both posted on my blog. From what you wrote, I can’t tell if you and Dec just talked about it or you actually had a bake-off!! I, for one, adore the Avoca ones…actually we are all converted now. That said, when the girls were little the traditional recipe reigned supreme. I’m following your blog now too and will enjoy watching your experience unfold. Please let me know if I can be of any help to you! {I really MEAN that.} I remember only too well those early years of living in Ireland…it helps to have lots of friends. Wishing you much joy in the coming year. God bless. Kim
Thank you, as I was looking for a recipe for these tasty treats because we tasted them at an Irish birthday and loved them! And even though my husband is Irish (yes, actually from Ireland), he’s never made them, of course. But I have to take issue with you calling Smarties M&Ms. I am from Canada and Smarties happen to be my favourite chocolate candies (I regularly import them through visiting friends and relatives as we live in the U.S. now) and I personally think they are waaaay better than M&Ms! 😊 That said, though, I believe they are slightly different than the UK and Irish Smarties as they don’t have an orange extract. I know because my mother-in-law brought me some from Ireland and they tasted different. Obviously I’ve got far too much time on my hands, ahem. Carry on then.
Hello and thank you for stopping by! I didn’t know Canadian Smarties have an orange extract in them…learn something new every day. I only called the Smarties M&M’s for my American friends/readers who aren’t familiar with Smarties. I am personally an M&M fan but my daughters love both. 😉 If you’ve tried the Rice Krispie Buns, have you tried the Mars Bars Biscuits yet? They are soooo good! I think you and your Irish husband will LOVE them! Hope you visit again. All the best! Kim
Hmm, I don’t know about the Mars Bars Biscuits, but I happen to have a stash of Mars Bars my brother brought down for me at Christmas, so I’ll ask the Irish ladies when I see them or my husband when he gets home. Canadian Smarties have NO orange extract – it’s the UK version that has the orange extract and sadly I can only get UK Smarties in the U.S. for some strange reason and my kids hate the UK version because of the orange extract. I’m not a fan either, but it’s just the orange ones that taste weird. Anyway, thanks! I’ve told my Irish friends about your blog – I’ll pass along the address to them. You must be on the east coast because I see you replied at 7 p.m. and it’s still not quite 5 p.m. here. I’m in California. 🙂
If you’re in California, use Milky Way bars and save your stash of Mars Bars. The Mars Bars Biscuit recipe comes from one of my favourite shops: Avoca Handweavers. They are so good…they’re sinful! And they’re super easy to make. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love them. If you try either recipe (Mars Bars or Rice Krispie Buns), let me know how you get on…I’m always curious know how others find the recipes (simple/hard to make…delicious/so-so). Thanks so much for passing along In an Irish Home to your friends!! Hope you’ll call in again!
Ah, just read the about section and see you are living in Ireland! Got it. 🙂 My cousin (Canadian) also followed your path and married an Irish man about 20-odd years ago and lives in Dublin. I made my guy move to Toronto, Canada and he hated the winters so much that he made me move to Seattle and well, now we’ve settled on California as a happy medium. Best of luck to you with your blog. Looking forward to your next post. I was thinking of writing a similar one from the perspective of a Canadian living in America, but a lot of it would probably be me complaining about the cost of health care here. 😉
That’s all interesting stuff! Toronto to Seattle to California…hey? That’s a lot of moving about. So, I envy your good weather in California. I am an organic gardener and would love a sunnier, longer growing season. Are you a gardener by chance? I think if you have an interest in starting up a blog, you absolutely should. I’ve had such fun doing so.
I apologize for the late comment, however, I really liked this article and would like to ask for some advice in making the treats.
My mom and myself made them several times, but our ones always ended up being soft and chewy rather than crispy, like we’d like them to be.
Is there any specific way to make them while retaining the crunchiness?
Hi Kaja. You are right…these are soft and chewy, rather than crispy. That is the way they always are when I make them or when I buy them. I suppose you could try adding more cereal to the recipe to see if that helps. If you find a solution, please let me know too!
Had to laugh when I read this! The same thing happened to be just replace a child with my Irish boyfriend. he was severely disappointed when I made them the American way.
[…] ***** For more fun kid-friendly recipes check out the following blog posts at In an Irish Home: A S’Mores Cake, Irish Caramels, Ginger Biscuits, Irish Shortbread Biscuits, and Irish Rice Krispie Buns. […]