I’m a sucker for cereal bars, so when my partner started helping brainstorm recipes for the blog, I jumped on the suggestion to come up with a variation. And, as you all probably know by now, I’m a fiend for peanut butter. Peanut butter Rice Krispie treats sounds good, but what if we take things up a notch and add in jelly for a PB&J treat?
Well, you can’t just add jelly and expect it to be anything other than a mess. But what does work great is freeze-dried berries. Grind them up into powder, mix them in, and you get a flavor explosion without all of the liquid from the fruit itself. I was frankly surprised at how well the berry flavor came through!
For my recipe, I used freeze-dried strawberries, but you can use any fruit you like as a PB&J jelly. Here are some Amazon Affiliate links (which earn me a small commission if you buy them) for some fruit options.
You only need 1 ounce of powder for a batch of this recipe, so you don’t need to go overboard with big batches unless you want to make a lot, or use it for other recipes.
I wish I could find a concord grape powder or freeze-dried grape, since grape jelly is excellent for PBJs, but I haven’t found one I like yet. A lot of grape powders are less about the flavor and more about the health benefits, so they aren’t suitable for a recipe like this. If you know of one, though, let me know!
Making this recipe is pretty easy, especially if you’ve made Rice Krispie Treats before. You melt the butter and marshmallows, stir in the peanut butter to make your coating, and coat the cereal with it all.
The hard part is that you only flavor half of the cereal mix with the fruit, but at that point it’s either cooling and is getting harder to mix, or is cooking and risks burning. You need to work fast, or manage your heat carefully. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier if you aren’t taking pictures like I am!
The end result is a two-layered peanut butter and jelly Rice Krispie treat, and it’s delicious. I hope you enjoy!
Strawberry PBJ Rice Krispie Treats
Equipment
- 9×13 Baking Dish
- Sauce Pan
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter
- 20 Oz. Mini Marshmallows Divided; 15 oz. and 5 oz.
- ¾ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 8 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- ⅓ Cup Freeze-Dried Strawberries About 1 Oz, crushed to powder.
- Finishing Salt A large-flake sea salt for a sprinkling on top, optional.
Instructions
- Grease your baking dish and set it aside.
- In your large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When melted, add 15 oz. of marshmallows. Stir constantly until they start to melt.½ Cup Butter, 20 Oz. Mini Marshmallows
- Once the marshmallows are half melted, add in the peanut butter and vanilla extract, and keep stirring until it's all melted and mixed together.¾ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter, 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add the cereal and stir to mix. When it's about half mixed, add the last 5 oz. of marshmallows so you have some mostly-whole mixed in. Turn the heat to low or off entirely.8 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- Take half of the cereal mix and press it in an even layer on the bottom of your baking sheet.
- Add the strawberry powder to the remaining half of the cereal, mixing it up to combine. It will probably be harder to mix since it has started cooling, so work quickly.⅓ Cup Freeze-Dried Strawberries
- Add the strawberry in a layer over top the peanut butter layer so you have a two-layer treat. Press it all flat and firm. Optional: Sprinkle some finishing salt across the top.Finishing Salt
- Let your cereal bars sit for at least an hour to cool and set. Then, cut and serve!