Caramel Cocoa Crispy Bars

Thanks for all of your moral support on my terrible-twos-toddler. It actually does make me feel better to know I'm not the only one...

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You know all I need is a reason to make scrump-dilly-umptious goodies during the week. My brother, sister-in-law and pumpkin-pie nephew were in town this week. Let's eat!

I'd spotted this variation of traditional rice krispy bars on one of my favorite blogs a while back and was just waiting for the opportunity to try it. These were super easy to make and really good. I'm not sure I like them better than some of the other versions, but I'd definitely make them again!

Caramel Cocoa Crispy Bars

by Annie's Eats

3 tbsp. butter

1 (1o-oz.) package Caramel Vanilla Swirl marshmallows (I found them at Super Target)

6 cups Cocoa Krispies

For topping:

12 caramel candies, wrappers removed

1-2 tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half (I used heavy cream)

Mini chocolate chips

Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick spray. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add in the marshmallows gradually and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are all melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal. Once all the cereal has been coated with the marshmallow mixture, transfer it to the prepared baking dish. Using a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray, gently pat down the mixture into an even layer in the baking dish.

To make the topping, place the caramel candies in a heatproof bowl. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. On the last interval add in the heavy cream, heat, and then whisk together. Add more cream if necessary to make the caramel easy to drizzle. Drizzle over the top of the Cocoa Krispie layer, immediately sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, and gently press down to help them adhere. Allow the base and topping to set completely. Cut into bars and serve.

My notes: The first time I made these, I didn't have caramels, but I did have caramel-chocolate swirl chips, so I just melted those one top (if you use these, omit the cream/half and half all together). The second time I made them, I couldn't find the caramel-chocolate chips or those little square caramel candies, so I bought the bag of unwrapped caramels in the baking section. I just guessed about how many might equal one caramel square and measured out 12 (I then actually ended up making more because I wanted more caramel on top!).