Houjicha Chocolate Rice Krispies

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp butter or margarine (or even vegetable oil in a pinch) + a little for greasing the pan
• 6 cups marshmallows (= most of one large no name brand bag)
• ~2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tsp Houjicha or matcha powder
• Generous pinch of salt
• 7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 cup “mix-ins” of choice
  • in this case, half & half chopped chocolate & pumpkin seeds
  • Other combos I’ve done in the past:
    • Halloween edition: A few tbsp pumpkin purée + pumpkin spice powder instead of houjicha powder, then pumpkin seeds at the end
    • Christmas edition: use red/white/green Rice Krispies and chopped peppermint chocolate
    • Also try: chopped Oreos, chopped speculoos cookies, nuts, cacao nibs, other kinds of chocolate… the possibilities are endless!

Instructions:

• Grease a large baking pan with a little butter.
• Put 5 tbsp butter in a large, microwaveable bowl. Microwave until melted.
• Add marshmallows to the bowl and microwave until the marshmallows soften. Stir occasionally so the marshmallows mix with the butter. All the marshmallows should expand, lose their shape, and melt into each other. It is okay if the butter remains somewhat separated from the mass of marshmallow.
• Add vanilla, mix until combined.
• Add houjicha powder, mix until combined. Add slightly more to taste, if desired.
• Add salt on top of the Rice Krispies in your measuring cup, and add this mix to the large bowl. Without delaying (while the marshmallows are still hot), mix until the marshmallow is distributed throughout the cereal.
• Once the mix is even, add the “mix-ins” and mix again.
• Spoon the entire mix into the large baking pan, and flatten into an even shape using the back of your spoon.
• Wait ~15 min for the mixture to cool a little, cut with a serrated knife, and enjoy!