Nesquik Marshmallow Bars

This year I was absolutely stumped on what to get my 16-year-old little brother for Christmas, so I started thinking about some of his favourite things to do for a little inspiration. Eating quickly rose to the top of the list. Even though there were already plenty of snacks and Christmas cookies laying around the house, I wanted to make him his very own treat for a gift. This kid loves his cereal (what teenager doesn't) and it's not uncommon to find him downing a big bowl at our kitchen table at any time of day. So, to surprise my cereal-loving brother on Christmas morning I whipped up a batch of these bars, incorporating his favourite: Nesquik. These bars are essentially Rice Krispie Squares made with Nesquik cereal instead of Rice Krispie's, and they are just as gooey, crispy, and chocolatey as you can imagine. I'm happy to report they have the little brother's stamp of approval! 

Ingredients:

6 cups Nesquik cereal

1 10oz. bag marshmallows

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the pan

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Pour the cereal into a large bowl. Grease a 9x9" baking pan with butter and set aside.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the marshmallows and 3 Tbsp. butter, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. 

Pour the melted marshmallow mixture into the bowl of cereal, scraping out the pot with a rubber spatula. Stir until the cereal is well coated. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. It will be very sticky so you will want to grease your hands really well with butter or use wax paper or plastic wrap to cover the cereal and then press down on that, because I found the cereal stuck to my hands a lot. 

Set the pan aside to cool and set for 1-2 hours. You can place the pan in the fridge to speed this up. Cut into bars with a sharp knife. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*Recipe by Brooke McMillan