Sundae Sunday with Rice Krispie Treat Sundae Bowls

Now rice krispie treats are nothing new with so many of us having eaten the homemade kind since we were little kids (so much better than the pre-made kind). Even rice krispies and ice cream is nothing new since we've seen this idea executed both poorly and wonderfully, but what if we took thinks up another notch?

You see, last week while everyone was mesmerized by the AFC and NFC playoff games, I was messing around trying to make chocolate chip cookie dough sundae bowls. I had stumbled across the idea here. Now while my attempt wasn't a complete and utter disaster that took hours to clean up, it was still a disappointing failure (yes, there had been something in the middle of the these to help keep their shape but I forgot to weigh them down).

Now during this same weekend, Nick was experimenting with slicing open store bought rice krispie treats and using them to make ice cream sandwiches (photo here). I told him about my failed exploits when a stroke of genius hit him, something to the effect of "What if you made sundae bowls.... out of rice krispies?" Dude.... GENIUS!

Flash forward to today, and we've got ourselves some rice krispies treat sundae bowls! I've been waiting all week to try this and I got say, it looks great doesn't it? It wasn't even that hard to make. You grab a small sauce pan, dump in a couple tablespoons of butter to grease up the bottom of the pan (on low heat), and then dump in four cups of mini marshmallows and slowly work them over as they melt. Don't turn the heat up too much as we don't want to burn anything. Quick, pop quiz: What's the difference between using mini marshmallows and marshmallow fluff? No Eggs! (so it's safe for my son since I used non-dairy butter).

Ok, so once the marshmallows turn into goop (patience, it's gonna take a little while), you dump that gooey mess into a big bowl full of five cups of rice krispies. Oh, yeah, did I mention I'm technically using frosted krispies for a little extra kick?

My daughter takes a try at mixing the big bowl of mess, but that doesn't last too long. I take over and then start spooning very sticky mounds of rice krispies into some small bowls. It's a mess, but it's working surprisingly well as I form a 4/10 inch layer on the inside of the bowls. We let them sit for about an hour before using a small plastic knife to free them from the bowls. Thankfully they stay together which means it's time to break out....

The ice cream! Ok, I really wanted some strong vanilla for this experiment but this Breyers 1/2 the fat Cookies & Cream light ice cream will do just fine.

It's a timid flavored ice cream with a high air content (notice all the ripples), but it's a fairly clean taste, not too gummy, and is more then sufficient to do this...

Not bad, not bad, but it's needs just a little flair...

HEHEHEHE, YEAH! Now that's how you make a sundae! I have to say that a ton of ice cream in a fresh rice krispies treat bowl is EPIC. Nick is a creative genius and apparently I am a master chef because I adore this treat. If you try this (and you REALLY REALLY SHOULD), I suggest making sure you fill the bowl with plenty of ice cream as the bowl is alot bigger than it looks. The funny thing is that the bowl will stretch a bit so it's easy to pack in some extra ice cream. The whip cream is always a nice touch, as was the few extra rice krispies sprinkled on top to really drive home that sweet krispy flavor.

Have I mentioned that this was immensely tasty? Yes, I made a bunch of dirty dishes along the way but everyone really enjoyed them plus there's enough mix here for four bowls, so I've got one in the freezer to see how it holds up in a week or two. Yeah, my fingers got a little sticky while I was eating it, but it was still a ton of fun. Kids will like them, adults will feel like kids (and like them), it's all good.