Monday, January 7, 2013

January Secret Recipe Club...Featuring Sweet as Sugar Cookies' Avalanche Bark Cups

After a holiday hiatus in December, Secret Recipe Club is back this month!! SRC is one of my favorite blog events each month, so I was eager to have it rev back up for the new year. My assigned blog for this month is Sweet as Sugar Cookies, a fabulous blog that's FULL of fabulous sweets. Lisa's blog has tons of great recipes for cookies, brownies, and other fabulous sweets. I had a very hard time picking one recipe to spotlight. I ultimately decided on a fun, no-bake candy to take to our Texans-Bengals playoff party yesterday. I love the avalanche bark from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, so I was thrilled when I saw Lisa's recipe for Avalanche Bars that I can make at home! If you've never had avalanche bark, it's a combo of white chocolate and peanut butter...with Rice Crispy's, mini marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips mixed in. It's downright addictive, and so very simple make at home!

I made two minor tweaks to Lisa's recipe. I love peanut butter, so I upped the amount in my base to 1/3 cup. I also placed the mixture in colorful cupcake liners instead of placing the mixture in a pan and cutting into pieces when set. I loved the fun pop of color, and it was really easy for everybody to grab a some for easy eating when they were ready for a sweet snack during the game! These bites come together in about 15 minutes...and you don't even need to heat the oven. Simple, tasty...and fun? Sounds like the perfect gameplan to me!!

Avalanche Bark Cups
adapted from Sweet as Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Melt a 12-ounce bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave. This takes about 3 minutes, but stop every minute to stir...this avoids scorching and ensures even melting. Add 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter to the white chocolate and stir to evenly combine. 
Step 2: Add 3 cups Rice Crispy to the peanut butter mixture and stir until evenly combined. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then add the following ingredients: 1.5 cups mini marshmallows and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Stir to evenly incorporate the mix-ins into the cereal mixture. The mini chips may melt a bit, but it's not a huge deal.
Step 3: Place 12 cupcake liners on a rimmed baking sheet. Spoon the bark mixture into the liners. If you have any mixture left -- I did -- drop it by spoonfuls onto a sheet of foil for "taste testing" purposes. Place a few mini chocolate chips on top of each cup, pressing slightly to adhere. It looks pretty, and it gets a nice dose of chocolate chips in each bite of bark. Refrigerate the cups until set -- about 30 minutes. If you need to store them longer, just let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before eating. 
That's IT, folks! This candy is super-simple to whip and just as easy to eat! Yes, it is rather sweet...but if you love peanut butter and chocolate as much as I do? You won't mind a bit! The crispy cereal and soft marshmallows provide a nice bit of texture contrast too. For bite-size pieces of bark, you could use a tablespoon and place the mixture in mini cupcake liners...or just use a cookie scoop to drop the mounds on a parchment-lined pan. 
Wait until you see all the great recipes that Group A of Secret Recipe Club is sharing today. Just click on the links below to check out all the fabulous recipes!!


12 comments:

  1. YUM. This treat looks so delicious. Loving it!

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  2. Ooh, these sound delicious. I'm a sucker for all things rice crispy and I love Lisa! ;)

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  3. Easy, no bake, looks great. There are lots of things to love about this recipe!

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  4. WOW!!! Oh my goodness these sounds AMAZING! I am definitely making these. They look amazing good!

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  5. Wendy these look fab. I know I'll be trying them soon. I had a blast going through your blog for this months SRC assignment and we absolutely love your peppermint hot white cocoa. Thanks for a great recipe which is a sure keeper. :)

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  6. Mmmm... Wendy looks fantastic and right up our alley. I'm 100% positive my teens would love this - you picked a great recipe!

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  7. These look wonderful! I just love Lisa's blog. Great choice!!!

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  8. Foget the rice krispie Treats. These are fantastic!!

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  9. Ooh, these look absolutely amazing - totally my type of sweet. YUM! Excellent choice for SRC.

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