Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

 

I was wanting to make trail bars last weekend, but wasn't feeling quite up to shopping for the long ingredient list. So I dug out my battered copy of Cooking the Whole Foods Way by Christina Perillo, which I've had for years and years (and may have stolen from my sister a decade ago...oops, I just looked and it was even signed by Christina for my sis—sorry Katie!). It's one of those classic vegetarian and macrobiotic cookbooks that has recipes for desserts like kantee, in addition to an awesome assortment of nearly everything else you could be in the mood for. I remembered that there was a rice krispie esque treat in there that was rather simple and I decided to tweak it a bit to make it my own.

Almond Butter Dark Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

Makes 12-16 squares depending on how large you cut them
I actually store these in the fridge since I like them when they are slightly chilled.

1 1/4 cups brown rice syrup

1/2 cup almond butter
3 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup rolled oats (I used gluten free)
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Heat the brown rice syrup and almond butter in a small saucepan over low heat until creamy. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Place the cereal and coconut in a bowl together and gently stir in the warm syrup mixture until well combined. Press into a shallow, square baking dish and allow to set until firm (put it into the fridge to speed things up if you'd like).