Cookie Crisp Pretzel Bars

Remember when I made my "milk & cookies" cupcake a couple weeks ago? I bought a whole box of Cookie Crisp cereal but only used a few for the "cookie" toppers. Well, I've been trying to figure out what to do with the remainder of the box. If it was Cinnamon Toast Crunch or even Cap'n Crunch I would just pour some milk in the box and eat it up! Sadly, Cookie Crisp has either gotten more bland since I was a kid or my palate is more refined.

Anyway, I made these bars and added pretzels and chocolate chips to offset the sweetness of the cereal.

• I  browned my butter before adding my marshmallows (to add some deeper, nutty flavors) but you could just melt the butter in the regular way.
• I crushed up my cereal and pretzels in a food processor but you could also put them in a big plastic bag (or even between two pieces of plastic wrap) and crush them with rolling pin. You want pieces that are, oh, roughly the size of a pencil eraser or maybe a little bigger.

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks of butter
40 marshmallows (1 package)
4 cups cookie crisp cereal (crushed into pieces)
1 cup pretzels (crushed into pieces)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Use cooking spray, an oiled paper towel, or a pat of butter to grease a 13"x9" pan (you can use a different size but, obviously, this will affect the thickness of your treats). Set aside.
2. Place cereal and pretzel mixture together in a heat safe mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a medium to large pot. If you are going to brown the butter, keep it on the heat (stirring occasionally) until it starts turning a light brown color. If not, just heat butter until completely melted.
4. Add marshmallows and stir until butter and marshmallows melt together completely. It may be necessary to stir vigorously or "fold" the two together to make sure there are no pockets of butter remaining.
5. Pour the marshmallow/butter mixture into the cereal/pretzel mixture and stir vigorously to combine. Work quickly to make sure there are no dry pockets of cereal. This way you'll get nice consistency in your final product.
6. Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Press down with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. Spraying the spatula with cooking spray makes it easier to get the mixture out of the bowl and to press it into the pan without it sticking to the utensil.
7. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top while the bars are still warm. I pressed them down a little with my spatula to make sure they stick.
8. Cool until set. I cute mine with a bench knife/scraper but any sturdy knife will work. Keep covered in an airtight container.