A Healthy Snack

Hee hee, so here's my victorious story of the day!! I went shopping Saturday and hit up some major outlets about 20 minutes outside of Honolulu. I found a MONSTER sale at the Children's Place outlet, and I couldn't turn it down. I guess I should tell you, to me, getting a good deal is like the BEST thing ever for me. I don't think I pay full price for ANYTHING, I just can't do it. Well, shopping makes you hungry, and actually, I was STARVING. And I walked right by...ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE FACTORY. (I can't believe they have one out here!! Yay!) I'd been there once before and we'd splurged and bought something called Avalanche Bark, cause it was half off. It was soooo good, and once I saw it, my mouth watered and I had to have it...you know the drill. There was no price anywhere around, but I figured I would treat myself, and I asked for a hunk of Bark. She rang me up...and the cost was...

$8.31!!! For one hunk of Bark!!

I stared in disbelief. I just couldn't do it. No way. That's almost as much as a whole Papa John's pizza, which was just 20 minutes away. So I told the lady I didn't have enough money, then she quickly told me they take credit card!! So I cleared that up and said I didn't WANT to pay that much money, and out I went, my mouth watering the whole way. I was so bummed, but I just tried to keep my thoughts focused on pizza (which I went home and ordered). I went and told Samuel how strong I had been to not buy it, then I realized, Hey, google is like my best friend, I AM GOING TO FIND THAT RECIPE AND MAKE MY OWN AVALANCHE BARK! I refused to be ripped off.

Well, I found that recipe all right!! I made it last night and it was seriously like IDENTICAL to what we remembered having before. I am sharing it with you so you can make yourself a treat for a GREAT deal and NOT get ripped off. (It probably costs $4.00 to make the WHOLE batch. Maybe less.)

Oh, by the way, I used Cocoa Krispies (instead of Rice Krispies) and my white chocolate chips had macadamia nuts mixed in, cause that's what I had on hand. Couldn't even tell. YUM YUM YUM YUM, enjoy everybody.

P.S. I was joking about the "healthy" part. Well, there is peanut butter in it, a "good" fat!! :)

Avalanche Bark from Rocky Mtn. Chocolate Factory
Serves/Makes:2 4"x4" hunks

Ingredients
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1-3/4 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup Rice Crispies cereal
1/2 cup (slightly packed) mini marshmallows
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (frozen)

Preparation
In double boiler (or metal bowl over a sauce pan filled 1/4 about full of water) over medium-high heat, add
white chocolate chips and peanut butter. Constantly stir with wire wisk until completely melted. Remove from heat (and remove off bottom boiling water). Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes
Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Fold in all of the rice crispies. Let cool till it barely feels warm (if you add the marshmallows and semi-sweet chocolate chips when it's too warm, they will melt and that's not what you want). It will take a while to cool, but do not cool it down in the refridgerator or it will set up.
While you wait, line a 4"x8.5" loaf pan with plastic wrap. You may even want to lightly spray the plastic with cooking spray first for easier removal. When the mixture is cooled, fold in marshmallows first then the semi-sweet chips (just fold to distribute, don't over work the mixture).
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, fold the excess plastic wrap over top and gently press the mixture so it's even in the pan. The harder you press, the denser the bark will be.
Put it in the fridge to set it up. It will take about 20 to 30 minutes to completely set up.
When set, remove from pan and cut into desired size pieces.
Note:
If you are a real fan of peanut butter, add extra. It is however very overpowering, so be careful. I tried this out a few times and this came so close to the real thing I couldn't tell the difference! I had both in front of me at the same time. (these comments are from Kathleen, the one who posted the recipe. Thanks Kathleen, whoever you are!