September 26, 2012

Watch as I make the crispy pops with the fun morning team from WNYT! 

A cake-free cake pop? Yup! Make these cute little things with crispy treats instead of cake! Not only are they delicious, they're really allergen-friendly!

These easy-to-make treats are a playful take on cake pops. They
require no baking and are allergen-friendly!

For the Crispy Treats
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
6 cups gluten-free crispy rice cereal (I used gluten-free Rice Krispies) 
10 ounces marshmallows

For the Pops
Lollipop sticks
Chocolate or vanilla candy melts, about 1 pound
Sprinkles, colored sugar, or edible quins, optional
styrofoam


1. Grease a 13 by-9 inch baking pan. In large (5 quart) pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows are melted. Add cereal. Stir to combine. Press mixture into prepared pan. Chill for two hours.

2. Cut into 24 bars. Roll bars into rounds. If bars are too cold, they might crack. If that happens, allow bars to stand at room temperature for five minutes. Conversely, if bars are too warm, they might stick to your hands. If that happens, chill for 30 minutes.

3. Melt chocolate or vanilla candy melts*. Dip a little of the end of the stick into the melted candy melts. Instert candy-coated stick-end into the crispy treat round. Allow stick to set. One by one, dip pops into melted chocolate. If desired, stand pops up in a block of styrofoam.   You can either allow the chocolate to harden and re-dip the pops or, if you want a light coating of chocolate, sprinkle the pops with sprinkles, colored sugar or edible quins. If the chocolate in your bowl begins to set as you work with it, remelt in the microwave. Take care not to overheat the chocolate, as it can burn.

*To melt chocolate: Place half pound of chocolate or confectionery
coatings in a microwave-safe bowl (I recommend a glass 2-cup measure.)
Heat the chocolate for 30 seconds. Remove the chocolate from the
microwave and stir. It might not look like it's melting at first.
That's fine. Stirring removes "hot spots." Repeat, removing the
chocolate every 30 seconds from the microwave and stirring, until
chocolate is melted.