I'm not sure I know a single person who would say no to chocolate; yet, I am certain that I know plenty of people who instantly remember their childhood when the chocolate with rice is mentioned.
I am that one, and I would gladly pick this kind of treat over anything else, okay maybe I couldn't refuse Mozartkugeln, but that's it. 馃檮
This treat requires almost no time for preparation, very few ingredients but in return it will offer you a bunch of sweet bites to enjoy.
Recently bought expanded rice with the intention of making something with it. I made a snack mix a couple of times, adding dried fruit and nuts, and it has been sitting in a bag since then, waiting for its turn to be prepared.
The day had come!
By the way, this delicacy has its own name - pine cones and is well known among children. Mom mostly made them when there was no time for anything complex and we always had time to eat every single crumb of it.
Grab a bowl and pot, here comes the "recipe"
250 g of margarine
200 g of chocolate
100 g of expanded rice
50 g oats
a handful of raisins
I need to point out that this is not one of those rigid recipes that you have to strictly stick to, so feel free to add nuts, coconut, jelly candies, cornflakes, or whatever whatever comes to mind; you won't go wrong.
Melt all together, chocolate and margarine, on low heat with constant stirring, then add rice and extras.
That's it?
Ummm, yeah, that's it!
How will you shape it, really doesn't matter.
I divided the mixture into two halves, adding coconut to one and leaving the other plain.
What would be desirable is the chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa, for the milk one, I'm not sure it would do the job properly, although I've never tried it.
Considering the complete simplicity of the preparation, I decided that at least the shapes should be different.
So the coconut variant is poured onto a tray lined with baking paper (to prevent it from sticking), and the plain option is?
In muffin tins!
I know, I know, you haven't seen them in a long time. :P
As a last resort, shape the piles with a spoon and arrange them on baking paper, you will avoid some extra dish washing time.
I did just one, wasn't sure will they harden enough, it's been a long time since I had this treat.
Place them in the refrigerator (or freezer if you're in a hurry), and let them set and cool completely.
Moment of truth, after ten minutes spent in the freezer, the coconut bar version was successfully cut!
(without crumbling)
There, there, maybe just a few crumbs were there, eat them until no one saw.:p
Muffin shaped wasn't much excitement so I left them in the freezer, until someone knocked on the door.
Guests!
Muffin shaped doesn't exist anymore, it took them only one coffee and less than an hour.
It was fun to watch them and hear about when and how they tasted this delicacy, while Tziki was purrrrring in my lap.
Bon appetite!