Melted brown sugar makes these Gluten Free Butterscotch Brown Sugar Crispy Rice Squares extra flavorful. Plus, who doesn’t love melted chocolate on top?!
Braelyn is getting to that age where all her friends are loosing their teeth. Some of them look really cute. But I’m not gonna lie; some of them look pretty crazy, too.
I’ll admit, I’ve felt a little relieved that Braelyn hasn’t lost any teeth yet. She still has that perfect sparkling white smile with her straight little teeth. I’m terrified that once she starts loosing teeth, she will fall into the crazy mouth category with snaggle teeth jutting out all over the place. And then there’s retainers, and braces, and ortho appointments, and the list goes on.
Can’t she just have her baby teeth forever?!
But then I watch how sad she is that she doesn’t have any wiggly teeth. And then I hear how anxious she is for the tooth fairy to come visit her at night. And then I watch as she tris to wiggle her teeth, hoping that one, JUST ONE, will move ever so slightly…and I think, “Okay, bring on the snaggle teeth!”
Well I’m happy to say that we FINALLY have a wiggly tooth around here!!! YAY!
I may have had a slight part to play in loosening her front tooth. I promise it was an accident, though.
You see, my kids always need their hugs and kisses before bedtime, and as tired as Braelyn is at bedtime, her energy level is still as intense as it is all day long. So you can imagine how exhausting our bedtime routine can be. Anyway, as I’m standing there on the bottom bunk reaching up and giving her goodnight hugs and kisses, she is laughing and giggling and won’t let go of me.
I think, “Awww! She’s so cute. Okay, this is cute. Oh, she loves me. How cute…okay, GET OFF NOW!”
Haha! Seriously, my snuggle meter only lasts so long. So when I pulled away after a few seconds of being mangled by hugs, Braelyn didn’t brace herself and went catapulting forward where she then smacked her face on the metal frame of the bed.
Oooops!
She cried, and cried, and cried.
You guys, this is terrible, but I LAUGHED. Yes, I know, it sounds so awful for me to laugh as her mother. But, I knew she was okay, and really it was pretty funny. I thought she had just barely bonked her head and was being overly dramatic like usual…
…until she opened her mouth and I saw a little line of blood above her top right tooth. Oh no! Mom fail! I can’t believe I was laughing at her and she was actually hurt. Instead of freaking her out by telling her she was bleeding, I just gasped with excitement, “Braelyn! I bet your tooth is loose!!!”
In that single instant that she heard the words “tooth is loose” her wail transformed into uncontrollable giggles and squeals. I reached in her mouth, grasped her tooth, and wiggled. And you know what?! It was loose! Not crazy loose, but just enough that she could wiggle it back and forth. Looks like I did her a favor. Your welcome Braelyn Boo!
So anyway, the last two days she’s been informing me of which foods she can and can’t eat that might make her tooth fall out. Conveniently, she insists that food she doesn’t like is on the “Cannot Eat List”. Go figure.
Now you would think that these crispy, chewy Gluten Free Butterscotch Brown Sugar Crispy Rice Squares would be on the list of foods to avoid, but somehow she still manages to eat them with no complaining. And they’re gone in about 2 seconds flat. Funny how that works.
Okay, I know that butterscotch rice crispy treats are nothing new and tons of people make them, but I actually never have. I’m not even sure what the actual recipe is for traditional butterscotch rice crispy squares. So, just as I always do in the kitchen, I winged it.
I winged it GOOD!
I didn’t want just ordinary butterscotch rice crispy treats, so I decided that a hint of brown sugar would be a magnificent flavor undertone. Since your melting the butter and marshmallows in a saucepan anyway, it’s totally easy to melt 1/4 cup of brown sugar first to give that nice warm depth of flavor against the sweetness of the butterscotch.
And then I did something else. Something else quite special. I added butterscotch chips to the melted chocolate on top. That way the butterscotch really shines through.
Sometimes I feel like when you add chocolate to anything, it totally takes over in the flavor department. I didn’t want that. I wanted BUTTERSCOTCH crispy rice squares, and that’s what I got.
Not only did I add butterscotch chips to the melted chocolate, but I also added a splash of half and half (or you can use heavy whipping cream) to give it an almost frosting like texture instead of just a layer of hard chocolate on top. It really melts in your mouth.
Annnnnd, last thing. Instead of completely melting the butterscotch chips into the marshmallows, barely stir them in after you remove the marshmallow mixture from the heat. That way you get pockets of butterscotch in your rice crispy treat instead of it mixed throughout and it gives a slight texture difference. It’s a little more fun for your taste buds and your chompers.
Oh, and can I say just how excited I was to find that Malt-O-Meal makes a gluten free Crispy Rice cereal now??? Seriously, happy dance. Because they are yummy and they are affordable. Look for them at your local grocery store. But make sure that the box you buy is gluten free. I think they are making changes just like Cheerios, so all the boxes on the shelf may not be gluten free yet.
So whether you’re looking for a chewy, sticky treat to loosen those teeth, or a festive Halloween treat (Uh, hello! Black and orange here!) these Butterscotch Brown Sugar Crispy Rice Squares will seal the deal. They’re just slightly addictive. Wink, wink!
What are your orthodontic nightmares?
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups butterscotch morsels, divided
- 3½-4 cups Gluten Free Malt-O-Meal brand Crispy Rice cereal
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2½ tablespoons half and half or heavy whipping cream
- Lightly grease an 8X8 baking pan with butter and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt brown sugar over low heat until liquified. Add butter and stir vigorously until smooth. Add in marshmallows and vanilla. Continue to stir until all ingredients are melted and incorporated.
- Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of butterscotch chips and barely stir until slightly melted. Quickly pour in cereal. Stir well to coat all cereal with marshmallow and butterscotch mixture. Press mixture down into lightly grease baking pan using hands or spatula. Set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl (I used a 2 cup glass Pyrex measuring cup), microwave half and half (or cream), butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir for a good minute to continue melting chips. Return to microwave for 15 second intervals at 50% power if needed, stirring in between, until mixture is smooth.
- Pour melted chocolate over tops of crispy squares and spread with a spatula. Allow to cool and harden.*
- Store squares in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
