Small Batch Mexican Hot Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

October 16, 2020

Closing out Latinx Heritage Month (a day late - woops) with these Mexican Hot Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats! Mexican hot chocolate > regular hot chocolate, hands down. If you aren’t familiar, Mexican hot chocolate is typically made with cinnamon and chili powder (I use cayenne). It has just the right amount of spice to complement the sweetness of the chocolate. And because it’s made with bars of chocolate rather than cocoa powder, it’s also richer and creamier than its American counterpart. In summary: It. Is. Divine. 

There are a lot of really delicious and fancy Mexican hot chocolates on the market, but I used the classic Abuelita brand, which you can find in most grocery stores. Or, you can also use regular chocolate and just increase the amount of spices. 

And if you are raising an eyebrow at the sweetened condensed milk, trust me. This is 100% the secret to treats that are soft and gooey and STAY soft and gooey. You’ll never make them any other way - I promise.

This small batch recipe is very easy to scale up, but if you’re just trying to satisfy a craving, this is the perfect amount. It comes together so easily and so quickly! 

You’ll also notice that the measurements for this recipe are not in weight. You know that I’m a BIG fan of baking by weight, but for this recipe I find it easier to quickly measure with cups. Since you aren’t technically “baking”, you don’t need to be as precise with your measurements.

recipe

Quantity: 6-8 treats

Time: 30 minutes, plus cooling time

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rice cereal

• 3 and 3/4 cups mini marshmallows (set aside 3/4 cup marshmallows)

• 3 tablespoon butter

• 3 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

• 1 tablet (3 oz) Mexican hot chocolate, chopped into small pieces

• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or omit if you prefer less spice)

• 1 teaspoons vanilla

• pinch of salt

Process:

1. Prepare a 9x5 pan (I use a 1/8 sheet pan) by lining it with parchment paper and giving it a spray of non-stick oil (such as Pam). You can also use a loaf pan or just one half of a larger pan. 

2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Just before the butter is completely melted, add the chopped tablet of Mexican hot chocolate and spices. Once melted add 3 cups of marshmallows. Stir to melt the marshmallows. 

3. Before the marshmallows melt completely, reduce the heat to low and add your sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt. The vanilla will bubble aggressively - that’s normal. Stir until well combined. 

4. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cereal and stir to combine.

5. Add the chocolate chips and remaining 3/4 cup marshmallows. Stir until just combined, but you still have streaks of marshmallow. By adding additional marshmallows at the end, you’ll end up with delicious little pockets of marshmallow - so good!

6. Scoop the mixture into your prepared pan. I use a scrap of parchment paper to remove any remaining mixture from the spatula and then I gently spread the mixture using that same scrap of parchment paper. The parchment paper works great to smooth the mixture and helps avoid a sticky mess. 

7. Let set for about 30 minutes (if you can wait that long!).

Tips: 

• Do yourself a favor and make sure you use a large pot. It’ll make it so much easier to combine everything at the end.

• You can also use a loaf pan, but I really like my 1/8 sheet pan - it really comes in handy for small batch baking. 

• I REALLY like the squeezable bottles of sweetened condensed milk. Makes it so much easier to scale a recipe without having to worry about leftover sweetened condensed milk. 

• If you can’t find Mexican hot chocolate, use an equal amount of semisweet chocolate, and just increase the amount of spices.

• When spreading the mixture into the pan, try not to press down too much. This helps keep the treats light and gooey.