No Bake Treats that Beat the Heat

With recent temperatures hitting the 100 degree mark, the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven and bring extra heat into my house.  However, with a small ‘baby boom’ on my block, I’ve been making extra meals for neighbors and have turned to some of my favorite ‘no bake’ recipes for the desserts.  Here are three of my favorite recipes to help you beat the heat when making a delicious treat!

Special K Bars

This is a recipe I stole from my mom, who used to make these tasty treats for all of my high school cross country and tennis meets.  I can promise that we never left a meet with leftover Special K Bars!

What You Need:

4-5 Cups Special K Cereal

1 Cup Karo Syrup

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Cup Peanut Butter

Chocolate Chips (optional)

1. Mix 1 cup Karo syrup with 1 cup sugar.
2. Heat Karo syrup and sugar mixture in microwave until it bubbles (usually around 45 seconds, depending on microwave).
3. Add 1 tsp vanilla.
4. Stir in 1 cup peanut butter.
5. Add 5 cups of Special K Cereal and stir until completely mixed.  Tip:  I usually start with 4 cups and add more accordingly until it gets to the right consistency.
6. Spoon onto wax paper and cool.
7. Optional: Heat chocolate chips in microwave and drizzle on cooled Special K Bars.

Ice Cream Pie

This is a super quick and easy recipe for a last minute dessert.  I love using Oreos and cookies and cream ice cream in the summer, but another favorite during the winter holidays is to use peppermint ice cream and the Oreos with red filling to make it more festive.

What You Need:

Pie Crust

Ice Cream

Whipped Topping

Cookies (or any topping you choose)

1. Let whipped topping and ice cream soften.
2. Fill pie crust half way full with ice cream.
3. Top ice cream with whipped topping.
4. Crumble cookies.
5. Sprinkle cookie crumbs (or other topping of choice) on top of whipped topping.
6. Freeze and serve!
   

Rice Krispie Treat Wands

This recipe is a Pinterest find and was a big hit with my son on the Fourth of July.  While the colors I used worked well for the Fourth, when the treats were complete, I thought they would also be the perfect treat for a ‘Princess Party.’  Adding Sprinkles to the stars and more colors to the fruit and ribbon, you could have the perfect ‘magic wand’ treat for that special princess at your house!

What You Need:

6 Cups Rice Krispie Cereal

4 Cups Miniature Marshmellows

3 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine

Fruit (Strawberries and Blueberries)

Star Cookie Cutter

Ribbon

Wood Skewers (If using wood skewers, be very careful when letting children handle them.  A safer option is to use popsicle sticks.)

1. Melt butter and marshmallows in microwave.
2. Mix melted butter and marshmallows evenly.
3. Stir in 6 Cups of Rice Krispie Cereal.
4. Use a spatula to evenly press mixture into baking pan.
5. Let cool.
6. Use cookie cutter to press and cut star shapes out of the rice krispie treats pan.
7. Add fruit of your choice to skewer and top with rice krispie treat star.
8. Finish with ribbon!