Red Eye Rice Treats: caffeinated vegan krispie treats

Here's a delish-sounding recipe for "Red Eye Rice Treats" -- caffeinated vegan rice-krispie squares that give you the pep you need to make it through the day:

6 cups puffed brown rice [any puffed rice will do, really]
1 cup peanut butter [I scored a few jars of White Chocolate Peanut Butter & Co for cheap, so I used up the rest of mine: creamy might be your best bet, no matter what]
1 cup brown sugar corn syrup [or brown rice syrup, organic light corn syrup…if you want maple syrup, I’d recommend going the half/half way by mixing it up with granulated sugar or rather fine other sugar]
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1 t instant coffee crystals, crushed into a fine powder with the back of a spoon [up this a bit if you want a stronger coffee flavor, 2 t maximum to avoid overwhelming the other flavors]
1/3 cup carob powder [if you’re a hater, I’m sure cocoa powder would be a fine substitution here]

You could probably substitute agave syrup for the corn syrup (blending it with something?) to get a super-low-GI version. Link (via Craft)

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by mrmambo , January 26, 2008 4:04 AM

Sounds pretty good, but 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder isn't keeping anyone awake! Looks like the whole recipe would contain about 55-60 mg of caffeine, which is like drinking a Mountain Dew. Split among 10-20 bars when cut ... well, you'd get more caffeine by rubbing a picture of Juan Valdez.

#2 posted by Sam

, January 26, 2008 8:14 AM

is a "t" one teaspoon? Or tablespoon? Or cup and a half. Yea, cup and a half, two cups, sounds just about right.

#3 posted by beej55 , January 26, 2008 9:11 AM

You know, the best part about this is the mug...

#4 posted by alterity , January 26, 2008 9:54 AM

i was thinking the same thing about the mug. here's a pic from the kingdom of loathing store:

http://store.asymmetric.net/images/mug2.lg.jpg

#5 posted by Pipenta , January 26, 2008 10:02 AM

Hmmm, that mug looks like the back side of a Kingdom of Loathing Coffee Pixie mug.

#6 posted by ceruleanshipper , January 26, 2008 11:30 AM

Ooh, I was wondering about the super-low-GI version - I'm Irish, sugar makes me fat. (Not that I'm not already, but....)

I'm not sure where I'd get puffed brown rice; I think Puffed Kashi would be an okay substitute, though. It seems like the only time I've actually enjoyed Puffed Kashi is when it's part of a krispy treat or no-bake cookie.

#7 posted by Mim , January 26, 2008 1:11 PM

#6-Ceruleanshipper "I'm Irish, sugar makes me fat."

LOL! Doesn't sugar make EVERYONE fat?

#8 posted by anardana , January 26, 2008 2:09 PM

Thanks for posting another vegan recipe from a blog :)

#9 posted by haineux , January 26, 2008 4:27 PM

Agave nectar has a very low glycemic index (15), true, but puffed rice cereal does not (about 80 or 90, research varies). Indeed, puffed rice cereal is just as high as high fructose corn syrup.

So using Agave nectar will help SOME, but it does not make rice crispy treats into a diabetic-friendly food.

Also, the GI of sweets doesn't affect the number of calories. Rice crispy treats are seriously junky food, being full of sugars and fats. They'll still make you fat.

I know it's boring, but apples are a superb snack if you are trying to watch your weight. They taste good and usually have 50 calories per 100 grams. Rice crispy treats have about 375 calorie per 100 grams.

If you REALLY care about your glycemic index, though, let me point out that apples have a glycemic index of about 38.

Bananas are also pretty good. Have a look.

#10 posted by Antinous , January 26, 2008 4:34 PM

Glycemic index has been somewhat deprecated in favor of glycemic load. GI only takes into consideration the sugars themselves. Glycemic load takes into consideration the percentage of sugars in the whole food. Some foods have a high GI, but the sugars are such a small part of the food that the food is still safe. That lets a lot of fruits and vegetables off the hook that people were afraid to eat. Puffed rice cereal still qualifies as 'school paste' rather than food.

#11 posted by WMC , January 26, 2008 5:38 PM

I'm pretty sure a whole cup of peanut butter lowers the total GI/GL of the dish to something reasonable. And seriously, GI is probably the last thing to worry about if you're proposing to eat something that's almost 100% pure fat and sugar. You might as well have a Krispy Kreme and a coffee and be done with it.

#12 posted by jessedybka , January 26, 2008 6:16 PM

I don't want to nitpick, but white chocolate peanut butter (if it actually has white chocolate) isn't vegan. I'm sure it's still tasty with the substitution, though.

#13 posted by Antinous , January 26, 2008 6:39 PM

For everybody (including me) who was about to Google that, white chocolate contains milk solids by definition.

#14 posted by WMC , January 26, 2008 7:00 PM

Erm - no, it doesn't. From the Peanut Butter & Co website:

Our all-natural peanut butter blended with sweet white chocolate (...) contains no cholesterol, no trans- fats, no hydrogenated oils, and no high-fructose corn syrup. It is also gluten-free, vegan, and certified kosher pareve by the Orthodox Union.

#15 posted by Antinous , January 26, 2008 7:06 PM

I got it from Wikipedia which is, of course, never, ever wrong. That stuff that you cited has palm oil in it. Vegan, but ew.

#16 posted by ceruleanshipper , January 26, 2008 8:10 PM

@antinous: Boring. Besides, it's brown rice. And bananas don't have a low GI.

#17 posted by jessedybka , January 26, 2008 10:58 PM

My bad! Doesn't have actual white chocolate, just vanilla. I want to track some down now.

#18 posted by kwandongbrian , January 27, 2008 12:13 AM

I read, "super-low-GI version" as "super-lower GI.." and thought it was a more digestible version ("lower GI" relating to the Gastro-intestinal tract. Thanks for teaching me about the Glycemic Index.