Treat Yourself!: How to Make 93 Ridiculously Fun No-Bake Crispy Rice Treats by Jessica Siskin
okay, now that i’ve actually had a chance to look more closely at this book, my verdict is no—no, i will not be using this book for a future project. it’s far too labor-intensive for my preferred routine of one-a-day projecting, and the end-products are way too big:
even if i only did one a week, the thought of eating nothing but massive quantities of rice krispies treats for a month makes my jaws ache. plus, it requires all sorts of persnickity little things i do not have, nor wish to purchase: icing tips, various colors of sparkle gel, decorating icing, food coloring (did you know that there’s such a thing as WHITE food coloring???), gold food spray, plus a million candies and other thingies for accents, like starburst and fruit rollups & etc. if there are starburst fruit chews in this house, they aren’t going to last long enough to be melted down into decorative colors for some krispie treat.
it’s the kind of book you need to have a ton of free time for, even to make a handful of the NINETY-THREE recipes. the only way i could swing this is if someone were to approach me and say, “i know that you do not play the lottery, but look—you have won the lottery anyway! go make treats for a month!”
so for me, no. but as a special-occasion baking endeavor, it looks like a fun book although it is full of opportunities for humiliation, as alissa’s review notes.
i mean, this one looks doable:
and this one has a cute little meta/cheeky/inception-krispies thing going on:
but this??
i am not nearly awesome enough to pull this off. but, MAN—seeing this gave me the best flashback ever. are you ready to go back in time to february 1983, when miniature karen received her copy of electric company magazine #092 in the mail and saw this cover and it totally blew her mind?
best. issue. ever.
and the fact that i was able to find a picture of it on the internet proves it.
but even miniature karen knew she wasn’t going to be making art with jelly beans, and old soggy karen agrees—leave this to the pros.
still, i appreciate so many of these recipes—for other people, even if i have no desire to make or even eat the results. like this:
it’s a really clever to use red m&ms to mimic cherry pie filling, and it looks beautiful, but the reality of sitting down and eating a “slice” of krispie/m&m pie is not a reward commensurate with the amount of exertion required. i don’t think it would be satisfying either in taste OR texture. there are yummier ways to achieve instant diabetes, such as a festive bowl of rainbow cavity mix: one part starbursts, one part starburst jelly beans, one part skittles. yum.
still, i really admire her dedication to/obsession with all things krispie.
this kind of behavior would probably have led to her being institutionalized in the past, but thankfully instagram and pinterest have normalized such…outpourings.
mostly.
visually, her thanksgiving spread is a joy:
and her manipulation of the humble krispie into holiday splendor is impressive.
potatoes (with a starburst butter-pat):
cranberry sauce:
mini-marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes:
and the majestic turkey:
but again—actually sitting down to eat that feels like a punishment. even if you really really really like rice krispie treats, at some point you’re going to want a contrasting flavor for palate-cleansing.
however, this one i liked because i misread it as “freaking moon made of marshmallow!”
which is a better headline. and it’s also a sensible snack for your commute:
if you are a crazy person.
so, no, i will not be using this as a monthly project. but if any of you choose to—send me pictures, okay?
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