Chocolate Hazelnut Coco Krispie Treats

We love Rice Krispie treats at our house. We don't make them very often, but when I found this recipe at Peabody's www.culinaryconcoctions.com, I knew this was what I wanted to make for my Mother's day treat. It is a fairly straight forward, easy recipe that really makes the good, old-fashioned Rice Krispie treat seem sophisticated and elegant. We ate the pan between us in two days. I made a few tweaks to Peabody's original recipe. I added more marshmallows (from 16 ounces to 18 ounces) because the treats came out a little too crispy and not gooey enough, and I also don't wait for the butter to completely melt to start adding in the marshmallows. Her tip on keeping the heat low and even is very important too. Don't even be tempted to raise the heat to get the butter to melt or marshmallows to blend more quickly. We loved this recipe.

Bon Appetit and once again, Happy Mother's Day!

6 TBSP unsalted butter
18 ounces mini marshmallows (fresh, not the stale ones hiding in the back of your pantry that you forgot about)
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp hazelnut extract
½ cup Nutella
7 cups Cocoa Krispies Cereal
3 cups roughly crushed but not pulverized Pirouette Rolled Wafer Cookie (Chocolate Hazelnut flavor)

Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan. Or be lazy like me and spray it with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.

Over low heat melt 6 TBSP in a large pot (I like to use my stock pot because I am a messy person).

Once butter starts to melt, add marshmallows. Continue to cook over low heat while they melt. It may take a little time. Don't turn up the heat to try and make it go quicker, you could end up with burned marshmallows or your treats could end up too hard once they firm up. Stir in the Nutella and extracts until fully combined. May take a little bit of time for the Nutella to melt in.

When most of the marshmallows have melted and they resemble marshmallow crème with a few lumps, remove from heat and add the cereal and cookies.

Using a wooden spoon, stir, stir, stir some more, until all the cereal is fully coated and other parts of the pot are not hogging all the marshmallows (so evenly coated).

Pour into prepared baking pan. Take a rubber spatula and either spray it with non-stick spray or simply get some water on it (I just put mine under the faucet real quick). Using the spatula, press the cereal/marshmallow mixture down into the pan, attempting to create a flat, even surface.

Cover with foil and let sit for a few hours to firm up.

Take foil off. Place wax paper down that is a little bit longer than the baking pan. Flip the pan over onto the wax paper. Cut into squares. Some would say 2-inch. But whatever size you would like works. You can also use cookie cutters to make them fun shaped.