Last week our nephew Waylon turned two years old. He requested a Dirty Messy Mud Cake just like Oscar The Grouch… naturally. He is quite the little foodie, so I knew I had to make something extra special (and I had to top last year’s vegan chocolate beet cupcakes!). I chose one of my favorite dessert recipes- Oh She Glows No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies. I made the fudge topping extra messy and it was a hit!
Because I want our little guy to get a taste of his special day everyday, I created these Vegan Cocoa Rice Crispies. These chocolatey little bites are nutritious enough for a snack and perfectly portioned for a feel-good dessert. I swapped the brown rice syrup for dates and added oat bran for some filling fiber.
And if you aren’t two-years-old? This recipe is for you too. These Vegan Cocoa Rice Crispies will make you feel like a kid again.
- 3 cups brown rice crisp cereal
- ½ cup oat bran or quick oats
- ⅓ cup date paste (~6 Medjool dates, pitted and blended in a food processor until they form a paste)
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup almond milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- In a large bowl, combine cereal and oat bran. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. Stir until mixture is well-combined and begins to bubble (be careful not to burn it!!).
- Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour mixture into the large bowl with the cereal and oat bran. Stir until well-combined (you may have to use your hands to fully integrate the "sauce" into the cereal).
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of the mixture and form into balls (wetting your fingers will make it easier to handle the mixture).
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 5 days. (they are still edible after 5 days, but they will start to lose their crispiness).
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