I feel like I write this a lot on here, but these were a going-away treat for another coworker who left to pursue other ventures. Unlike most of my former coworkers however, Robbie left to pursue something extra awesome: becoming a full-time chocolatier. I found out only in the past couple months after he gave me a sample of his very own single origin bean-to-bar formula, which was delicious and just so, well, cool. People don’t realize just how insanely labor intensive it is to create chocolate – let alone in an apartment kitchen, but Robbie outlines it quite well on his blog, Chocolate Baar.

Baking for someone who creates their own chocolate… well, it’s a little intimidating. You can go two routes – try to be über impressive and froufrou going over the top, or celebrating something simple and classic. Robbie said his favorite things were simple treats, like chocolate chip cookies, so I knew classic was the way to go. And a craving for marshmallow squares sealed the deal.

I jazzed these up by using really, really good chocolate (sadly not Robbie’s – but Askinosie has the same eco-conscious single-origin mindset, which is wonderful) and playing with salty-sweet by sprinkling chopped salted cashews and honey roasted peanuts on top. So I suppose you could say I combined the two previously mentioned categories. It’s a classic simple dessert in a frilly dress, which honestly, are the best kind of treats (in my opinion).

Puffed rice.

Mallows!

Sticky sweet.

CHOCOLATE.

Honey roasted peanuts, pre-chop.

This plate was from Turkey, 1963.

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Salty Sweet Marshmallow Squares

Makes one 9×13 baking dish full (cut into however many you like!)

This is a fun treat to customize and play with, so just add your own spin! (Like say, stirring peanut butter into the cereal mix before putting it into the pan or sprinkling cocoa nibs over the top.. oooh..)

Ingredients

• 5½ cups puffed rice cereal
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the dish
• 5 cups mini marshmallows (or 1 jar marshmallow fluff)
• 7-8 ounces very good semi-sweet chocolate (65% or higher, I like Askinosie’s San Jose Del Tambo 70% bar)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup salted cashews, chopped fine
• ½ cup honey roasted peanuts, chopped fine

Directions

1.) Butter a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.

2.) Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir occasionally until dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal. Once eveyrthing is mixed together, pour into the prepared dish. Using either a buttered rubber scraper or your hands which have been sprayed with non-stick spray, pat the marshmallow mixture down into the dish evenly.  Let cool to room temperature (at least 2 hours) on a cooling rack.

3.) Once cooled, prepare the topping. Melt the chocolate and cream either in a pot on the stove or in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring in between. Once the chocolate is silky smooth, drizzle over the marshmallow squares. Sprinkle with prepared chopped nuts and then let sit for a few hours in the fridge until the chocolate sets. Bring to room temperature and then cut into however many servings you like.

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