Get Toasty!

“You put de lime in the coconut and mix it all up.” – Harry Nilsson

So this past couple of weeks have sucked. Majorly. I had all the ingredients together to make Tirimisu a few weeks ago, but then a killer of a storm hit Virginia causing a terrible blackout. Literally. No power. For days. Then, the power came back on, but my air conditioning was broken and the maintenance guy at my apartment didn’t have the parts to fix it. Then, while I was cleaning my bedroom, I realized that black mold had developed under the air conditioning vent on the carpet and was climbing up the walls. Then, the guys who came in to fix those things left my door ajar and my kitten, Autumn, walked out and was missing for a while, until she somehow found her way back to my door. Then, my boyfriend’s car was towed (even though it had the correct parking pass) TWICE! So, yeah, it’s been a bit of a trying time.

However, one beacon of light throughout all this is a man who works in the leasing office at my building. He is awesome and kind and has been so totally helpful throughout all of this, and I thought there was no better way to get Zen & Sugar up and running again than to do it through showing my appreciation to him with a whole lotta butter and sugar.

Now, I didn't have a ton of time to complete anything really extravagant, so I decided to update another classic. Marshmallow squares. However, in my stressed out/crazy-pants state, I did not exactly follow the mise en place ideals and ended up having to move forward through all my little mistakes and baking hiccups. So, while this recipe might seem a little haphazard, it actually turned out to be quite awesome, and very much a mistake that worked.

So, without further ado here is the recipe for:

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Marshmallow Squares

Ingredients:

- 6 cups cocoa krispies

This is what 6 cups of chocolate rice krispies looks like. 

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 1 package of toasted coconut marshmallows

- 2 teaspoons of kaulua

- 5 tablespoons of chocolate chips (you choose which sort of chocolate)

Directions:

1. Melt butter over low head in a medium saucepan.

2. Pour in 2 teaspoons of Kahlua. (I need to get rid of the bottle I have, so this step in entirely optional)

I DID use measuring spoons! Never just pour stuff into other stuff while baking!

3. Once the butter is melted add in the marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted. Remove marshmallow mixture from heat. OR, you could be like me and add the rice krispies to the butter instead and stir that by accident. Then realize your mistake, microwave the marshmallows until they become a big, fluffy pillow of mallow and pour that on top of the butter and krispie mixture and stir all that together until it is thoroughly combined, and the krispies hold together with spideweb like tendrils of marshmallow.

4. Add in 3 tablespoons of the chocolate chips. They might melt a little, but because the mixture has cooled a bit, some of them definitely hold their shape.

5. Use wax paper (because the mixture by itself will stick to your hands) and press the rice krispie/chocolate chip/toasted coconut marshmallow mix into a 9x9 tin and press it down to create a thick, flat square.

6. Press the remaining chocolate chips into the surface of the square.

7. Chill for at least an hour.

8. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

9. Serve to someone who has literally made the worst week ever have the best possible ending.

Okay, so first off, making these treats was so cathartic to me. I mean, there is nothing that makes you feel like a little kid again than a huge rice krispie treat. And, also, there’s something so…well…zen, about an object being tactile, and getting to dig your hands into that huge bowl of ooey-gooey, crispy, crunchy treat mix just made me feel like I was squishing all my problems away into chocolate oblivion.

CUT TO AFTER “BAKING”

After letting the squares set I wandered around my apartment to find something to wrap up these treats. I ended up settling on some pink paper I happened to have a few flowers from a bouquet my boyfriend had bought me. I grabbed some buds, topped the paper with them, and made a cute little care package. When I showed up to the leasing office everyone seemed very appreciative…when I took off the paper and revealed the huge chocolate squares they were completely appreciative.

I ended up serving them to the entire leasing office and some of the maintenance staff. It ended up being a really great moment because I was not only able to say “thank you,” but also kind of able to apologize, since all the stress had probably led to my taking out my frustration on people who were really just trying to do their jobs under the worst of circumstances. If anything, this whole ordeal has taught me that even when everything seems completely out of hand, you can dig your digits into some gooey cereal and make everything right again.

Til next time,

D