A plate of no bake desserts. Credit: Sallee Ann Ruibal | Arts&Life Editor
Sunday afternoon, my roommate and I founded a new holiday — read: finals procrastination — tradition.
We wanted to make cookies, but just the thought of measuring out flour and knowing the difference between baking soda and powder sent our heads spinning. Plus, our oven can’t even close all the way when a cookie sheet is inside it.
To solve our multiple hot mess dilemmas, we engineered a lazy solution. We decided to make sweet treats that rely on just dumping bags and boxes of stuff together, then waiting for them to harden — also known as, “no bake desserts.”
I’ve never made Rice Krispie treats or these “haystacks” — chocolate-and-butterscotch-covered chow mein noodles — but it’s never too late to start a tradition. My roommate and I prefer to spend the inactive cooking time watching DJ Khaled’s Snapchat story and then eating our masterpieces while watching Ice Cube’s “Friday” trilogy, but you do you.
All that matters is that you indulge a little with no risk of setting off the fire alarm.
RICE KRISPIE TREATS
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 24
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 10-ounce bags of mini marshmallows
1 box of Rice Krispies cereal
Splash of vanilla
Mini M&Ms, sorted into holiday colors by roommate (optional)
Melt the butter in a pot on the stove at low heat.
Once melted, add the marshmallows. Stir every couple of minutes until melted.
Add a splash of vanilla, mix marshmallow goop to combine.
Fold in the cereal until completely coated.
Press mixture into pans or muffin tins.
If using M&Ms, sprinkle on top, gently pressing into treats to set.
A trick is to roll a glass over a tray of M&M coated treats, so as to lay them flat without marshmallow goop sticking to your fingers indefinitely.
Let cool and then enjoy.
HAYSTACKS
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 36
1 bag of butterscotch chips
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1 bag of chow mein noodles
Melt the chips together in a pot on the stove at low heat.
Stir often so the bottom does not burn.
Once melted, add in the noodles. Fold to coat completely.
Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined pan.
Let cool and then enjoy with an Ice Cube cinema classic.
