Shabbat Dessert Round Up Part 2- Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

This past weekend I hosted Shabbat lunch. I opted for a dairy meal because I wanted to avoid heaviness on such a long, hot day. That meant that I could go all out and actually make a dairy dessert, something that never gets to happen because it is forbidden by Jewish law to eat dairy and meat together. I had lots of milk chocolate and regular chocolate to use up and being as I've had my eye on these Peanut Butter Crispy Bars from Baked, these were what I was going to make. The bottom is rice crispies covered with a candy-like syrup. It does involve a candy thermometer, but it's not that intimidating, I promise! The only difficult part of these is waiting for the layers to chill to move on to the next one. The second layer is a dreamy mixture of milk chocolate and peanut butter. Although the milk chocolate isn't that detectable flavor-wise, it adds a delicate creaminess that enhances the peanut butter. Oh, and the top is a smooth, slick layer of chocolate. We're basically talking a Reese's peanut butter cup with rice crispy bottom. In fact, you could even make these in little mini muffin tins without the crispy layer and actually have an identical treat! Salivating, yet? This dessert received raves-- my friends loved them. They're a bit decadent so I cut them into twelve servings instead of the stated nine. Keep them in the freezer for longer storage. I assure you, though, they'll disappear on you even in the freezer. That's what happened to me.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Crust:
1 3/4 cups crisp rice cereal
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp light corn syrup
3 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, melted

Second Layer:
5 ounces milk chocolate
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Top:
3 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 tsp corn syrup
4 tbsp butter or margarineGrease an 8x8 inch pan and set aside. Place the rice crispies in a bowl; set aside.In a saucepan, place 1/4 cup water and the sugar and corn syrup. Take care not to get any on the sides of the pan. Gently stir to combine. Put a candy thermometer in the pan.Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the syrup registers 235 degrees on the thermometer.Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour the mixture over the cereal,and stir thoroughly to combine.Press into the greased pan and set aside. Place the chocolate and peanut butter in a bowl.Microwave slowly until almost melted. Stir until smooth.Pour over the crust,and spread until smooth. Place in the fridge or freezer to set up.For the final layer, place the topping ingredients in a small bowl.Microwave slowly and stir until smooth.Pour over the peanut butter layer, and spread slowly to cover completely. Freeze until set and until ready to use. Just before, remove from the freezer and use a bench knife to cut them. They're good straight from the freezer but are also really yummy with just a slight chill still on them. I didn't mange to photograph them because they all literally disappeared from the pan in the freezer. Maybe next time!