Heads up, beginners and cheapskates! This recipe is so easy you don’t even have to turn on the stove (melt the coconut oil in the microwave!), which makes it ideal to make with kids or frugal old folks. If you want to reduce the fat in this recipe, you can omit the coconut oil, but be warned that the blocks won’t be as buttery. All the ordinary tricks you learned from your mom as a child apply: Chocolate can be added on the top or throughout, colored rice cereals are in play, even dried fruit or nuts can be tossed in to frighten or entice your young ones.

　　

Ingredients

makes 12

　　2 tablespoons melted refined coconut oil or canola oil, plus more for the pan

　　10 ounces Ricemellow Crème (see page 17)

　　1 tablespoon vanilla extract

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1 10-ounce box Gluten-Free Brown Rice Crisp Cereal

　　

Step 1

Brush a 9 x 12-inch baking pan with coconut oil and set aside.

　　

Step 2

In a medium bowl, combine the Ricemellow Crème, 2 tablespoons coconut oil, vanilla, and salt and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Add the rice cereal and stir until the Ricemellow Crème mixture is evenly distributed. Spoon the mix into the pan, cover, and chill for 1 hour. Cut into 3-inch squares.

　　Reprinted December 9, 2011, with permission from Babycakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna, © 2011 Clarkson Potter. Buy the full book at Penguin Random House, Amazon, or Bookshop.