*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Medjool dates:  If using another dried date other than Medjool dates, you may need to soak them first. Typically, Medjool dates are very soft.  However, if you are using a different date, test the date by pinching it.  If the date is very soft, gooey, and pliable, then you can just add them to the food processor to break them up (or chop by hand).  If the dates are drier and stiff, then you will need to cover them with boiling water, and let stand for about 20 minutes to soften them up before adding the dates to the food processor (or chopping by hand).

*Organic Maple Syrup:  You can use all Medjool dates if you prefer not to use a mixture of Medjool dates and maple syrup. We found that the combination of the two works best. If using all Medjool dates, then you will need to add a little water to basically make a sticky date syrup. We have not tried this substitution ourselves, but we believe it will work.  Again, it will need to be refrigerated.

*Unsweetened Peanut Butter:  You can also substitute using a different nut or seed butter with the understanding that the flavor will change based upon the nut/seed butter selected.

*Unsweetened Plain Plant Milk:  You may or may not need the plant milk. When cooked the mixture should be on the thicker side, yet easily stir-able.  We found we needed 2 Tablespoons of plant milk to get that consistancy.

*Brown Rice Crisps Cereal:  We used Barbaras Organic Brown Rice Crisps Cereal.  It is Whole Food Plant Based.  The only ingredients are Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice, Organic Pear Juice Concentrate, and Sea Salt. Note: The link above to Amazon is just for visual reference as we are aware it is a bulk purchase of 6 boxes of cereal. We found this product at our local health food store (Earth Fare.)  If you wish to search stores to see if you can find a local store near you, Barbaras has a Find The Store link.

*Baking Dish:  You can use just about any size baking dish you wish, largely dependent upon how thick or thin you want your treats.  We used a 6.5 x 8.5 inch dish.

*Melted Chocolate Chip Drizzle:  We used Enjoy Life Mega Chocolate Chunks for drizzling.  Simply place the chocolate chips/chunks in the microwave and heat for 10 seconds at a time, stir, then repeat until the chocolate has melted, then drizzle the treats. (Shown in the photos)

*Mini Chocolate Chips:  We used Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Dairy Free Mini Chocolate Chips. If adding the chocolate chips directly into the cereal mixture, use mini chocolate chips rather than regular sized ones. They melt right into the mixture, which is what you want. (Not shown in the photos, made in a kitchen test, very tasty) If you can’t get mini or don’t want to use mini, you can use regular sized, chunked, or bar of chocolate and chop it into small tiny pieces so that it melts throughout the rice krispie treats. If you want chunk of chocolate to bit into, then keep them on the larger side.

*Refrigeration:  These healthy treats are not your typical rice crispy treats that use melted butter and marshmallows to hold them together.  They stick together perfectly, but we have found the best results are refrigerate them for 4-6 hours or over night and to keep them stored in refrigerator.

*Tips for success:  Line the baking dish with parchment paper with paper hanging over the two longest sides.  This will make it easier to pick up and remove the treats from the baking dish after they have been refrigerated.  When placing the treats into the parchment paper lined baking dish, try to evenly distribute the mixture as it is difficult to move around once it is in the dish. Then press down very firmly to compress the mixture together and create one cohesive block.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour before scoring.  When ready to score, run a thin bladed sharp knife along the edges that are not covered by parchment paper (2 short sides), then lift the treats up by holding the edges of the parchment paper.  Place on a flat surface, score and cut with a very sharp knife. Keep the blade clean with every cut.

*Serving:  6 to 9 treats

*Storage:  Refrigerate and use within 14 days.