Rocky Crunch

It was Rocky's last day of pre-KG. He's moving to LKG class next week, hooray! My husband and I are very happy with his progress. Rocky used to be shy around other people. He used to cry all the time when we drop him to school. His teacher also said that he used to sit by himself and would not play or talk to his classmates. He was also very dependent at home, especially to his nanny. Whenever we asked him about school, he would say, "I don't like school. I want to stay home. I don't like my classmates. I don't want to play with them."

But nowadays, he's singing a different tune, "I like school. I like my friends. I color. I like Teacher, she's nice. Look Mommy, I have blue sticker!" Not only did his social skills greatly improved, he's more independent, he's got initiative, more responsive when given instructions and we're amazed at how fast he can learn things. He's ready for a "proper" school. And we owe it to Rocky's first teacher, Teacher Rashi.

Rocky and Teacher Rashi.

 
So for Rocky's last day in her class, I thought of making something home-made especially for her as Rocky's "thank you" present.

I was going to bake her chocolate chip cookies. But when I got home I realized I ran out of butter and I was already exhausted coming home late from work that I couldn't bring myself to go the the store and pick up a stick of butter.

So, off to plan B. But what is plan B? I better go check what's in my cupboard...

I've got creamy peanut butter, marshmallows and rice krispies. Great! I have chocolate chips for my cookie recipe, perhaps  avalanche bars or chocolate blizzard bars? But wait, I don't have white chocolate chips! Don't panic Haidee, keep looking. What's this? A Kitkat! Maybe I can make this work.

And I did!

The recipe was adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe's Chocolate Blizzard Bars but instead of white chocolate chips I replaced it with Kitkat milk chocolate. It taste absolutely fabulous! Love the crunch of the chocolate covered wafer and rice krispies, the gooey-soft texture of the marshmallows and the smoothness and creaminess of the chocolate-peanut butter. It's heaven in every bite.

And that is why I called it "Rocky Crunch", its crispy and covered with muddy-colored chocolate. Ok, that and because I made it especially as Rocky's present.

Here's the recipe for Rocky Crunch:

1 cup            Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup        creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups    Kellogg's Rice Krispies
1 cup            mini marshmallows
1 bar             Kitkat milk chocolate, cut into small squares

Direction:

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a double broiler, melt chocolate chips in medium heat, stirring occasionally. Take extra care not to let the water touch the bottom of the bowl where the chips are melting.

3. Once the chocolate chips melted, add the peanut butter until well combined. Remove from heat and let stand for 15-20minutes. Do not add other ingredients until the mixture cooled down or else everything will melt.

4. Add rice krispies until well combined. Then add the marshmallows and Kitkat.

5. Transfer the mixture onto the lined baking sheet. Gently press the mixture until lightly packed. Let cool and set for 6 hours or overnight before you cut them into bite-sized squares. If you're in a hurry, you can pop it in the freezer and it's set in 30 minutes! The only problem with this freeze-fast-tracking method is that it will melt easily if not stored in the fridge. So it is still best to let it set at room temperature.


While waiting, Rocky's dad helped him write a "thank you" note for his teacher which will also serve as a gift tag.

After 30 minutes, rocky crunch was set and i cut it into 1 1/2  inch squares. And this is how I packaged it:

Put Rocky Crunch squares in a mason jar or recycled jar. Cut a page of an activity book to cover the lid and tie a paper twine with gift note around the lid and voila! An edible gift made with love. Easy peezy!

So there you have it, a "sweet thank you in a jar".


My little boy is growing up so fast! Here are some photos of Rocky with his classmates taken on his last day in Pre-KG class.

This is so funny. Rocky was seated at the back when I came to pick him up. When he saw me with my camera, he said to his classmates, "c'mon, (my) mommy will take our picture." And his teacher said, "...and he went straight to the girls." LOL!

26 March 2012
Home-cooked Meal