Gluten Free Crispy Rice Treats

Everyone thinks they know how to make crispy rice treats, right? The recipe hasn't changed in maybe my lifetime. Before I stopped eating wheat, I ate them all the time, and perfected my technique. After switching to gluten-free, I had to make a few changes, but these are even better than the old ones.

6 1/2 cups gluten free crispy rice cereal, unopened box. Make sure cereal expiration date is at least 2 years out. If the cereal is stale, you have lost the battle already.

1/3 cup margarine

10 oz high quality marshmallows, big or little

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lime juice or 1 tsp vanilla or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Heavy duty soup pot, cookie sheet.

Measure out the rice cereal into a bowl. Taste to make sure it is not stale. Liberally slather margarine on a cookie sheet and the back of a spatula. Put the rest of the 1/3 cup of margarine in the heavy soup pot on medium - high heat until it is mostly melted. Add the marshmallows, lower the heat and stir, preferably with a wooden spoon, until there are just some lumps. Remove from heat. Add salt and flavoring. Rice Krispies have malt in them, which has lots of flavor, but these don't have malt and need some oomph. Quickly, all at once add the rice cereal. Stir it robustly as you mix the cereal and melted marshmallows, but try not to smash the crispy rice. Will take at least a minute to get them all mixed.

Turn the mixture onto the greased cookie sheet. Use the back of the spatula to smooth it down to desired thickness and straighten edges as desired. Sometimes I cut the sides to make them square and eat the cut off bits, just to be sure the recipe worked.

Tips for success: Add the salt and flavoring before the crispy rice. Don't burn the marshmallows. Store in an air tight container.