A no-bake hit from Molly Yeh

Peanut butter puff marshmallow squares (Mary Elizabeth Williams)

You don’t need an expensive new piece of equipment, or an obscure ingredient you have to hunt for. You just need a fresh way of preparing an old favorite. In "One Way," we’ll revisit classic ingredients and dishes, giving them a new twist with an easy technique you haven’t tried before.

Parents know — the food we ruthlessly scavenge off our children's plates is often the best food. Those half eaten squeezy yogurts, those gentle purees of blueberry and spinach, these are finest delicacies for the exhausted maternal soul. My own kids are now college-aged, and I am frankly still not over Pirate's Booty discontinuing their hauntingly ambrosial Fruity Booty flavor. Yet few of us have the ingenuity of "Girl Meets Farm" star Molly Yeh to turn those tot treats into full blown culinary adventures.

In her newest cookbook, Yeh, a mother of two young daughters, offers new interpretations of her trademark crowd pleasing style, with dishes like pretzel chicken nugget salad and a chickpea hot dish topped with smiley face potatoes.

It was her lighthearted spin on the classic Rice Krispies Treats, however, that first and most powerfully grabbed my attention. The only way such an iconic treat could ever be improved upon, in my opinion, would be with peanut butter or chocolate. Yeh helpfully provides both.

Officially, these are Bamba marshmallow squares, because Yeh makes them with the addictive snack whose marketing pitch promises "the winning flavor that has made Bamba part of Israeli culture." Bamba is definitely more melt in your mouth and Cheeto-y than typical peanut butter puff cereal, but if don't feel like ordering online or your local supermarket disappoints you, relax and work with what you've got.

Flecked with a finishing hit of flaky salt, these ring all the crunchy, nutty, chewy, chocolatey bells you could ask for in an after school snack or homey dessert, without turning on an oven. And while they're kid friendly by design, I wouldn't blame you if you hid them away and savored them all for yourself.

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Inspired by Diaspora Dinners and "Home Is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love" by Molly Yeh

Peanut butter puff marshmallow squares

Yields

16 squares

Prep Time

 10 minutes

Cook Time

 10 minutes, plus setting

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 10 ounce bag of mini marshmallows, or 10 ounces of regular marshmallows
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of Bamba peanut butter puffs or peanut butter puff cereal
• 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• Flaky salt

Directions

1. Grease a square baking pan and line with parchment paper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the marshmallows and stir until just melted, then stir in the vanilla.
3. Remove from heat and, working quickly, stir in the puffs.
4. Fold in the chocolate, letting the heat gently melt it. 
5. Quickly pour the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Pat it very gently down, and then top with a few pinches of salt. 
6. Let set an hour or so, and then cut into even squares. Serve and enjoy. Store any remaining squares in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Cook's Notes

Tweak this to your delight with different kinds of cereal or chocolate.

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