Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies.

These are basically the best cookies on earth! I recently came across a version of this recipe (that I hadn't had in years). I tweaked it a bit, and have now made these twice within the last three weeks (to share, not just for us...although I wouldn't be totally opposed to keeping them all!). These are quick, easy, kid-friendly, and super delicious! YUM!

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup maple syrup (the cheap kind, not the real good stuff!)
6 cups rice crispy cereal
8 to 12 oz chocolate chips*
8 to 12 oz butterscotch chips*
(*The recipe that I read called for 12 oz each of chocolate and butterscotch chips. The first time that I made these, I had 11 oz packages of both. I halved the recipe, and just guestimated about half of the chips. The cookie/chocolate ratio was perfect. The second time that I made these (whole recipe), I had 12 oz packages, and I used the whole thing. To me, it seemed that the chocolate layer was a bit too thick. So use your own judgement here--do you want lots of chocolate or not?)

First, find a heat-proof bowl that can sit on top of a pot (not snugly). {A square bowl on a round pot is not a good idea! But, my round heat-proof bowl seemed to be missing...} Fill the pot about half-way with water, and heat to boiling. While the water is heating, pour the chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips into the bowl, and set it on top of the pot. BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE STEAM! Next, grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix the peanut butter, sugar, and syrup in a large pot. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling. Boil for about a minute, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat, and add the rice crispy cereal; mix well. Pour the cereal mixture into the 9x13 pan, and press down evenly with greased fingers or the bottom of a greased glass.

Flatten the cereal as much as possible.

Meanwhile, the chips should be melting above the boiling water. Stir the mixture occasionally, but BE CAREFUL! Use an oven mitt to hold onto the bowl, and watch out for steam! {If you're making these cookies with your kids, this is an adult job!}

Continue heating and stirring until the chocolate/butterscotch is completely smooth.

Pour the chocolate on top of the cereal mixture. {Again, be careful; the bowl is very hot!}

Spread evenly with the back of a spoon.
Chill bars in the refrigerature for about 30 minutes. {While you're waiting, you can do the dishes...and while you're putting the clean dishes away, perhaps you'll find your heat-proof ROUND bowl waaay in the back of the cupboard!}

Remove the bars from the fridge, and allow pan to become room temperature.

Slide a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen cookies, then pop the whole thing out.

Cut cookies into bars (a pizza cutter makes nice lines, although this is another BE CAREFUL trick; the bars are difficult to slice, making finger-cutting potential quite high!}.

Enjoy!
{Now that I've re-read all of my directions & burn warnings, I'm thinking that perhaps these cookies are not a good option for baking with kids! I do know that kids enjoy eating them though! ...unless, of course, you have a peanut allergy on your hands, in which case, you should just disreguard my whole post here and make something else...!}