Puffed Wheat Squares
With the new year still fresh on our calendars, you may be looking at finding "healthy" alternatives for desserts and snacking.
Well, this is... almost healthy. (Well, as long as you're not allergic to wheat, anyway!) The bulk of this bar comes from the puffed wheat, which is very low in calories, anyway. I know, I know... it's a stretch - but I feel a bit guilty blogging dessert recipes, with all the talk of resolutions out there!
I was feeling homesick and nostalgic lately, and decided to make a batch for my husband. Puffed Wheat Squares are actually a super popular bar back home in Winnipeg, and it seems to be mostly a Canadian Prairies thing. You know how you can get Rice Crispy squares pretty much anywhere here, even in the gas stations? It's the same way with these bars back home. Even just that earthy, roasty aroma of the puffed wheat, as I opened the bag... Mmm. Memories!
These are super quick and easy to make, and are definitely "comfort" food.
And hey, if you can't have wheat... puffed rice makes a great gluten-free version. Just make sure you get the soft stuff, not rice crispy type cereal!
Enjoy!
Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. While I’ll only ever link to items that I, personally, wholeheartedly recommend, I do need to put that disclosure out there!
Puffed Wheat Squares (Or Puffed Rice Squares!)
Ingredients
- 6 oz Puffed Wheat For Gluten-Free, used puffed rice cereal instead
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1 cup Corn Syrup
- 1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 2/3 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Generously grease a 9x 13″ baking pan, set aside. Pour puffed wheat into a large, heatproof mixing bowl.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa, and salt. Heat over medium until butter melts.
- Once butter melts, turn heat up a bit and bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla until well combined.
- Pour hot chocolate mixture over puffed wheat, stir (carefully!) until all of the wheat is coated with chocolate. Dump mixture into prepared baking pan.
- Using lightly greased (or slightly damp!) hands, firmly press mixture down into the pan, until compacted and relatively flat. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
 |
With 2017 being Canada's 150th birthday, it's about time I wrote the Canadian cookbook I've been planning for YEARS.
"More than Poutine" will be a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional homecooking recipes, as well as homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! High quality gluten-free versions of most recipes will be included. The Kickstarter for "More Than Poutine is live, here. Please consider backing, and sharing the campaign with your friends! |
I actually took this recipe and made it a little healthier and it turned out great and tasted awesome. Since I follow a mainly plant based whole food diet and still having chocolate cravings this recipe seemed like something I could work with to meet my diet restrictions and fulfil my chocolate needs;). I substituted coconut oil for butter, used 1/2 honey and 1/2 maple syrup for the corn syrup, coconut sugar for brown sugar, I also used 6 cups of plain Kashi cereal (since it's high in fibre and plant protein) and 4 cups puffed wheat. Next time I think I am going to add some natural peanut butter and chopped peanuts because who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate! Thanks for sharing this recipe it is really versatile and is a healthier substitution for my rice Krispy square addiction!