Candy Cake- better than Rice Krispy Treats

I found this recipe in Good Housekeeping last year and I don’t think I’ll ever make regular Rice Krispy Treats again. I have made it several times and everyone raves about it.

Here’s the recipe:

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 bag (10.5 oz) miniature marshmallows
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup M&M’s Mini Baking Bits

1. Spray 10-12 cup fluted baking dish (such as a Bundt) with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, heat chocolate and butter in microwave oven on High 1 minute, stirring once during heating. Remove from microwave; stir chocolate mixture until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows to mixture. Heat in microwave on High 1 minute longer; stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Add cereal, peanuts, and M&M’s to chocolate mixture. Stir until all ingredients are coated and mixture is well-combined.

4. Transfer cereal mixture to prepared pan, pressing down with fingertips. Let stand at least 1 hou to set chocolate. (In warm weather, refrigerate to set cake)

5. To unmold, with knife or metal spatula, loosen cake from side of pan; invert onto serving plate. Cut into slices to serve. Store in covered container at room temperature up to 3 days.

A couple of notes: I used a double boiler instead of the microwave and it worked just fine. Be sure not to skimp on the marshmallows. I didn’t use quite enough last time and the whole thing was so hard to stir and I ended up crushing all the pretty M&M’s, so the cake didn’t look nearly as nice.