Looking for a quick and easy dessert? These Strawberries and Cream Marshmallow Bars are a fun dessert with a unique twist that perfectly balances sweet marshmallow and tart strawberries!
What Are Freeze Dried Strawberries?
Have you ever had a freeze dried strawberry? Let me just say they are very tart! But that is the exact reason why they are perfect for the Strawberries and Cream Marshmallow Bars.
We all know marshmallow by itself is sweet. If you’ve ever made homemade marshmallows, you know that they’re like 50% sugar. So adding white chocolate into these marshmallow bars plus the marshmallows is like sweetness overload. I love white chocolate but I cannot lie when I say that it is sweet. So when you add something like the tart freeze-dried strawberries it balances out this bar and your taste buds will over joy with the beautiful harmony you have created.
Plus, I love adding them to the top because it gives such a beautiful representation. I love the fact that people can see and know what’s in it right away. They don’t have to try to figure out all the secret ingredients! It’s just there and it’s beautiful, red strawberry form.
There are freeze dried raspberries that you can sub out if you’re not a big fan of strawberries. I will warn you raspberries in their freeze dried form are way more tart than the strawberries.
The Thing No One Talks About
Okay, I think the huge elephant in the room here is that cleaning up after these marshmallow bars can be a pain. Have you ever gotten the bottom of the marshmallows stuck to the bottom of the pan? Man! That is tough to get out. These Strawberries and Cream Marshmallow Bars are totally worth the mess, but I do have a few tips!
What I always recommend is a soon as you’re done scooping out the marshmallow bars into their pan, turn on the hot water, put a little bit of dish soap in your pan,and then let your pan soak. I like to fill it all the way up to the top with water and leave it for like 10 to 15 minutes.
I know that this isn’t really the most glamorous conversation, but we have to address it. Cleaning is the worst part of making desserts but for this one, I think it’s important to say to start early. The longer you wait to soak your pot, the harder it gets to clean! It’s like the marshmallow cement into the pan.
If you are noticing that the marshmallow stickiness is getting out of control, you can use some cooking spray and spray down your utensil, which will help minimize the amount of stickiness and marshmallow glue that’s getting everywhere. I like to give a little spritz to my spatula and then honestly a little spritz to my hands! This helps when I’m pushing the marshmallow bars into their square pan! It’s nice to have a little bit on your hands so the marshmallow isn’t sticking to your hands either. These bars are delicious, but they can get messy fast!
Strawberries and Cream Marshmallow Bars
Ingredients
- 1 bag Mini Marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- 5 cups Rice Cereal
- 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
- 1 cup Freeze-Dried Strawberries
Instructions
- First, add freeze-dried strawberries to a bag and crush into small pieces.
- Add butter to a large pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium.
- Once the butter begins to melt, add in ¾'s the bag of marshmallows, reserving the rest for later.
- Then, stir in white chocolate chips
- After the marshmallows are melty, stir in rice cereal, the remaining marshmallows, and a few extra white chocolate chips..
- Quickly stir together and pour into the square pan that was lined with wax paper.
- Press the mixture down firmly to create extra chewy bars.
- Add the crushed freeze-dried strawberries to the top. Pressing down gently to make sure they stick.
- Allow to cool to harden, or you can eat right away.
I mean, how easy was this recipe? Less than ten minutes to get a perfectly fun, perfectly balanced dessert!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
P.S. If you're looking for more marshmallow-y fun, check out this recipe!
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