You know someone who has Celiac Disease, and you know they can’t eat your amazing double-fudge-chocolate-chip brownies, but you want to make some treat they can eat. So you’re scanning the aisles of the grocery store when it dawns on you: Rice Krispie treats! Perfect! This will be awesome! So you pick up a box, you pick up some Kroger marshmallows (which, happily, say gluten-free right on them), and you go home on your merry way, feeling very excited about that stroke of brilliance.
Then, to your shock, your CD friend says, “No, thanks. I can’t have Rice Krispies.” No Rice Krispies? Come on! It says Rice. Right? Nope. The most obnoxious thing ever about Rice Krispies (or even the Malt-o-Meal brand) is that when you check the ingredients, you’ll notice an innocent-looking “malt flavoring.” It tries to hide. It tries to look innocent. However, “malt flavoring” really means “derived from barley.” Barley contains gluten, therefore it’s a no-go.
While I’ve heard rumors about Rice Krispies going gluten-free, here’s what you can do in the meantime: make RK treats out of Cocoa Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, or ground up Rice Chex (which might actually taste pretty good…). If you must, however, have that taste and texture that you can ONLY get from Rice Krispies, you can buy the Kinnickinnick version that doesn’t have gluten. They’re definitely more expensive than Rice Krispies, but they’re good, and you get a pretty big bag.
Just remember, though, that even if your gluten-free friends can’t eat whatever it is you prepared for them, they still really appreciate that you thought of them.
The fruity pebbles version actually sounds pretty good too.
I think you meant to say cocoa pebbles NOT Cocoa Krispies.