Peanut Butter Crispy Treats

In 20 days I'm moving back home to Charlotte. After two short years in Raleigh, it's packing time again. As a foodie, my pantry is bursting with staples. Cooking is stress relief. At midnight I decided to purge so there would be less to pack.There was a bit of peanut butter, a package of peanut butter chips, some corn syrup, plenty of chocolate chips and a whole box of generic crispy cereal. After perusing some recipes, this one was born from a combination of ingredients. BEWARE! These bars have sugar and are not diabetic friendly. 

Prepare a 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Ingredients for the bars:

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanut flavored chips (or just use 1 cup of peanut butter and leave out the chips) 
6 cups crispy rice cereal

Ingredients for the topping:

1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 T whipping cream

1. Combine 1 cup of corn syrup and 1 cup of sugar in a 3 quart pan over medium heat Stir and cook until sugar is dissolved. Add peanut butter and peanut butter chips. Stir until boiling. 
2. Add rice cereal and stir until combined. (Warning-it will be sticky like caramel, so you may want to coat the spoon with cooking spray before you add the cereal).
3. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press down. I use parchment paper on top of the sticky mixture to press down evenly without sticking. 
4. Prepare topping by melting the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Add whipping cream to thin and continue to stir until smooth.
5. Pour over cereal mixture in the pan and spread with an offset spatula until evenly covered.
6. Allow to cool, cut and eat. Remember, these bars are sticky and chewy, but so good!