Gluten Free Fruity Pebble Treats

My daughter has recently fallen in love with fruity pebble cereal bars. She loves taking them to school for snack and I am happy she is bringing something she will actually eat. The problem is, I can't find them any more. I have been searching high and low in my three local grocery stores – but no luck. So instead of completely stressing out, I figured that I could make them at home.

I'm fairly confident that unless I make them from scratch, she may actually starve without them. You see, I am one of those moms that are convinced that every single day that my child might actually starve at school. I know it sounds ridiculous, but there is a reason for it: I was that kid who would starve with a lunch box full of food in front of them.

As a child, I was a dreamer. With that said, I didn't always pay attention to things  – especially if my mom happened to be saying something as I was walking out the door on my way to the school bus. For instance, one particular morning I half-heard my mom say, "Don't open the top."

It should have been so easy, but for me…it wasn't. As my mom packed my lunch that morning, she packed me a juice box – for the first time. As she did this, she pointed to the top of the juice box and said "Don't open the top, it will make a big mess."

Ok, check. Don't open the top. Unfortunately, I did not see her point to the top of the box itself, I saw her point to the straw. That translated to: Don't open the top of the plastic from the straw. When lunch time began, I opened my box and began decoding the meaning of: don't open the top.

I pulled the straw off the box, making sure not to rip the plastic and began poking my plastic covered straw into the hole. I tried and tried, but I simply could not get the straw in. Never did I get past the point of thinking how I would actually DRINK from a plastic covered straw, I just knew that things would work out as long as I didn't open the top.

Finally, a nice lunch aide noticed the bizarre scene I was creating and came over to help. As she took the straw from me, she said something to the effect of "Sweetie, you have to take the wrapper off the straw."

My brain screamed, "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

All I could squeak out was "My mom told me not to open the top."

She looked at me, nodded her head, and expertly popped the straw into the juice box.

I was waiting on the edge of my seat for something to explode and make a "big mess". But, nothing happened. I found myself inspecting the box and couldn't quite piece together where I went wrong.

When I got home that afternoon, I frantically told my mom that the lunch aide OPENED THE TOP.

"It wasn't me," I exclaimed, "I couldn't get the straw in, and she opened the top and put the straw in."

To which my mom replied, "Why didn't she just put the straw in the hole?"

"She DID!," I yelled, "But she opened the top!"

My mom sensed that she was missing something and had me tell her the story from beginning to end. By the time I was done, I could see her physically trying to prevent a smile from taking over her face.

She silently took out a new box and showed me the top of the juice box….and how you could pull up the wings on the side and open the whole top. There was even a little scissor and dots showing you exactly where to cut.

"I meant this top," she smiled.

Seriously, I have no idea how I survived Kindergarten.

With that, I bring you some super easy, gluten-free, fruity pebble treats that your children will have no trouble opening! This recipe for Marshmallow Crispy Treats was found over at PostFoods.com.

GLUTEN-FREE FRUITY PEBBLE TREATS:

Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
* 1 pkg. (10-1/2 oz.) miniature marshmallows (6 cups)
* 1 pkg. (13 oz.) Fruity Pebbles Cereal (about 8-1/2 cups)

Directions:

Step 1: Microwave butter in 4-qt. microwavable bowl on HIGH 45 seconds or until melted. Add marshmallows; toss to coat. Microwave 1-1/2 minutes or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 45 seconds.
   
Step 2: Add cereal; mix well.
   
Step 3: Press firmly into greased foil-lined 13×9-inch pan. Cool. Cut into 24 squares.

* This is the original recipe, however, I halved the recipe for less squares.

Thanks for Reading!
Daniele

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