A viral recipe, made with virtue (instead of ultraprocessed ingredients!)
Apparently, Pistachio Halva Rice Crispy Treats have taken over New York City in a sort of sweet frenzy. Instagram told me so.
I haven’t craved a trip to The City so much as I have these past months as I have watching these sweet treats galavant across my feed. The only problem was, I don’t have a trip to NYC planned any time soon (because I have a son, a healthy client list, and a business that needs me here in Colorado.) But MAN did I want those rice crispy treats!
When the NY Times published a recipe for them a few weeks back, I got really excited. But then I read the ingredient list…and it gave me a toothache. And a headache. And a stomach ache. We really don’t eat much refined sugar in our house, and while there’s nothing wrong with it every now and again, I really wanted these treats to be something that fit seamlessly into our world; a snack that made us feel strong, empowered, well-fueled, and without sugar crashes or gut bombs.
So, I got to work and this recipe for Re-Imagined Pistachio Halva Rice Crispy Treats was the result. They’re not as dreamy as I imagined – they’re even BETTER. (Swoon!)
Let me be the first to say – NOTHING. All of these ingredients have a beautiful place in any whole food diet, and specifically mine. I would never want to remove the butter from croissants, for example, and I LOVE croissants and eat them every week. Sugar is the same. When it comes to helping us to stay hydrated and fueled as athletes, cane sugar is one of the best fuels around. And marshmallows – well, please never try to convince me to enjoy hot chocolate, or a s’more, or a campfire without one, mmk? These ingredients have very important places in our world, let there be no mistake.
But, I’m also a firm believe that we want to use the right ingredient for the job. And for some jobs, there are many ingredients that can do the good work. In the case of a rice crispy treat, a marshmallow might give it a longer shelf life, but it also gives it less nutritional value. And because I’m a woman who doesn’t need shelf life (your fridge will keep these just fine for weeks,) and am 100% about the nutritional value of our foods, I knew there were ingredients that could do the job or making a rice crispy treat stick better. And I was right.
There are other rice crispy treat recipes on this site – this one and this one, for example. Give them a try too!
Halva (also spelled halwa, halvah, or halava) is a dense, sweet confection found in many cultures across the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and parts of Europe. Its form and flavor vary wildly depending on regional tradition, but there are two main types: those made with seeds or nuts, and those made with grains. For this recipe, we’re calling for the confection most popular across the Middle East + Mediterranean which is typically made with seeds or nuts. It has a fudgy, crumbly texture, and it’s most often made with tahini (or pistachios,) but you’ll find the tahini version is most conducive to this recipe, and also the easiest to find. I link my favorite brand here + in the recipe below, but this one is an excellent substitute. You can use the remainder of the halva you purchase in these to-die-for cookies!
YES – absolutely! But do keep in mind that the coconut butter and coconut oil will start to melt if the treats are out in hot weather for extended periods of time. The bars will melt (just like rice crispy treats do, only without the plastics to hold them together) and might be a bit crumbly…but they’ll still be just as delicious.
The way I combat this is to wrap them tightly in natural waxed paper with a bit of tape (or aluminum foil) and it works like a dream. Better yet, I pop one in a cooler in my car and enjoy it as a post-effort snack.
…are seriously worth the hype. They’re sweet, exotic, crunchy and crispy and SO DAMN GOOD. I love the punches of halva – they really amp up an “ordinary” rice crispy treat. These bars are made with a tahini caramel instead of a butter + marshmallow mix. The process to make the caramel is easy – just warm the ingredients on the stove until they come together. No “cooking” involved. The bars are quick to make as well, with the exception of some chilling time that’s required to set them up. They’ll hold their shape best if they’re completely cool when you cut them – the same as a traditional rice crispy treat. And most spectacularly, these are packed with vitamins, minerals, a bit of protein – which is something that a traditional rice crispy treat just can’t touch.
I’m sure that the Pistachio Halva Rice Crispy Treats are worth the trip to NYC, but this summer, I’ll be a happy camper in the mountains eating my bar on top of a summit amidst the wildflowers instead of a crowded city street.
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