Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

Here is my entry for the chocolate contest. I've been puzzling over what to enter since I'm not much of a chocolatier. Then today I came up with these on the fly and I thought, "Why not?" They're not very sophisticated, but simple and easy is good too. You can vary the recipe quite a bit and still get the idea. Not to mention, they should be easy to judge since most of you should be able to get the ingredients and have the time to make them.

Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats

1 can sweetened condensed milk
10 oz marshmallows
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (could do more or less; also could probably do unsweetened chocolate because of how sweet everything else is...bittersweet was the least sweet that I had)
1 cup dried cranberries
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1. Heat sweetened condensed milk and marshmallows on the stove in a large sauce pan. Stir until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in chocolate chips completely. Then stir in cranberries and cereal.

3. Press mixture into a 9x13 baking dish that's been coated with cooking spray and allow to cool. Tip: Wet your hands first and they won't stick.

These are a fun way to get a chocolate fix. I went with the bittersweet chocolate and cranberries to cut through the sweetness of the marshmallows and sweetened condensed milk. You could add anything that you like to it really; especially if it's unsweetened. Things like coconut and nuts would be particularly good. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas to improve it.

Rosemary