"Award-winning" Honey Peanut Butter Crispies!

"Best Crispy-Rice-Cereal & Honey Dessert" award!

The Beaver Valley Area Beekeepers' Association and Burgh Bees held a joint beekeepers' picnic on Saturday at the beautiful home and roomy barn of Gary & Heather S.  Best beekeepers' picnic we've been to in ages!   New this year was a "Taste of Honey" contest featuring dishes made with local honey.  They included a sumptuous baklava, delicious blueberry scones, Jim H's famous stewed rhubarb--and many more.  Kerry K. won rave reviews and coveted fan favorite award for her fantastic peanut butter honey dip for fruit.
My own entry--Honey Peanut Butter Crispies--won for the "Best Crispy Rice Cereal & Honey Dessert." (And now is the time to note that Robert was one of the judges and that, um, mine was the ONLY entry in this category.  Thanks for making sure I won an award, Honey!)   BVABA and Burgh Bees plan to post the recipes for the other award winners and I'll post them when they do.  Many thanks to Beth and Kerry for co-coordinating a great event.

HONEY PEANUT BUTTER CRISPIES
1 cup honey (summer honey is great for this)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky--your pick)
7 cups crispy rice cereal
kosher salt (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
4 oz good dark chocolate, melted (optional)
Lightly grease a 13x9x2 inch pan.  In a large, heavy pan, bring the brown sugar and honey to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, blending thoroughly.  Add the rice cereal in two batches and gently fold to coat evenly.  Firmly press into prepared pan using the back of a spoon or your hands.  Sprinkle the top with kosher salt to taste.  Cut into 1 x 1 1/2 inch bars.  Makes about 40.  To gild the lily, you can melt some very good dark chocolate and either drizzle over the bars or dip one end of the bar into the chocolate.  Let cool until chocolate firms up.  These can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.