I think of my fridge as the cold pantry. Truly, in Hawaii, it’s where you’ve got to store everything if you don’t want it to get rancid, grow mold, attract bugs or go stale. I keep my spices, flours, and many things that people usually store at room temperature in my fridge. If I have room, I’ll even put crackers and cereal in cold storage. I can’t stand taking a bite of something that should be crisp and getting a chew instead.
I’ve seen jokes that in some places in the world you can leave a chip bag open and it will get crispier. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. My kids would relate to the whole “Hawaii moms be like …” with how much I harp on them to secure a bag properly.
I’ve never figured out if rice cakes are supposed to feel half stale or not. I assumed that they just can’t retain the same dry crisp that you’d get in a less humid climate because even when I open a fresh bag, I swear they are a bit unappetizing. I found some in the fridge the other day, and I tested one. Even though it had been in the fridge in a sealed bag it tasted a bit soggy to me. So, almost normal.
I thought, why not pop it in the toaster? I don’t know if that’s what was always in tended with rice cakes, but I cannot over emphasize — you need to be toasting your rice cakes. What came out of the toaster was the crisp snack I’ve always hoped for in a rice cake — and even better, the nuttiness from the roasted edge was incredibly satisfying. Akin to the bottom of the rice pot.
I did end up finishing the bag within the next 10 minutes, because one wasn’t enough. I had one plain, one with peanut butter and one with Nutella. So even though this is hardly a recipe, I think it’s good enough to be tried with literally every possible topping combination out there, savory and sweet alike. I also tried this with the viral “peanut butter cup” rice cake (peanut butter with melted chocolate on the top, hardened in the freezer). It’s a great dessert. There is truly no reason anyone should ever eat a “raw” rice cake again.
Fluffer Nutter Rice Cake
Ingredients:
• 2 plain rice cakes (unsalted or salted as your preference)
• 2 tablespoons nut butter
• 3 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
Directions:
Using a toaster oven, toast the rice cakes on the lowest setting. You may need to play with this for your appliance.
Remove from the oven and spread each with nut butter and marshmallow fluff.
If you’re feeling extra, use a torch to brown the marshmallow, because why not? Eat right away.
Makes 2 rice cakes.
Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.
