Vegan Rice Krispie Treats!

So I'll bet that if you are vegan you get a craving for these succulent babies from time to time. Rice Krispie Treats were one of my favorite desserts ever-I even remember making them in Home Ec class in middle school to sell during lunch-we were in different teams in class and had to come up with little businesses to run-ours was insanely popular! I mean what's not to like? Crispy cereal, vanilla-ey gooey goodness-YUM.

I tried the boxed Glenny's Organic Marshmallow Treats over and over again-trying to make myself like them-but I never really did. They are expensive,small and not gooey enough for me. I also didn't want to spend $6 on a bag of vegan marshmallows every time I had a craving. So after much research I found this recipe and went for it!
Classic Rice Crispy Treats(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

    1 cup light corn syrup
    1/2 cup sugar(I used Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Cane)
    2 tablespoon soy margarine
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    6 cups puffed rice cereal

Directions:

In addition to the above ingredients you'll need a heat resistant spatula, a small pot, a very large bowl and a 9x13" pan to press the treats into.

Begin by heating the syrup in the pot over medium heat then add the sugar to the pot. Stir continuously for a few minutes, you might start to notice it bubbling at the bottom, if it starts to become frothy turn down the temperature some. When it starts to look like its boiling add the margarine (I used earth balance) stir till evenly mixed, then add the vanilla, still stirring. If you notice that the syrup/sugar mixture does not boil you can turn up the heat, or just add the margarine and the rest of the ingredients after a few minutes it will still work fine, just make sure to spend a few minutes stirring the syrup and sugar before adding the other ingredients).

As the syrup and sugar are on the stove in the very large bowl measure out about 5 cups of the cereal.
Pour the heated mixture over the syrup and began stirring with the spatula making sure to evenly combine the ingredients. You might want to add another cup or more of the cereal, depending on the amount of saturation your looking for (I find about 6 cups of cereal allows all the cereal to be covered in syrup but not too gooey:  still crispy.)
I greased a large pan with more margarine and pressed it into that-press down hard so it sticks together.

I found that the treats stick together better when covered and refrigerated.

I cut mine into 16 squares and estimated them to be around 150 calories apiece.

Preparation time: 15 prep, 1 hour to cool

I think they turned out delicious. Ryan said they taste just like the Glenny's, but I believe the fresh margarine and very crispy cereal made them taste WAY better. Not to mention that the price for a whole pan is negligible. I think a batch of these in a cute pan and tied with a ribbon would make a really cute gift too.

Next time I make them I think i am going to whip the syrup and sugar mixture up in my Kitchenaid and see if i can make them gooeyer.