During the summer my kids sometimes accompanied me to the grocery store. They took this opportunity to lobby for ridiculous cereals that I never buy (“look, this one has less sugar than oatmeal squares!”).

That is the story of how I ended up with both Rainbow Krispies and Cocoa Krispies in my cupboard.

You should know that I am susceptible to advertising. I am aware of this fault and work hard to overcome it. But it turns out you can only see the recipe for Rice Krispie Treats staring out at you from your pantry so many times a day before your will is broken and you find yourself in the aisle of Tiny Target with a bag of marshmallows in your hand.

We are not a Rice Krispie Treat family; I’m pretty sure this was only the second time I have ever made them, and I went all out and made both the cocoa and rainbow versions. My kids could not believe their luck when they came home from school.

It occurred to me, as I was standing at the stove stirring marshmallows and cereal together, that you can really do this with any dry ingredient. There’s nothing special about Rice Krispies that makes them susceptible to melted marshmallow.

Surely melted marshmallows could bind together Chocolate Chex too. Cinnamon Toast Crunch? Goldfish crackers for that sweet-and-salty feeling? Pretzels? Or maybe… emotions?