# Marshmallow Krispie squares are a type of... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107 "2008-03-12T14:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/1 "2008-03-12T14:45:45Z")
…what? They’re not cakes They’re not cookies either, really - because they’re made in a tray and cut up into squares. What are they? ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/2 "2008-03-12T14:51:01Z")
I would call them either a bar cookie, or a dessert bar. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/3 "2008-03-12T14:58:10Z")
They’re confectionery like Lion bars (except with marshmallow and not chocolate). ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/4 "2008-03-12T15:02:56Z")
Pure joy. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/5 "2008-03-12T15:08:03Z")
Clearly, they are “treats”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/6 "2008-03-12T15:09:11Z")
Ah, ‘treats’ is good. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/7 "2008-03-12T15:09:20Z")
Cereal bar. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/8 "2008-03-12T15:21:38Z")
A [slice](http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Slices-to-savour/2005/05/02/1114886287260.html). Pronounced _sloice_. The article says Americans would call them _bar cookies_. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/9 "2008-03-12T15:33:44Z")
Nope, we call them treats. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/10 "2008-03-12T15:34:20Z")
…torture designed to torment vegetarians because of the ridiculous scarcity of marshmallows that don’t contain gelatin. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/11 "2008-03-12T15:37:26Z")
“Yummy”. That’s what they are. By the way, you guys are assholes. Yesterday, I got an oatmeal cream pie out of the vending machine because of this place, now I’m about to pay 80 cents for a freakin’ Rice Krispie treat. I hope you guys are happy. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/12 "2008-03-12T15:42:53Z")
They fall into the general category of partially gelatinated processed puffed grain confections. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/13 "2008-03-12T15:52:04Z")
hors’ dourves ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/14 "2008-03-12T15:56:37Z")
[QUOTE=hawthorne] A [slice](http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Slices-to-savour/2005/05/02/1114886287260.html). Pronounced _sloice_. The article says Americans would call them _bar cookies_. [/QUOTE] This American would call Marshmellow Krispie Squares “treats” (actually, Rice Krispie Treats, probably). A bar cookie to me is what you get if you take a batch of cookie dough, and spread it in a flat pan, bake it and the cut it. And I’d almost never call it a “bar cookie” as opposed to a “bar” with the cookie part understood. OK, I might call the treats “bars” in a context where having fewer terms was useful “3 people brought cakes, 4 brought pies, and the rest brought bars”, but not ordinarily. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/15 "2008-03-12T16:02:25Z")
**Mangetout** , if you had grown up in the American Midwest you would say with complete assurance that Rice Krispie treats are “bars.” Any dessert that is cooked up in a pan and then cut into squares is (are?) bars. Except fudge. The traditional upper midwest church-supper type buffet is: Hot dish (casserole); salad; fruit punch (non-alcoholic, of course); and bars. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/16 "2008-03-12T16:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] …torture designed to torment vegetarians because of the ridiculous scarcity of marshmallows that don’t contain gelatin. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I was going to answer the OP with “…meat”. Blasted gelatin is hard to avoid. Didja know that bitters, of all things, have gelatin? I got my little bottle of Angostura bitters home a few moths ago, and I was looking forward to many happy evenings of Old Fashioneds when I thought, “What are bitters anyway?” I turned the bottle over, and…let out a stream of curses. Who the \*&%$! puts gelatin in something you drink?! Anyway, to answer the OP, I vote for “treats”. Meaty treats. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/17 "2008-03-12T16:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] By the way, you guys are assholes. Yesterday, I got an oatmeal cream pie out of the vending machine because of this place, now I’m about to pay 80 cents for a freakin’ Rice Krispie treat. I hope you guys are happy. [/QUOTE] It’s not a _real_ Rice Krispie treat unless you buy it at a bake sale. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/18 "2008-03-12T16:35:30Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] **Mangetout** , if you had grown up in the American Midwest you would say with complete assurance that Rice Krispie treats are “bars.” Any dessert that is cooked up in a pan and then cut into squares is (are?) bars. Except fudge. The traditional upper midwest church-supper type buffet is: Hot dish (casserole); salad; fruit punch (non-alcoholic, of course); and bars. [/QUOTE] Jodi has said it best. Though they are a bar cookie, they are specifically a Rice Krispie Treat. ---
**Author:** ![InappropriateHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@InappropriateHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InappropriateHumor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/19 "2008-03-12T16:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] “Yummy”. That’s what they are. By the way, you guys are assholes. Yesterday, I got an oatmeal cream pie out of the vending machine because of this place, now I’m about to pay 80 cents for a freakin’ Rice Krispie treat. I hope you guys are happy. [/QUOTE] Seconded. What the hell, guys? I went home last night and made a big batch of snickerdoodles (since fruit pies were out of the way) and it’ll be all the Dope’s fault when my ass expands past the point where I can still stuff it into my pants. MMMMM, Rice Krispie bars. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Not my fault at all… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107/20 "2008-03-12T16:38:26Z")
In Minnesota “bars” are a category unto themselves and Rice Krispy Treats (or as they’re called up here, “Rice Krispy Bars”) are clearly bars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marshmallow-krispie-squares-are-a-type-of/441107.md?page=2)