Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but who cares, because THESE RICE KRISPIES TREATS CONTAIN NO CEREAL.

The other day, I opened my cabinet and found a half-empty box of Lofthouse cookies I'd impulse-purchased at Target a couple of weeks prior. They were too stale too eat plain, but they still looked OK so I thought, maybe I could make something out of these.

I played around taking photos of them for a while...

and then I found myself wondering, "I wonder if I could make Rice Krispies with these cookies instead of cereal?".

Turns out I had some mini marshmallows and some butter, so I hastened to make it happen.

I crumbled up the cookies, and they measured about 2 cups' worth. I figured a cup of marshmallows and a big ol pat of butter would even them out.

So, I melted the butter and marshmallows, then added the cookies, and stirred. It was cohesive!

Since it wasn't quite enough to fill a pan, I just lined a loaf pan with some parchment and pressed the mixture into about half of the loaf pan. I let it set.

Visually they were kind of ugly in the pan, but once sliced they looked more fudge-like and kind of fetching.

You guys. These things were almost too delicious.

I took a little bite of one of the scraps and then was like "holy yum". I then quickly hastened to put as many as I could into my mouth. The frosting from the cookies was dotted here and there and they were rich and delicious.

I can officially say that this is my new favorite way to use leftover cookies (though if you need more ideas, here are some other good ones).

Plus, no cereal was harmed in the making of these bars.

No-cereal cookie treats

Listen: basically your ratio is half as many marshmallows as crushed cookies. So if you had 1 cup of crushed cookies, use 1/2 cup of marshmallows; if you have 4 cups of crushed cookies, 2 cups of marshmallows. Got it? Good.

1 big pat of butter (I used about a tablespoon)

1 cup mini marshmallows

2 cups crushed cookies

Grease and line with parchment a loaf pan (or a larger pan if using creater quantities of cookies).

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and marshmallows. Once the marshmallows are mostly melty, add hte cookies and stir until coated evenly.

Press the mixture into the pan; you can kind of mold it to make it is tall or as short as you like. Really jam it in there.

Let it set until room temperature, then cut into squares to serve. Feel free to write me a thank you note or send me a unicorn figurine in gratitude.

Have you ever made creative Rice Krispies treats?