cereal all the time #CerealAnytime

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Did you have a favorite cereal as a kid? I'm sure that mine varied from month to month week to week day to day, but I know a bowl of Fruity Pebbles was always a treat!

Fruity Pebbles has been a family favorite since 1970 (and one of this gal's favorites since approximately 1990), and now they've made them even better by adding marshmallows! I still enjoy cereal for breakfast (and other meals...) from time to time, and I've also found ways to incorporate cereal into my snacks and desserts. And why shouldn't I? Fruity Pebbles (with and without marshmallows) has no trans fat or high fructose corn syrup and it's an excellent source of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, and vitamin B12 (not to mention a good source of vitamin A)!

I suspect you all already know about the craze of cereal milk. As someone who eagerly gulped (and still gulps) down the milk remaining in my cereal bowl and resented (and still resents) anyone who poured theirs down the drain, I know how delicious that stuff is and I'm surprised it didn't become more popular more quickly! Since Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles creates some of the best cereal milk ever, I thought it would be a great idea to put it to use in flavoring a cream pie.

Not only is this pie delicious, the Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles also make it SO pretty and fun--I love the rainbow of colors! The marshmallows are a great addition to the cereal, and they're also a wonderful component of the pie. They contribute a bit of texture and a unique flavor to the mix. They're also quite adorable.

In case you were curious, I sprinkled uncrushed cereal onto the baked pie shell rather than mixing it into the filling because I didn't want it to a)get crushed, and/or b)bleed into the already-slightly-gray filling. You can certainly try to mix it in for a more thorough distribution, but I was content to have a layer of pebbles on the bottom.

If the idea of a slightly gray pie doesn't appeal to you, I have two suggestions. First, you can turn only a portion of the milk into cereal milk and use regular milk or cream for the rest--it will probably still be gray, but less so! However, the price you pay is that the flavor of the Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles won't be as noticeable either. Another option is dyeing all of the filling with a few drops of food coloring, though I know that stuff is often frowned upon. To each her own...I embraced the grayness!

I popped into Walmart to grab this box of sweet, crunchy fun. I was tempted to get a box of Cocoa Pebbles too because it's been YEARS since a spoonful of those has passed between my lips, but I resisted. I am an adult, after all.

Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles Cream Pie

(printable recipe)
Makes 1 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
Crust:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Pie:

• 2 cups Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles, crushed
• 2-3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2-1 cup Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles

Directions:
First, make the crust by combining the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar and mixing well.
Press into a greased 9-inch pie plate and bake at 350 degrees F for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly brown on the edges.
Next, make the cereal milk. Add the crushed cereal to a bowl and pour the milk over it; let steep at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the milk in another bowl. Using a spatula or your hand, wring the milk out of the cereal but do not force the mushy cereal through the sieve.
If you don't have 2-1/4 cups of cereal milk, top it off with plain milk--the amount is important!
Next, make your filling. In a small bowl, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt; set aside.
On low to medium heat in a medium-sized sauce pan, add 4 tablespoons of butter and cereal milk.
After the butter has melted, slowly add the cornstarch mixture.
Cook, stirring constantly with a wire whisk just until the mixture is thick and creamy and coats the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Sprinkle 1/2-1 cup Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles (not crushed) on top of the empty baked pie crust, then carefully pour the filling mixture on top, trying not to push any of the cereal to the edges.
Cover the filling with wax paper and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Serve with whipped cream and more Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles!