![Peanut Butter Blossoms](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/11/24/dining/24COOKING-PEANUTBUTTERBLOSSOMS2/24COOKING-PEANUTBUTTERBLOSSOMS2-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
![Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/01/29/dining/29COOKING-CRMLZDKRISPIETREAT1/29COOKING-CRMLZDKRISPIETREAT1-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 8ounces butter, salted or unsalted, preferably cultured, plus extra for pan
- 210 ½-ounce bag marshmallows (see note)
- 112-ounce box Rice Krispies cereal
Preparation
- Step 1
Line rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper or wax paper, or butter it well.
- Step 2
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Watch closely and stir often.
- Step 3
When butter is evenly browned, stir in marshmallows. (If using unsalted butter, stir in ⅛ teaspoon salt.) Melt and cook, stirring often, until mixture turns pale brown, then stir constantly until lightly browned but not dark, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Turn off heat, add cereal, and mix well, preferably with a silicone spoon or a spatula. Scrape into prepared pan and press down lightly. If necessary, butter hands to press mixture flat. Let cool, and cut into squares or bars.
- Most marshmallows contain gelatin. For a vegetarian version of these treats, be sure to use vegan/vegetarian marshmallows available at most health food stores.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
at the risk of giving away a Crowd pleasing concoction,
i roast the rice under a broiler till just browned, constantly turning.
i also add brown sugar to the butter while it's browning...
and I add vanilla and almond extract to that mixture as well.
frozen crushed heath bars added at the last minute of stirring in the
marshmallows takes this over the top.
finally, take these puppies camping and roast them over the campfire.
Just made these, substituting an 8 oz bag of Ruffles potato chips for the Rice Krispies. Used unsalted butter and omitted the salt. Plan to dip a side in ganache. Hey, nobody said these were supposed to be health food, right?
I make these with two bags of marshmallow and all the butter, same amount of cereal. People faint.
The idea of browning the butter is genius and adds a richness and depth of flavor. However, the proportions in the recipe are all wrong -- this creates very dry and crumbly treats, instead of chewy ones. It needs more marshallow/butter mixture to less cereal.
After reading others' comments, while the butter was browning, I toasted abt 1/3 of one of the bags of marshmallows. I added a hefty pinch of salt and about a tsp. of vanilla. People FREAKED out. I have never been a huge RKT fan, but w/these modifications, I must say that they were really great. The usual cloying sweetness was tempered by the toasty notes. I will definitely make these again, and will roast more marshmallows next time and perhaps up the salt too to make it more perceptible.
I've made (and eaten) more batches of RKT in my 70 years than I am willing to admit. They are my most favorite treat; I am embarrassed to say that I am capable of eating an entire pan full in less than 24 hours. My ratio: A stick of butter, 1 large bag of marshmallows, two tablespoons of peanut butter, one small box of Rice Krispies (about 6 cups). I like more marshmallow than most recipes call for and the peanut butter cuts the sugary taste a bit--making them a high protein snack, right?
@calisson - I think you may have misunderstood. Smitten kitchen's recipe doesn't call for half the butter - she just halved the entire recipe.
Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for these with half as much butter. (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/11/salted-brown-butter-crispy-treats/ It's plenty. And I agree about decreasing the amount of cereal for a gooier, more flavorful result.
Ponder upon the dichotomy of vegan marshmallow peeps.
THESE WERE AMAZING. A huge hit at my 4th of July party! I also used brown rice cereal instead of regular Rice Krispies.
The only thing I would say, since this was my first time browning butter, was that medium-low heat wasn't enough for my butter to brown. I had to turn it up a smidge and let it bubble a little. This page was helpful for browning butter (and also hilarious): http://joythebaker.com/2015/03/how-to-brown-butter/
These are wonderful. The times are more important than I thought. About 5 minutes to brown the butter, not longer. Also 5 minutes for the mixture to brown, otherwise it takes on a funny consistency. Don't pack them down too much or they get compact. This will sound silly but we have made these when they are marvellous and other times when not as good.
Don't know why I never considered this before! Browned butter revolutionized my chocolate chip cookie recipe (along with subbing out white sugar for brown and exchanging chocolate chips for crumbled Heath bars)
Pour marshmallow butter mixture in to enormous bowl that already contains Rice Krispies. Then stir.
Really delicious.
On advice of earlier comments. I added a big splash of vanilla extract to butter before adding the marshmallows and reduced cereal to 8 ounces. I was able to get treats about 1" thick in a 9"x13" pan.
I did use cultured butter, which added a bit of tanginess to the treats. Definitely worth seeking it out.
I just made these, my first ever batch of Rice Krispie treats. I flavored it with a dash of bourbon and some bittersweet chocolate chips. Holy moly.
Everyone loves this recipe and asks me to make it for gatherings! So simple and cheap
Added 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste and doubled the salt. Avoid overworking once the cereal is added or else it’ll become tough.
Browning the butter helps yes. I’m surprised even grocery store prepared versions don’t elevate the ante more with either peanut butter or almond butter. My go to is one cup of either added in towards the end of the melted marshmallows. Combine cereal well and turn out on your sheet pan or disposable aluminum lasagna pan if you plan to transport these to work, church or school sharing. Obviously mark them for those with nut allergies. I find with the nut butters these are far more enjoyable
Not sure why but my came out so hard to chew the whole batch was a waste. I even reduced the amount of cereal because I like mine on the chewy side. Any ideas as to why this happened? Thanks!
Yes. Marshmallows got too much heat. Take the heat completely off before you pour them in. Then remove from stove before cereal goes in
Didn’t work for me. Too much math involved with figuring out the ratios. Next time just use cups and tablespoons. My grocer doesn’t carry boxes and bags with the oz. You listed.
And what size pan? My 8x12 was too small. I ended up having to dump everything back into the pot, filling the pan, and the. throwing away 1/4 of the mixture.
I have never made RKT, but I have eaten many. This are hands down the most delicious ones I have ever had. Who knew they were this easy?!? (Just me apparently)
I love this recipe! I also add a little vanilla extract. Perfect and easy snack especially in summer.
Followed the recipe exactly AND added a bag of lightly crushed Ruffles. A the extra marshmallow blended well with all the dry bits and the salt from the Ruffles was perfect.
The flavor is incredible but the ratios are way off, this was so hard to mix evenly and resulted in a rock hard treat. I will be making these again, but I’ll probably halve the amount of cereal next time.
These are the BEST! First time I made them was for my daughter to take to work for a gathering. They were a huge hit! As suggested I did add vanilla and a hefty pinch of salt. Yum! Second time I browned the butter on medium rather than medium high heat. WOW, The browning was much darker and it transformed the treat from super to fabulous! That is high praise in my house!
Less Rice Krispies, add tsp of vanilla and tsp brown butter
made this with special K it was special, k? also added broken heath bars chunks and white chocolate chips. it was *decadent*
I should not be alone with these treats.
Be sure butter is really browned, use higher heat. Add bourbon to butter? Toffee chips good. Use 1cup next time. See Smitten Kitchen recipe. Toast half the cereal. Put in huge bowl, pour goop over and mix quickly.
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