And the award for the longest recipe title on Nerds with Knives (so far) goes to…
We’ve recently been on a Rice Krispie Treat kick, developing a version that has colorful, festive Fruity Pebbles mixed in. They’re super fun, and our best friend’s 10 year old daughter said they were the best Rice Krispie Treats she’s ever had (high praise indeed from a child).
But we also wanted to try something a little more grown up. May we present to you: brown butter Rice Krispie Treats. With some delicious and fun fillings.
caramel flavor (without making caramel)
First, we decided to brown the butter, which levels up any dessert an irresistibly nutty, caramelized flavor. (Ever tried brown butter bourbon blondies? Or brown butter chai cupcakes?)
Next, we toasted the marshmallows, giving the bars that nostalgic campfire smokiness. A small (optional) splash of dark rum adds to that complexity, but feel free to leave it out if these are for kids, or if you just don’t want to use alcohol.
The combination of the two elements creates a flavor that is really similar to butterscotch. It’s like caramel, with just a hint of bitterness from the lightly charred marshmallows.
Then, to add texture as well as flavor, we substituted a couple of the cups of rice cereal with crushed up pretzels. This gives them a crunchy, salty bite.
And what treat wouldn’t be improved by the addition of chocolate? In this case, we add some white chocolate chips to the mix (though a roughly chopped bar would be even better). Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate would also be great substitutions.
The combination of all these elements makes brown butter Rice Krispie Treats that not only kids will enjoy. In fact, we expect that adults will love these even more.
first, toast those ‘mallows
Not going to lie, evenly toasting marshmallows in the oven takes a little bit of finesse. At least, if your oven, like ours, has a broiler coil in the center. You’ll need to move the tray around a bit to get all the marshmallows toasty but luckily it doesn’t take long.
First, if you have a silicone mat, lay it on a sheet tray and spray it with non-stick spray. If you don’t have one, foil or parchment will also work. Make sure to spray it really well so you can spatula the marshmallows off once they’re toasted.
Place a rack in the middle of the oven, not too close to the heat source. Set the oven to broil. Once you slide the marshmallow tray in, do not wander off “just for a minute”. Do not shift your focus to something else in the kitchen. Don’t even blink. In other words, nurse the tray carefully. Turn it around to try to brown the marshmallows as evenly as possible. The toasting doesn’t need to be perfectly even, but you don’t want some barely brown and others completely black. Once they’re brown enough, take them out of the oven, and set them aside while you brown the butter.
Note: you can also use a brûlée torch to toast them right on the tray. You don’t need to melt them, you’re just trying to give them some toasty color.
how to brown butter
The first tip for making brown butter is to use a heavy, light-colored pot or skillet. The thick, heavy pot will help distribute the heat and will keep the butter from scorching. The light color is simply because it’s hard to see the color of the butter in a dark pot or skillet. For these brown butter Rice Krispie Treats, we use our large (6- quart) enameled Le Creuset Dutch oven, but any large, heavy pot will do.
To start, keep the heat on medium and let the butter melt, and then once it begins to foam, start stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a silicone spatula. The milk solids will begin to turn golden (those little darker specks) and the butter will begin to smell deliciously nutty. Once the browning starts, we usually turn the heat to low, because it can go from beautifully brown (yum) to burned black (yuck) very quickly.
Once those butter specks are deep golden brown, the butter is ready for you to add the toasted marshmallows.
keep them soft with low heat
Once you add the toasted marshmallows to the brown butter, keep the heat low and keep stirring. When the marshmallows are mostly melted but not bubbling, turn the heat off. It’s fine if there are a few pockets of un-melted marshmallow. One of the benefits of using a thick, heavy Dutch oven is it will retain enough heat to keep everything soft while you mix it together.
Add the salt and vanilla (and rum, if you’re using it).
Next, add the Rice Krispies and pretzels, and stir until it’s mostly mixed together, before adding the white chocolate chips. Continue to stir until everything is combined. We add the chips last because white chocolate melts very easily, and we don’t want it to fully disappear into the mixture.
i know it’s tempting, but don’t press!
Once everything is mixed together, transfer it to the baking pan that has been lined with parchment or foil and sprayed liberally. You have to work relatively quickly here, so the mix doesn’t harden before you’ve had a chance to spread it into the corners. It will be very sticky so you can use the butter wrapper between your fingers and the mixture, or spray a spatula or underside of a flat measuring cup and use that to gently spread it out and flatten the top.
Don’t press down firmly or the treats will end up hard, just gently coax the mixture flat. The first batch we made, I couldn’t help myself. There was something so satisfying about pushing the mixture into the pan, making it flat and square and perfect. Those perfect squares were pretty to look at, but hard to bite into, without that soft, satisfying gooeyness I was looking for. So be gentle!
To top (or not to top)
This is fully optional, but we like to top the bars with a little sprinkle of the ingredients inside. A few crushed pretzels, a scattering of chocolate chips, a couple of toasted marshmallows. These brown butter Rice Krispie Treats do exactly what they say on the tin. Or top.
Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats with Toasted Marshmallows, Pretzels and White Chocolate
Ingredients
- 20 ounces mini marshmallows* 12 cups, divided
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter (*reserve wrapper)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 1 tablespoon dark rum optional
- 4 cups Rice Krispies cereal 115g
- 2 cups mini-pretzels broken into ½- to 1-inch pieces (100g)
- 6 ounces chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Spray an 8×8-inch pan (or 9×9 for slightly thinner bars) with non-stick spray and line it with foil or parchment, with a bit of overhang. Spray generously again. Line a baking tray with foil and spray generously with non-stick spray.
- Turn the oven on to broil and make sure a rack is in the center (not too close to the heat). Separate 2 cups of the marshmallows and set them aside. Add the rest (10 cups) to the sprayed foil lined sheet. Place the marshmallows in the oven until they turn golden brown and toasted on top (30 seconds to about 90 seconds). Watch them closely because they go from nicely toasted to charred very quickly! Remove marshmallows from the oven and let cool while you prepare the brown butter.
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy pot set over medium-low heat. Once it starts to foam, use a silicone spatula to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot as the butter turns golden and dark flecks begin to form. The butter should turn golden brown and smell nutty (be careful to not let it burn. Once it starts to brown, it will darken very quickly).
- As soon as the butter is brown, turn the heat to low and add the toasted marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are almost completely melted (a few lumps are fine). Then turn off the heat and stir in the salt, vanilla and rum (if using).
- Stir in the cereal, pretzels and reserved marshmallows. When mostly combined, add in the white chocolate chips and stir until completely combined.
- Working quickly, transfer to the prepared pan and very gently press until the top is flat and even (*use the reserved butter wrapper to keep your fingers from sticking, or spray a spatula). Don’t press too firmly or treats will get hard. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting them into squares.