As it turns out, the last days of October don’t awaken in me a desire to fly around on my broom, don a “sexy” nurse/maid/fireman outfit or even gorge myself on candy. Nope, according to a quick glance at my archives, apparently when Halloween approaches all I can think about is reinterpreting Rice Krispie Treats.
NEW: Watch me make this on YouTube!
Unfortunately, I don’t seem to choose my recipes very well. Last year’s Peanut Butter Crispy Bars were delicious, but had structural issues that irked me. And two years ago, I fell prey to a Caramelized Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treat that was all sorts of a styrofoam-textured disaster. Nevertheless, I haven’t been able to get them out of my head, so this year I decided I would conquer them once and for all. It helped that I knew exactly what went wrong the original dud of a clearly-untested recipe (hm, do I sound bitter?): the cereal to marshmallow ratio was unfeasibly high, more than double that of the original recipe and — small detail — marshmallows don’t caramelize very well, and should you succeed in getting them to, they don’t cool back down to anything gooey or soft. What a travesty.
But these, these I dare say are the best thing to happen to Rice Krispies Treats since Mildred Day of the home economics department at the Kellogg Company thought to apply marshmallows and melted butter to the puffed rice cereal in 1928. Oh yes, I’m enthralled enough with these to declare them that epic.
Even better, they’re so freaking easy to make, only five extra minutes, tops, more than the original which is incredibly convenient if you are finding yourself a little pressed for time these days. And I know what you’re thinking: “Gosh, Deb, I really wish you could have told me about these sooner, as I needed something to bring to a last-minute party on Saturday. Deb, where were you?!” (Okay, perhaps I overdramatize my party-saving skills a tad.) To which I can only respond, take it up with the monkey.
Note: You can watch an Instagram demo of this recipe here.
One year ago: Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Garlic Chips
Two years ago: Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
Three years ago: Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes
Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
What’s different about these? Oh, just a bit more (coughdouble) butter which you toast until it’s brown and nutty and help along with some coarse salt, just minor things. But it changes everything.
Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce (285-gram) bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups (160 grams) crispy rice cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
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. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.
Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends.
Ohmigosh those look incredible.
I can’t believe how big he is getting! What a sweetheart!!
oh my, you found a way to make rice krispie treats even better!!! mmmmm gonna have to make these for the kids. and by ‘kids’ i mean me…
These really are a cut above, but still beyond simple and fast to make!
This has always been my favorite thing to make, because I could never screw up the recipe on the first try.
Thanks for sharing and getting me back into a baking mood. :-)
If only I could not come off as totally strange since you don’t really know me, and still say, “if only I could just rub the top of his noggin on my cheek and just inhale the baby fragrance while nuzzling up to the sweetness.” :-) Okay, just so you know, I’m not totally weird, its just that all three of my kids are grown up in college and HS. Love Babies! I do. There, now as far as the rice crispy treats go….have a neighbor who loves them as well as me so can’t wait to give them a try. Off to buy the ingredients. :-) (fresh rice crispies)
AmyRuth
AmyRuth. Just wanted to share that I found nothing strange in your comments. What you describe is one of life’s greatest pleasures! While not in the same league – these treats rank pretty high as well.
You had me sold on Brown Butter. But mixed with Rice Krispies….divine.
PS-Jacob makes a precious monkey :)
Absolutely amazing. Unfortunately I can’t stop eating them. Soooooo good. Very dangerous.
This is the grown ‘n sexy version of rice krispie treats! Still loved by babies though. :)
You must have known! I splurged and bought rice crispies and marshmallows so that I could make Alex some of his favorite treats! The inspiration..I pulled a chunk out of the puppy’s (Boli) mouth during our halloween walk through Harlem. Appetizing reminder right? I’m definitely using this recipe (you sold me with quick and easy)!
Did you mean 8 oz (1/2 lb) of butter or 1/4 lb (4oz) butter? I love that you’ve upgraded the rice crispy treat!
the rice krispie treats sound great, but i am too side tracked by your adorable little boy. everytime you post a pic of him, he looks even sweeter. my boy turned 14 last monday and is taller than i am. no more cute little baby faces to coo over at my house.
um, it says in the recipe that 8 oz is a quarter of a pound?
And I use about half of a 24 oz. box of rice cereal; recipe says half of a 12 oz. box?
Hey looks so cute all dressed up! Can’t wait to try these. I am sure my classes and family will love them.
That would be 4 ounces of butter, not 8. Now fixed.
Phoebe made me Rice Krispie Treats for my birthday this year, and though they were delicious AND in the shape of my name, they most certainly did not contain double the amount of butter. I love the twist you’ve given this classic!
Ooooh, the title made me gasp out loud. And my GOODNESS, what a cute little monkey!
I can’t tell you how much I wish I had a plate of those in front of me right now. Please tell me they have no calories!!!!!
Love this post – such fun ! and talk about taking something simple to its most delicious potential ever ! Love the gooey marshmallow in the 3rd photo. Ok, I accept the challenge – finding Rice Krispies in Zurich. Then I’m all over this. As for the monkey, that’s just too cute for words.
Could this work as a new bottom to the peanut butter crispy bars from last October?
Oh dang, and I wanted to start “eating more right more often” today…..salted brown butter. Yum.
And he is adorable.
GAAAH that baby is CUTE! :-D Oh, and thank you for posting these and saving my Monday.
I’m SO there! I’ll make these this weekend – can’t wait!
I love to see how Jacob’s features are developing.He looks so much like Alex here. I like the stringyness(is it a word?) the crispy bars have.. Our local version of rice crisy bars are made with jaggery. I loved them as a kid. I think I need to go pack the next time I set out.
~drool~
lovin the baby shot!
I thought I was over Rick Krispy treats and that there was not another dessert application for brown butter and salt I would want to try, and then you went and posted this.
Ok, I have to admit I’ve never made the original Rice Krispie Treats, but can I skip them and go right to this? They sound soooo good.
Sorry if I keep repeating myself every time you post a picture of Jacob, but he is just too sweet for words- edible, simply edible!
Oh, I can’t wait to try these out! Thanks Deb. And, the monkey is adorable. What a sweetheart.
Wow this looks incredible, and the extra time looks totally worth it. I tried recently to make salt caramel macarons but failed. Maybe this is an easier first “salt caramel” type project! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, Rice Crispy Treats are one of my favorites. These look delicious!
Oh he is just so cute! I think he looks a lot like Alex here.
These sound sooooooo yummy. I’ve always loved Rice Krispie treats but been afraid to make them – the melting of the marshmallows… freaky. But this recipe might just help me conquer that fear.
Rice Krispie treats were definitely not what I was expecting when I saw the name of this post on Twitter but I was pleasantly surprised.
What a cute little monkey! Your treats look good too:)
Ahhh I just LOVE Rice Crispie Squares! I am going to have to try these!
That is an adorable Monkey you have there.
I adore quick and easy treats. Your little monkey is so cute!
Hmm, I’m definitely intrigued. I seem to always manage to ruin box-recipe RKTs no matter what I do–I can never figure out how to make them anything softer than rock-solid at room temperature. I was always told it was an excess of butter that makes them seize up, so I’m fascinated by the suggestion that loads of butter can keep them gooey. What’s the secret??
Allie — They get hard not from too much or too little butter but because the marshmallows have accidentally gotten “cooked”. They should only be warmed until they melt. Anything more and they lose their gooeyness.
Michael — I haven’t, but please let us know if you do with this recipe and how it goes!
Yum yum! You really love your browned butter, don’t you? I remember the post you did last year about the brown butter brown sugar cookies (which I just went hunting for and I may have to finally make sometime this week). These sound pretty yummy. How salty do they taste? Are they still plenty sweet?
Is there a substitute for marshmallows in this dish? My boyfriend and I don’t eat gelatin, so the marshmallows are a no-go in our kitchen. I miss Rice Crispie treats so much though.
Do you eat eggs? You can make your own marshmallow cream with egg whites, powdered sugar, corn syrup, and salt.
Trader Joe’s marshmallows are totally vegan!
If you don’t have a TJs, maybe a local health food store might have vegan marshmallows? They are a little pricier than the conventional ones, but they totally work in rice crispy treats!
You can eat gelatin free organic vegan marshmallows. Whole Foods market sells them often, and I find them also at a local small market and you can ask them to carry them . I’ll try to find the exact product to request that the store starts supplying! They are called “Dandies “ vegan marshmallows : Thrive market, Amazon, sprouts , good eggs, instacart -all can supply these
I can’t wait to try these! I’ve never followed a recipe for rice krispie treats before, but I’ll definitely brown the butter and throw in some salt the next time I make some. :)
btw, I usually press the mixture into the pan with damp hands. I just run my hands under the tap for a second and go to it. I suppose you could also butter your hands, but I find just a bit of water works great. :)
I too use the wet hand method!!!
I made these once for a friend’s birthday and they were a huge it! I’d like to make them again, but would only be able to three days before the birthday. Think I can store them well enough?
Mmmmmmmm. That’s all I have to say.
Might have to try these. Have you tried toasting the rice crispies as well?
Is anyone else as irked by Rice Krispie Treat commercials as I am? Yes, it’s all lovely that the mother is making them with her kids, but seriously these things take no time to make. You think you’re getting all involved in some kitchen project that’ll waste away the afternoon, and ten minutes into the project, you’re done. I suppose the implied intention is that you sit down and share them with the kiddos, but clearly I lack the sharing skillz for this. These, I am afraid, would be no different. (But will take up five more minutes of my afternoon with the small one!)
Mmm…brown butter always makes everything taste better. I think I’ll double this recipe and make it for my office.
I love rice krispie bars. Double the butter? That makes anything better. Now if only I had your restraint when it came to Halloween candy.
Yes! I’ve been waiting for you to have a baby so I could see what Delicious yet simple recipes you would post! I’m going to whip these up during naptime…yum!
I bet these would be really good dipped in chocolate too! Can’t wait to try them.
What a yummy looking monkey! Umm, I mean yummy rice crispy treats…
your little baby monkey is just too much….. oh & the rice cripie’s look good too….
I love the cake plate! Just what I have been looking for, clean, simple and white. May I ask where you got it?
Geez! These look delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Nathalie — Martha Stewart at Macys.
Meleyna — Yes, totally annoying. It’s like 5 minutes of “cooking” — why is the bar set so low? Make bread instead! Four ingredients and might actually kill an afternoon with a science-y cooking project.
LOVE Rice Krispie treats. I’ve made a big pan up before and wrapped them individually and stashed them in the freezer. They thaw perfectly at room temperature in a fairly short amount of time. And your little monkey is just all together cuteness.
The treats look great but that look monkey looks utterly delicious!
Allie and Deb, I intentionally cook my marshmallows to get rid of the gooeyness and make the Rice Krispie Treats useful for polishing one’s teeth! The harder the better. The ready made ones are too soft – that’s why I rarely buy them. Well, unless the craving strikes when I’m away from home!
Awesome. These look awesome. I think I tried something similar after your caramelized styrofoam krispy debacle, but these look better.
Genius!
Those look delicious. And I’m incredibly jealous of your adorable child, who will one day be able to eat all of these delicious goodies that you prepare!
Ah! I feel like this was written for me! Last night I was totally craving rice krispy treats!
Love the monkey outfit! Also saw the pumpkin hat pictures on your photostream, ADORABLE! Ah yes, and the rice crispy treats also look great. :)
I squealed when I saw the little one in the monkey outfit!! soo cute!!
Yum, i love rice crispy treats, lovely twist!
Cutest monkey ever! Hehe Adorable!
Those crispie treats look terribly good but so terribly sinful.
CUTE monkey!! What was this post about? Oh yeah, Krispies. After making your Chocolate Toffee Cookies, with salt on top, I’m a believer of salty on my sweets. These would be great with some chocolate melted over the top and then sprinkled with salt. Oh dear, still trying to work off the Halloween candy.
No. Way. I was JUST thinking about trying to add browned butter to Rice Krispie treats the other day, after discovering the wonder of browned-butter frosting. Great minds think alike!
mmmm these sound so delicious!! and perfect for halloween, since doubling the amount of butter is certainly a bit scary ;)
i also didn’t go for the sexy-anything halloween, i gorged myself at the chocolate show and felt monumentally delighted followed by nauseated at the sight/smell/taste of chocolate that same evening… have you gone to the chocolate show before? it was my first time and obviously i love it!!
I know 2 little girls who would love these. I would add a layer of dulce de leche, top it with melted chocolate.Let that set and then finish it off with sea salt flakes………….. heaven
the picture, showing the gooey-ness, is *killing* me! must have now! and also, SALTY! work, please go away … I must go home and bake.
Holy crap. I need these now.
OK, in by office building is a small cafeteria. Everything is fried or smothered in oil (not butter, not even margarine) but oil, or overcooked or bland and lifeless or a comibination of the above. They even screw up Rice Krispie bars but I eat them anyway cuz, well it’s a Rice Krispie bar. This recipe may save me.
That monkey looks like the sweeter treat!
I used to come for the fantastic recipes, but now even the gooey-ist, sweetest rice krispie treats can’t compete with the photos of your little one! And in a monkey suit — you’re killing me! Congrats again!
Such a good idea – they are on my todo list. I just adore the mix of sweet and salty…have been obsessed since my friend brought me a milk chocolate and caramelised almonds with sea salt bar from France…solid choco heaven! Your little monkey is adorable! We didn’t dress our 3 month old up this year – but he is gonna be a monkey next year for sure! Thanks for the recipe!
Chris, I don’t know if it would work in this recipe, but at my grocery store (in the organic section) there is a product called Ricemellow Creme. It is supposed to be like marshmallow fluff, but gluten free and vegan (no gelatin). It’s the only thing I can think of that would substitute for marshmallows.
Jacob is a super cutie!
Yum! I have some marshmallows I need to use so I will be making these soon!
For Chris (#37)… you could check for Kosher marshmallows that come out around Passover. I believe they are made with carageenan instead of gelatin. My vegan friends stock up when they can find them (which is usually only in the spring…)
I read this post, and marched directly to my kitchen and made them. The simple twist of browned butter & added salt is GENIUS and completely transforms
this classic cookie. Is there anything brown butter can’t do?
Deb, you rock!
Oh, the sea salt. I like that twist. I like it a lot.
Take it up with the monkey! I’m laughing so hard, my coworkers are going to think there’s something wrong with me!
But he is a very cute monkey!
YUM.
oh boy, he is one cute kid!!!! adorable costume! :)
“Take it up with the monkey” is going to be my favorite phrase of the week! My son was a pumpkin on his first Halloween. I miss those adorable costume days – everything’s black and gruesome now!
This is a keeper for your “gluten free” recipe list Deb (using gf crispy rice cereal).
That is the cutest little monkey I’ve seen :)
Your rice krispy treats look delicious too! What a nice twist on a classic favorite.
While I had planned to make these as soon as I saw the recipe, the monkey costume did me in. Oh my goodness that is too cute for words. Sidenote I am doing an essay for my English class for culinary school on food blogs and yours is my favorite and will be featured as the best :) That is my suck up comment for the day and my run on sentence for the day.
I am going to make these with my little monkey today. And I’m thinking about the whole chocolate-dipped idea. Mmmm.
I didn’t know you went to my college Deb! I made my first batch of challah right here in a GW dorm because of you!
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2009/11/02/Life/Out-Of.Gw.And.Into.The.Blogging.World-3819845.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition
The last time I made RKT, I tried making my own marshmallows by boiling mallow root in water and adding sugar (OK – I was inspired by a friend to try out this zany idea). The results were among my top 5 worst baking disasters ever (read: inedible). You’ve now given me inspiration to redeem myself. Thanks.
Wow, those really DO sound so much better! And I cannot believe how much Jacob looks like you!
Quick and uncomplicated, dipping these in chocolate would be fun.
This reminds me of one of the greatest travesties of all and that is making Rice Crispy treats by melting the marshmallow mixture in the microwave. (Can you say, “Rubber?”) This is only second to buying the pre-made ones in the little blue bags. (I mean, how hard are these to make, really?) Anyway, someone gave me one last week that was clearly made using the aforementioned method and I couldn’t even finish it. It almost made me cry.
Your version looks truly delectable, however, and is screaming to be made!
Yesh, who needs candy when you’ve got these lying around? Confession time? I Lick the bowl and the spoon…all the time… :) And the monkey is so cute, that yes, I would like to take something up with him, and it although it would prob. be along the lines of mashed bananas from a jar, it would be well worth it to spend a few min. with the cutie pie!
The crispy treats look incredible! And thank you for the history too, I didn’t know about Mildred Day or the Camp Fire Girls, but the feelgood factor makes the treats even tastier.
Wow this look so tempting!
Hi Deb! I just made these, and they were just the thing to pull me out of the fall doldrums I’ve had today. Thanks so much!
Nice article about you, Deb, in the GW Hatchet..thanks Liz#82!
I came here to find a shiny chocolate glaze recipe and got side tracked by the words”…Brown Butter..” You got me started with the browned butter in those shortbread cookies and the BB Raspberry tart. We just finished up a pound cake that I used it in, too! The stuff adds an amazing level of flavor. And now Krispie Treats? I guess some things do transition nicely into adulthood!
You’ll see, Monkey!
What at nice twist for such a treat.
The baby look soo cute! awwwww.
that costume is too cute! he’s so lucky to have a mom like you…cooking up all these delicious treats.
Hell YEAH!
Can’t wait to try them. You’re killing me with the Jacob pictures. Could he be any cuter?
these look delicious…as does the monkey!! re vegetarian marshmallows: just be careful with the kosher variety – many still contain kosher gelatin (animal derived) or fish gelatin. i’ve seen sweet & sara marshmallows at whole foods, those are totally vegan…i’ve never tried them out but it’s worth a shot!
Mmmm. Yes. Come to me, tasty treats.
Oh, he is just too adorable!!! Those treats look delicious, and are bringing back so many childhood memories.
The idea of reinventing the Rice Krispie Treat makes me wonder what a splash of liquor would do to the butter mixture, like maybe a brandy… Not quite for the kids though, and certainly not for a monkey.
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them!
I love browned butter on pasta, and grew up eating it browned with sage on white rice. But brown butter and salt in a Rice Crispy treat brings together two of my childhood favorites that my mother would have never thought of combining. Thank you!
squeeeeeeeeee!!!! *thump* dead. dead from the cuteness…
The baby, costume and crispy treats look YUMMY!
I’m usually not a fan of rice crispy treats as I don’t like marshmallows but these sound like they are worth a shot. I do love me some browned butter. I’ll just have to resist my standard urge to put globs of peanut butter and peanut butter m&ms in. I wonder if some salted peanuts would overpower the browned butter or enhance the nutty flavor (obviously the salt added would be decreased or non-existent).
The baby is cuter than a puppy! Seriously, very very cute!
The treats look divine – everything is better with browned butter!
Oh, you are killing me here. I love Rice Krispies treats, and with these tweaks, I’m gone. I may not eat anything but these all month.
just perfect, something classic but with just that special something to push it over the edge, exactly what i always love. I must say that these beauties will be making their way to my homecoming barbeque this saturday, along with your blondie recipe studded with leftover halloween candy!
Such a beautiful little dumpling boy. And a yummy twist on Rice Krispie treats. But I like dumplings better. :) ‘Specially that one.
I would give this recipe a try for sure! Thanks Deb!
What a cutie little monkey ;) He is growing so fast!
Wow those look amazing! I’m going to try them this week for sure. Your little monkey is adorable too:)
There are only two words for this: SHUT. UP.
Oh, and the monkey is too stinkin’ cute.
i love marshmallow rice crispy treats! these look gooey and perfect. that third photo had me drooling. i’m curious about the taste with the sea salt. i guess it’s like salted caramels vs regular caramels? or chocolate soufflé sprinkled with sea salt? i cannot wait to try this, especially since i am now off the cleansing fast.
your baby is the cutest monkey this halloween for sure.
Adorable picture. gotta love those cheeks!
Wouldn’t it be great to serve these at a fancy pants dinner party? Everything frou-frou throughout the meal and then RCTs for dessert. I love that little twist.
Also, for those who make your own marshmallows, you can make them up, no need to let them set-up, and use them for RCTs
Stephanie — Actually, I did one worse this summer. At Alex’s Maine Birthday Party, I made (oh god I can’t believe I’m admitting this, and yet it’s kind of awesome) both Cocoa Pebbles and Fruit Loops Treats. Kind of as a joke, kind of because my husband really loved them back in the day. They disappeared before the lobster rolls.
Oh my goodness, the monkey costume is adorable! Or I should say, Jacob is adorable in it! He looks like such a happy baby!
I have a whole bunch of Rice Krispies left over from another recipe. Thanks for stepping up the original classic! Fruit Loops Treats???? Almost too good to be true.
I had a thoroughly unsatisfying RKT from my local coffee shop last night and felt so cheated. I came right home today and made these – they were great. I pushed the butter a little browner than it sounds like you were going, but otherwise didn’t change anything. Yum!
Oh…Jacob is the most adorable monkey EVER! Too cute! :-)
P.S. The Rice Krispies look good, too! Thanks for taking the time to post during your busy “new mom” days, Deb! I don’t know how you do it!
I think you could stop cooking all together and just post pictures of your son and still have a great site. He is oh my gosh one of the most beautiful babies I’ve ever seen!
Great googly-moogly–you are simply my FAVORITE. And your cutie is absolutely adorable. Thanks for MANY hours of dissertation procrastination. I am deeply appreciative of the beautiful work. Keep it going!
Made ’em. YUM!
Double the butter? I’ve always used a whole stick of butter in my Rice Krispy Treats. None of this reduced-fat stuff for me. I’ll have to try your recipe the next time I make them!
Forget the Rice Krispy Treats–if that baby gets any cuter I won’t be able to stand it!
Two treats in one post! A great Rice Krispies recipe and the cutest pic of your baby. Thanks for both!
I just want you to know . . . the monkey outfit is just as adorable at age 2. My manager dressed his son in one for this Halloween, complete with a banana in the back pocket, and it was outrageously cute. Though his son did look direly unhappy in all of the photos . . .
This I will definitely have to try asap! Deb, can you adopt me, my husband, and my 1 yr old daughter? You are just Amazing! I could barely cook anything descent when my daughter was born for like 2mo let alone whipping up any dessert!
Deb, that is too good about the various cereal treats. I firmly believe dessert should be fun. Another fun thing I like to do is serve pudding in Mason jars. The short 4oz ones used for jam are great. I tuck these in my lunch sometimes, and they would be fun at a picnic. I’ve used them to bake apple crisps too. Good when you don’t have enough ramkins to go around and so cute. (If anyone is not sure what I’m talking about they can look at the photos from my Chili Mocha Chocolate Pudding.)
Deb, I just made these – my very first very own Smitten Kitchen recipe! I was so inspired by this post that I bought the two required ingredients on my way home from class, managed to quell the roommate’s attempt at Marshmallow theft and made these up! And they are SO good. At least the still hot gooey mess I licked from the spatula was.
You described the butter stages perfectly, although right now I think mine look just a bit browner than yours – I did use salted butter, who knows if that could have contributed, I know they’ll taste awesome
Oh and Jacob is the cutest little monkey EVER!
YUM… So I always put sea salt on top of my own squares when we make RKTs (I’m loving that abbreviation, is that silly?). My hubby looks at me like I’m a bit nuts. Many thanks for proving that either I’m not nuts, or at least I’m not the only one :)
I’m hooked on gluten-free food blogs as well as yours (I’m wheat free, not gluten free, so I get to try all your recipes with spelt flour!), and saw a lot of recommendations for making Rice Chex treats after they went gluten free. Gotta say, amazing difference! The airiness of the Chex keeps them crunchy for days. They work better pulled into globs after they cool instead of cutting them into squares, though. SO GOOD. I think I made them with less butter than the recipes call for, so I’m thinking 3 oz may work for yours with rice chex….
and OH that Monkey!!! He’s adorable.
Those look absolutely amazing. I hate the crappy dry ones and those look extra gooey and perfect.
holy crap. I wish my uterus would stop screaming “get that baby now!” also, regular ole rice crispy treats are good by me, so I can only imagine how amazing the brown butter version is….
The crispy treats look divine, and your son gets cuter with every picture you post! (So that just means I can’t wait to see more pictures!)
Oh, what a cute little monkey!
rice crispy squares are my downfall… I can easily down a whole panful in an afternoon. Must. resist. temptation!
The first reason I show up on this blogsite is to see your little monkey! The second reason I show up are for your amazing recipes! I love Rice Crispy Squares – am intrigued by your “adult” version!
I don’t know how you can stand all of that cuteness!!!
Can’t wait to try the krispy treats!
Jen in OK
This looks delicious.The process of melting the butter,till golden brown sounds very similar to making ghee.My mother used to make it often,however she would strain the brown pieces.Did you add it to the recipe? I hear it makes things taste bitter..
Amy — No, it makes things taste better. Ghee is a whole other ball game (perhaps one where the Yankees are winning, sigh); it is cooked to remove the impurities (and water) so the butter can be used to cook at higher temperatures, also, so it can keep for weeks/months. Brown butter isn’t stable like that, but it is crazy delicious.
DAMN.
These are so good swearing is actually required. Can I say it again? So Damn Good.
I don’t even like rice krispies, but I have a third grader for a husband who looooooves them like peanut butter loves jelly. I made these and we are both licking our fingers. (And maybe the pan…)
Thank you Deb, you made my week! <3
salty and sweet is my kryptonite. dang.
I’m with Kathryn (#123): in our house, a stick of butter always has been the proper amount for a perfect RKT. I usually make mine in a 9×13 pan, however, so the sticky treats are thinner but quite delicious. Not as delicious as your little Monkey-Boy, of course…he’s too sweet for words! Thanks for reinventing one of my favorite childhood classics.
I had no idea the rice krispie treat could be perfected and taken to a level unknown. They are now worthy of Monkey-baby.
I trotted off to the shop across the street to buy Rice Bubbles & marshmallows the second I read this and had a batch cooling in their pan before I even ate breakfast! They are to die for! I had never browned butter before this and I think I wimped out a bit early because I was scared to burn it, but they were still awesome and had a slight nutty flavour. I wrapped up a few in wax paper to pop into my boyfriend’s lunchbox as a surprise treat, but the unwrapped squares are disappearing quickly!
Oh. . .my heart melts! Jacob is the cutest little monkey ever. Soo much better than rice crispy treats. I made a similar recipe only added a little bit of brown sugar with the browned butter to make a rich caramel flavor.
I simply can’t get enough of brown butter lately and, by the look of this recipe, I will be continuing to cook with it. What a great way to make regular rice krispie treats even better! Your little one looks adorable – what a sweet smile!
You’re a genius! Can I just say that? These sound perfect. And that is one cute monkey!
I made ’em too. YUM!
What a precious little monkey!
gosh jacob is ever so cute!
This recipe is like the rice krispy treat equivalent of refrigerating your cookie dough for a day before baking it. They are rice krispy treats, just like always, only somehow the brown butter and salt makes them into THE BEST RICE KRISPY TREATS EVER. So gooey! So salty-sweet! So amazing! I thought I might take them to work tomorrow to share, but I am no longer certain that they will last that long.
What an adorable little monkey!!! :o)
I love the brown butter salt thing going on here. I will be very tempted to make this recipe instead of the regular RKT one next time!
Reading these comments made me remember back about 20 years ago. Needing to make something for a family gathering, I decided on TREATS. And oh joy! I found rainbow-colored mini marshmallows!! I thought how CUTE my RKTs would be, all rainbowy and yummy. Yeah. If anyone is wondering what a melted rainbow looks like…try GRAY. They were edible, but only if you ate with your eyes closed.
Rene – I was wondering how using coloured marshmallows would turn out! In Australia they only sell packets with white AND pink marshmallows so I had to buy two packets so that I would have enough white ones. Now that my RKTs are all gone (what?! already?!) I’ve been contemplating using my leftover pink marshmallows to make another batch. I’m hoping that this will result in pretty pink treats – not grey ones!
Hello, it is nine years after your comment and I just made these in Australia and had to combine the pink and white marshmallows for the above reason and only just realised that the pink are raspberry flavoured? It seems… not good.
Sigh.
what a cute little monkey!
Oh gosh: deliciousness and cuteness abounds!
Omg cutest monkey I have every seen!!!…..and the treats look good too!
I love Jacob’s costume. Adorable. I think you could totally play out that costume for a while…say, at least once a week, through January?
And I’m a sucker for rice krispie treats. Drool…
He is too stinkin’ cute!!! Oh how I miss those days!!! The rkt’s look good too, but, hands down, the monkey steals the show!!!
I love your blog. I am always amazed that I’m sitting here reading a recipe and laughing out loud. I must confess i’ve never been a fan of these treats but I’m sure yours is far better than any others!! And I would love to take it up with the monkey. And what a precious monkey he is. Smooochhhhie smoooochhh!
V
YUMMY…and the rice crispy squares look good too!
I have been so in the mood for rice crispy squares and am so glad you posted this recipe. I even ventured out to the gluten free rice cereal because I can’t have gluten and it was still delicous. Sometimes gluten free items taste like the box they came in, but I suppose if you add marshmallows and browned butter anything would be good!
Looks awesome! I loved these as a kid and this looks like the perfect grown up variation!
I have been thinking about making rice krispy treats – I love the adult twist – we have so much left over candy because there were so few trick or treater’s that I may wait before I make something sweet. But then again it is my birthday this Sunday. So maybe sooner than later – thanks Deb. Precious monkey!!!!!
I made these last night and they’re fantastic. Another amazing recipe brilliantly executed here – love it.
I’ve taken the peanut butter and chocolate crispies to a couple parties and they’re always a HUGE hit. I love sweet and salty and definitely need to try these out.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I have been obsessing over the caramelized brown butter RKTs since I stumbled across the post about a week ago. I was determined to attempt to make that recipe work because really, can you go wrong with brown butter AND gooey RKTs? I think I have to go to the grocery store tonight…
Rice Krispie treats are one of life’s great simple pleasures. Ogling the cutest ever baby pictures rates right up there, too. I must confess…Every day I look forward to a new recipe entry as much as I look for the the photos of the most darling baby boy ever!
I want to try these! I am curious if they can possibly improve on my family’s time-tested Rice Krispie Treat recipe, which is this: Follow the instructions on the Rice Krispie box, throwing in a heaping spoonful (I’m guessing 1/3 cup) of peanut butter and slightly decreasing the cereal.
This makes for a treat that is moister, saltier, and with more depth of flavor – similar, I suspect, to what the brown butter does. We may need to do a side-by-side taste test! Oh no!
I gather you wont be joining the NaBloPloMo this year?
OMG those cheeks! Gaah..
Oh dear. Every picture you post of him is adorable, but no lie– this one actually made me gasp. Gasp!
These sound so good!
Too bad hubs loves my peanut butter rice krispies recipe and would throw a fit at the mere *mention* of anything else. ;)
I hate to tell you, but I pretty much ignore the food now just to find a picture of that delicious little baby of yours. Thankfully, you never disappoint.
Oooo, delicious! It seems every guy LOVES rice krispie treats, so I’m happy to add another variation to my arsenal. Thanks Deb! You have a super cute monkey! That just doesn’t sound right.
Finally! A brown butter recipe where you can actually taste the brown butter! These were delicious, a huge hit with friends, and have finally converted me into a lover of rice krispy treats.
YUM! Rice Krispy Treats are one of my all-time favorites. I’ve actually been doing them with brown butter for years now… and always more butter than the standard recipe asks for, of course. I’m usually quite a purist when it comes to my krispie treats – no chocolate chips, no peanut butter… all those flavors cover up the delicate flavor of the treat itself. My one sanctified addition, however, is so good that I can’t make ‘treats without it now: toffee bits. You know the ones, you find ’em next to the chocolate chips in the grocery store. It’s the innards of a Skor or Heath bar, in chopped form without the chocolate coating. Add a bunch of those to the mix and I swear you’ll never go back. It’s insanely nummy, and will have everyone breaking down your door for the recipe.
Awww…so cute!! And what a delicious twist on the Rice Krispie treat. These look amazing.
Oh yum, another must try. Doubly disasterous as in this part of the world we only get marshmallows in white and pink combo packs, so I have to buy 2 to not end up with an icky colour treat and have a packet worth of pink marshmallows leftover…Jacob looks monkeylicious.
Oh boy .. rice crispy treats .. my major weakness!! Thank you for your amazing recipes and sharing your cute little guy with us. He is looking soooooooo good !!! Knock on wood!!!
Here’s the version that my family loves. Melt 1 cube butter with 1 bag marshmellows. When melted, add 1 tsp vanila and 1 tsp almond flavoring. Instead of Rice Crispies, use corn flakes. I just keep adding until all are coated well. Try this…it always disappears before any adult dessert.
By the way, if you make the above recipeand tint it green, you can form little green wreaths. Stick several red hots around the circle. Great Christmas cookies that are easy and pretty.
looks delish. and so easy!
and look at that costume. I think you should leave it on all year :)
I didn’t think rice crispy treats could get even better! Looking forward to trying a new version! Love to the monkey, he’s just too cute!
Jacob Henry has to be just about the most beautiful baby I have ever seen! He has such a gorgeous little smile. Just precious!
I love love love the monkey costume!! Too cute for words!! And this looks like a totally delicious treat!!
Oh! Monkey!
Only your little man could distract me from brown butter.
quick! brown butter that baby boy so I can eat him!
I just want you to know that Smitten Kitchen has become my go-to site for recipes. If I want to make a cake, I see what Deb did. An excess of squash? What did Deb do with hers? I have not come across a recipe on your site that has failed me (note: I don’t make the ones that have failed YOU). Now you’re amazing me by reminding me that I should even look up things as simple as RKTs just to see what Deb did! Please keep up the great work. I just wowed the family with a Hostess Cupcake cake this weekend, all thanks to you. (I had never made 7 minute frosting before, and I think I’m in love now)
Also, your monkey is the cutest I’ve seen.
Good heavens! You’ve actually deconstructed rice crispy treats. What fun! And then put them back together even better than ever!
(Adorable little happy face in the monkey costume- Jacob is getting so grown up)
Ho-lee crap, those looks astonishing! I have to try them, I just have to. Heh, that’s a great picture of the kiddo too.
I’m not sure if someone else mentioned it yet, but I always just get my hands a bit damp to pressing out crispy treats (or anything involving marshmallows, to be exact.) Works like a charm!
hi deb… this is a really random question, but i was reading how to contact you and it was said its best to just do it in the comments section… anyways the maple cream nutmeg pie… could you use molasses? probably sounds odd to you because you are from NY but i thought it could be neat and I keep seeing molasses in tons of recipes lately.. thanks!
kit — I haven’t tried it, but if you leave the comment there, not here, you’re more likely to find someone who has.
Oh my. I love it. I do something very similar, but all my babies are getting big now (yes, 15 months old is BIG), and they don’t look nearly as cute in a monkey suit. For pressing, I’m big on getting my hands greasy and pressing it out. I’m one of those people that picks cookie dough recipes because they need to be hand mixed and such.
I love your recipes…but right now, i think your baby is the star of the blog. He looks so cute!
Oooh I just made these, oooh wow! Who would have thought a little salt and browned butter could change this classic so much more for the better! Thank You.
I can’t read all the thousands of comments, but I but 3/4 or more are saying “What a cute baby!” I just want to add my two-bits worth, and say, maybe you could just skip the rice crispy treats and post pics of that so cute baby! Actually, the crispies sound great, too.
Hooray for doubling the butter! These sound amazing and do-able right away..
WOW. I have been craving treats for a long time now, so on the way home I got the ingredients. These are by far the best I’ve ever had. Thanks for the recipe!!
Love, love, love Rice Krispy treats! My favourite variation of them, is to use Honey Nut Cheerios instead of the Rice Krispys…so yummy!
Ummmm… wow. Yes, please. And yum. Totally bookmarking this one.
I am eating these right now (right now! My keyboard and mouse are getting sticky and buttery) and it is fair to say that I am in love. The addition of a bit of salt is genius. Mmmmmm.
Oregonjudy, my neighbor used to make those every christmas and I recently bought a box of corn flakes to do the same! I’m just not sure if I should use the same amount of corn flakes as krispies due to the difference in surface area. Oh, well…I’ll just have to eat any mistakes!
And Deb, I can’t wait to try your version. Love the monkey-boy pic!
Delicious! Might have cured my husbands cold. I told him I made them for him, but secretly made them for myself… A grown-up kick to the best simple dessert ever…next to the chocolate chip cookie
Made these tonight and wow, just wow. They are divine! Plus, I browned butter successfully on my first try! I didn’t even need to use all of my butter in an attempt to get it right! :) Thanks for sharing another yummy recipe!
I was so intrigued by this recipe that I ran out and bought all the ingredients during my lunch break at work. I just finished making them and they are AMAZING!!!!! Buttery, nutty and just downright delicious. Thank you for posting this recipe.
just wanted you to know i made the butternut and acorn squash soup the other night and loved it. i roasted the squash in the oven as you suggested to avoid chopping. but one great tip i learned from my squash-loving friend: microwave squash such as these first for 3 minutes and they are much, much easier to slice. trust me and give it a try next time. oh, and your baby is ADORABLE.
Hot Damn these were good! While I was dumping the butter in the pot, I was reading the part about how you use a piece of waxed paper to press the treats into the pan… I still had the butter wrapper in my hand, and realized I could use that instead. No need to cut out waxed paper, and it comes pre-greased! Although it doesn’t hurt to add a little extra oil to the wrapper just in case. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Dude. I can’t wait to make these. May go out and buy rice crispies tonight. Kimberly, I love your idea about using the butter wrapper instead of waxed paper…brilliant! Many thanks for including the picture of the monkey…my heart needed that. ;)
Deb, your subject of rice krispy squares brought back memories of many years ago when mothers would make these wrap them in waxed paper and hand them out as treats for the kids on Halloween. My how times have changed. Also they made popcorn balls made on the same order with brown sugar, nuts, margarine etc. we had more treats homemade back then than from the candy companies. Children were able to go into their neighbor’s home to collect their loot without any worries. I recall looking around and inhaling what they just had for dinner before we ventured out to collect our loot. My parents came from the mid west USA so we did not eat greens like our neighbors cooked in Virginia. So when I entered the southern cook’s homes would often get a whiff of strong greens cooking. Halloween was so much fun thanks for the memories that your recipe triggered. Again enjoyed sweet Jacob, he looks like everything is agreeing with him. So happy to see him again.
Delicious treats!
Holy crap he’s gorgeous!
I made these last night and they are delicious! Amazing how just a few tweaks totally changes things…..these will definitely be made often!
So, this is what your thinking about…..when your up in the middle of the night with that monkey!!
I’m new to your site and LOVE it! Just showed the photo of your baby to my nine-year-old daughter and then we read the recipe and she wants to make these. She asked, “If we print out the recipe, will we get that picture of the baby, too?!” :-)
Sweet, salty, crunchy, gooey. Could these BE any more perfect? Oh yeah, and buttery! Delish!
And the babeh couldn’t be any more adorable. BOOP! *Beeps button nose.
Thank you. I will take it up with the monkey. But first, I will once again die from cuteness.
Made these last night and am having to refrain myself from eating the entire pan. YUM!
Careful, that adorable baby boy is going to steal the spotlight from your food! :)
Looking forward to trying these treats; quick and simple is what I need these days!
~K
Oh, yeah! This recipe is the Perfect base for those peanut butter crispy bars. Half the recipe in a loaf pan to eat as crispy treats, the other half in the 8X8 for the PB Crispies. A two-fer!
Will be making these for afterschool snack today…My Nanny only made mashed potatos with “Burnt Butter” as she called it, and never any gravy. yum.
You are a genius! This is one of those ideas that is so obvious and wonderfully simple that no one thinks of it and then when someone finally does you sit there smacking your forehead saying, “Now why didn’t I think of that?!?”
Okay, I made these last night. Even with the couple of comments below…these are awesome. Of course, I’ve never met a krispie treat I didn’t love. And half the pan is gone already…
First, as an fyi, it’s really hard to tell when the butter is perfectly browned when using a dark pan. Given that, I think I erred on the cautious side and did not get the full nutty flavor.
Second, I’m not sure I was able to get the salt evenly distributed. Man oh man, I was mixing and mixing and sprinkled in intervals. Any advice?
Thanks for the recipe. It does make for a bit more sophisticated treat!
Browned butter is a discovery I wish I’d made years ago!!! It is so amazing and since I have been to the store to replenish my butter supply I will be making these this afternoon. I just want to know though, if I can borrow your baby…mine I have suddenly discovered is turning one NEXT WEEK and I don’t know how it happened….I want my little baby back..or yours:) he’s adorable!
YUMMMM. I crave Rice Krispies treats at least once a week. I’m definitely going to make these, and soon!
Your baby monkey is the cutest. What a dollface!!
They are yummy! We give these babies thumbs way up.
Have you really gone and made rice krispy treats better than they already were by adding salt and browned butter? Really?! You’re killing me; they just sound so good.
180 comments about rice krispy treats and a monkey-baby. You must be doing something right. Bravo.
I just made these and they’re brilliant – and the perfect amount of prep time because I have my own little monkey born just two weeks before yours. These are supposed to be for my new mums coffee group on Friday but I’m pretty sure, okay completely sure, they’re not going to last that long!
I have never been a fan of rice krispie treats, sorry to say. However, I AM a fan of really cute babies. Your baby Jacob is a totally handsome guy! My granddaughter will be born in early Feb. and we just can’t wait. That’s the best treat in the world to me.
Ok…I was recently playing/discovering a new website that quantifies blog followers and randomly typed in smitten kitchen to see your calculated follower demographics. As I suspected, myself a single and without offspring gal, many of your admirers are childless. Irresponsible and unfettered time abounds with which to tackle adventurous recipes. Obviously, I’ve been concerned about the monkey/space/time factor for the future of smitten kitchen, but alas, you’re amazingly productive! Additionally, it seems that the number of comments (especially about Jacob the Cutest Monkey) has increased since irresistable shots of baby cheeks and tiny sweaters have appeared. Just an observation. Can’t wait to try the crispy treats. I just made your adaptation of Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake. I shared with family, coworkers and a birthday girl – everyone loved it. Delish! I plan to whip it up again for Thanksgiving.
Deb, I just made these. They are AMAZING! Love them so much……almost as I love seeing pictures of your little monkey. Oh my, he’s precious!!
ahhh, my roommate and i have been obsessed with making rice krispie treats this fall. they’re really good when you mix chocolate, peanut butter, toasted coconut, cinnamon etc into the melted marshmallow mixture. will definitely have to try this version when our current batch runs out.
You are killing me. And I was just getting the blood flowing through my arteries again after the jalapeno-cheddar scones. I am a rice krispy treat purist (put chocolate in *what*?!) so these sound right up my alley. Can’t be worse than the dozens I bought for trick-or-treaters only to have not a one show up.
I just made these and…they’re utterly DELISH!!!! I’m sending a batch to my hubby overseas! He and his buddies will love them! :)
I finished making these… unfortunately I won’t get to taste them until tomorrow because they are for a co-worker’s birthday. They smell amazing though!
In true Smitten Kitchen footsteps I have followed, as after fretting what to bring to a friend’s Halloween party this past weekend, I threw in the towel and picked UP a large box of the cereal. They are truly the quickest to make and quickest to be eaten treats! And I added a little orange food coloring–just to keep them up a notch. A sure hit.
Thanks for the vegan alternatives, Seanna Lea (#71) and Erika (#73) and Tali (#96)!
Long time reader, first timer writer and recipe tester. You are amazing, your recipes, writing and photography….I need to work on my brown butter, I got a little nervous and dumped the marshmallows in early. Still yummy and I will try and try again!
MONKAY!!!!
And Yum. Thanks.
He is so adorable.
I’m going to eat your kid. (Is that weird?) He is adorable, Deb.
I swear you are the ONLY person that could convince me to lose 10 minutes of my life making RKTs. For years, people told me about this super easy toffee made with crackers and no thermometer. Whatever, I thought as I cooked toffee for about an hour. Well, I will never doubt you again. I have never had one of your recipes flop. (One of my favs is brown butter brown sugar shorties.)
Ok, seriously, is there CRACK in this recipe? I followed your instructions verbatim and have eaten 90% of the pan… on my own! And the last 10% will likely be devoured before I go to bed. I can’t stop eating them.
Ok, not even looking at all 200 and something posts… who doesn’t love rice crispie treats and monkeys? My neice was a sock monkey for Halloween. May I also say that one of my friends made an Irish carbomb cake in honor of one of your posts for my b’day, and my mother has requested your chocolate peanut butter cake I’ve made before for her Thanksgiving b’day. The windy city is certainly smitten!
These look so good. I haven’t had these in years. Time to make some this weekend!
And such a cute baby. He looks so happy and warm here.
These are absolutely delicious. I’ve made a batch just now. I’m thinking of drizzling some dark chocolate over the top? But I’d hate to overpower the delicious salted brown butter flavor.
The picture of the baby is adorable. He is so precious.
I had to be a little innovative whilst shopping for these sticky little wonders. Apparently the Netherlands doesn’t have Rice Krispies or Rice Bubbles as I know them, but something similar with strawberry flakes throughout (which I decided to leave in, after crumbling). And I could only find pink and white marshies and unlike the above I only bought one packet.
The result: a lovely sugar-high-giving pink concoction with the occasional flake of strawberry, giving a glimpse of a sour, which works well with the salt as a contrast to the sweet.
Yum. We have made a fair dent in the bowl and it is only day two, however, I think next time he would prefer I used only white marshmallows :)
Made these yesterday, and they were a big hit. Delicious, and very easy to make. Thanks.
Love the monkey. One of the best things about babies is dressing them up. They look good in everything.
Haha Deb, my thoughts exactly. We make pizza dough..
Made these the other night and they are fantastic! The salt really adds something too.
I love those glass bowls! Could you share where they are from?
Yet again.. You ROCK! Yummy.. delish… I just made them and they are calling me from the kitchen. Gotta go! :)
These look to die for! All you need is a cup of mayfield whole milk on the side….MMMMmmmMMMmmMMMM! OMG, I’m hungry now…lol
finally:thank you for a different and TASTY adult ‘treat’… I see that your new little person is going to be like my 5 year old great grandson who comments on his mother’s (she is a chef), his granny’s and his great gram’s cooking, as in ‘nah, too much peanut butter in this and not enough chocolate…’ – what a precious kitchen helper – enjoy your holidays!!!
Still – I’m pretty sure the baby smells sweeter than the treats!
I just made mine and they’re cooling… torture!
I’ve never been a big Rice Krispy Treat fan, but that was before they became salty. I am salivating over the keyboard.
Jaime — The bowls are from Anchor Hocking and, bonus, they’re dirt cheap. They appear to be out of stock, but I am sure if you search around, someone will sell them. And I hope so — I’m ready for a second set!
My sister and I always used to love making rice krispie treats. Your pics are great! And your baby!! Oh my gosh! Sooo adorable!!!
I don’t think I’ll ever print out a rice crispy recipe except from your site. :)
I made these and my husband said they are the best rice crispy bars he has ever had and they have to be a staple in our home.
I would like to post it on my site and link it back to you. I hope that is ok.
Just thought you should know that I had to make this twice in one week because my husband and I were eating it for breakfast too. Oops :)
Thanks for a quick and fabulous idea! We are having our Christmas open house on Saturday at work and everyone has to bring a treat. Plus, we have company this weekend so I have been scrambling to get things in order. These treats are perfect considering how much time I don’t have and don’t miss a beat in the yummy department! Thanks again Deb. You saved my day!
I was thinking about how one could improve Rice Crispy Treats just yesterday (as I was nibbling on the last one from a Halloween batch)…so thanks! Now I know.
Great timing! Next week I plan to make a gift package for someone who dearly loves Rice Krispie Treats – and I have been looking for alternate recipes to include. These sound wonderful!
Wow, these and they were so good! I think the only thing I’d do differently is to add the salt before the cereal and just stir it around a bit to start to dissolve it. I used Maldon salt and sometimes I would get a rather large chunk of it.
Ahhh I just tried these and they are to die for! YUM. THANK YOU!!
So, I was just taking my last bite of a Rice Krispie Treat that I bought at a local coffee shop as I began to read this article. This recipe sounds good and simple, I think it’s time for me to try making some for myself!
de-vine. that is all.
Hmmm.. Double butter Rice Krispy Treats!! Just when you thought they couldn’t get any better! Yum!!
I think that’s the cutest monkey I’ve ever seen! I can see why streamlined recipes are a priority – more time with the monkey. I must make those rice krispie treats!
I made these last night and added 1/4 of toffee chips…AMAZING!!!!!
Sorry that should say 1/4 CUP of toffee chips… =)
I just made these for me and the husband. I didn’t tell him anything was different until after he tasted them and said, these are really good. I’m not sure I let the butter brown enough- the afternoon lighting was bad in the kitchen today and I wasn’t sure how brown to do it. I was very happily surprised to see the butter melt, then foam, then turn golden clear just like you stated… So once it got to golden clear, I got nervous about it burning and only did another minute probably.
Either way, they were REALLY tasty! Thanks!
Cute Monkey :)
I made these this morning for a baby shower this afternoon. They are subtly devine!
DO YOU NEED A BABYSITTER?! I WILL WORK FOR TREATS.
There’s only one problem with these, they are just TOO good! I could take or leave a regular RKT…these, I am hiding from myself until I can share…
…and ‘lil munk’ is as adorable as always!
I tried these this weekend. Yum. But maybe I didn’t brown the butter long enough – it smelled whatever smell I’m used to from making candy (“nutty”? possibly) and there were lots of little brown bits, but I couldn’t be sure through the foam that it was really brown in itself. It was less brilliantly yellow, anyway. Hard to tell in a black non-stick pan! Anyway, they were nice, and the salt was a nice touch, but sadly not a revelation taste-wise. I’ll have to try again when I’m somewhere the ingredients are cheaper and see how long I can play “chicken” with the butter ;) but I spent way too much on the ingredients here (China) – $5 each for the cereal, marshmallows, and salt, all imported – but I’ve been meaning to buy sea salt for a while so that was cool – and butter’s always expensive here no matter where it’s made. Such is life as a foreigner anywhere in the world, trying to get the taste of home. It was great to make these again, though! I made them with local ingredients a while ago and they just weren’t the same. This morning everyone ate them right up, and I certainly ate my fair share!
Just made these for football Sunday, and can’t wait for them to cool so we can try them. Could not have been easier, and I love anything with brown butter. Thanks, Deb!
Oh my god YUM. Mine weren’t half as pretty as yours, despite being pink (English marshmallows usually are), but they were certainly tasty! Super rich, and so much easier than I expected too.
Oh my Oh my!!! These were delicious just as promised. Every taste bud in my mouth perked up. I knew it was a hit when I caught my husband with a slice as big as his hand and halfway into his mouth. Thanks so much for your great recipes !
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Just made these with 2 friends and we’re all swooning. Yum!!
These were spectacular! Thanks!
These are the best rice crispie treats ever! That is also the best looking, cutest little man!
Made these last night and they were FABULOUS! They are almost gone, too.
so good like salted butter caramel, i just made them NOW and i am asking myself, “why did i wait so long?!” haha. thank you for this great and simple twist on a classic!
I made these over the weekend but started by frying up about 5 large sage leaves (torn into tiny bits) in 1/4 of the butter, letting it brown, then added the rest of the butter and followed the rest of the recipe as directed. AMAZING…sweet, savory and a mild sage/ brown-butter finish. Yum.
hi – thanks for reminding me about these. i made them this weekend and loved this new version. :)
I’ve been enjoying the Smitten Kitchen for over a year and have loved many recipes I discovered here. This version of Rice Krispies sounded so yummy that I made RK for the very first time – with a twist. I made them with Coco Krispies and added mini chips! Splendid!! Also – Thank you for the ‘Easiest Baked Macaroni and Cheese’ recipe. My mom’s mac and cheese was my favourite, but of course she never had written out the recipe. Since she died I’ve tried many recipes and always been disappointed. Your recipe, however, was just right – exactly as Mom made it! Thanks! And – the little one is adorable! Congrats.
I made these this weekend and while I loved the browned butter, I didn’t care for the pops of salt in the treats. C’est la vie!
yum. Two of us polished off the pan in <24 hrs. My husband is now in love with brown butter.
Delicious! I used brown rice cereal – my attempt at healthy eating ; )
TIP: Use the butter wrapper to press down the bars once in the pan!
right, brown butter marshmallow treats, love em. eat em up yum.
but seriously, yo. is that the cutest babydoodle ever, or what?
little bebe.
nice work on that one!
I love how Jacob is always color-coordinated with the food. Too cute.
Hi, I’m Filipino and instead of Rice Krispies, I tried this with pinipig (flattened, roasted rice) which I had in the house. I also halved the amount of butter and used margarine. It was great and the children loved it! I’ve also tried your browned butter brown sugar shorties but used margarine instead (sorry, it was cheaper and had less fat) and it was wonderful. Browned butter/margarine is such a great idea! Now we always keep a log in the freezer so we can bake cookies anytime.
Made ’em. Twice! SOOO good.
Also, that baby of yours just keeps getting cuter. The monkey costume is over the top cuteness on him. Adore.
It’s so funny to think others around the WORLD are making brown butter rice krispie treats all on the same day….but I too made them last night. My sister is having a birthday soon, and we invited all of her roommates over for dinner (during confences week-crazy idea) Anyway, Nigella has a picture of rice krispie treats with candles, so that’s what we’re going to do. I drizzled a little caramel sauce on top-I have a friend who makes two pans of treats, stacks them on top of each other with caramel in the middle. Whoa.
Deb, not to be picky and I think most people will figure it out, but 4 oz of butter is 1/2 a stick…not a full stick like it says. I realize from the comments that you edited the recipe from 8 oz to 4 oz, so you probably just forgot to edit that part.
Anyway, looks like an easy way to slightly fancy up rice crispy treats.
A stick of butter is actually four ounces. You might be thinking of tablespoons, not ounces.
These look DELICIOUS! Total flashback to elementary school, with a sophisticated twist. Love it!
I saw my name up there in the 2nd comment, read it, and thought wow, i’d say the same exact thing haha
I was a bit skeptical about whether the extra effort (admittedly not significant) would be worth it — and it was. These are amazing.
What a gorgeous son you have! My boys are grown, but I never tire of looking at their baby pics! Thanks for the twist on rice krispie bars. They have always been my favorite!
YUM! those look so delicious :) I will definitely be making those soon!
Note to Chris (comment # 37): Marshmallow fluff does not have gelatin in it, as far as I know. You can use that if the problem is just the gelatin. If it’s a vegan thing, there are vegan marshmallow-fluff substitutes–one I’ve heard of is called Ricemellow Creme. Never had it though, so I don’t know how it tastes or works. I myself keep kosher, so when I use gelatin, it has to be a kosher brand, not made from the skin and bones of non-kosher animals, which is what most gelatin is made from.
Yea!! WE put a candle in each one-and called it a birthday cake! Thanks for the recipe!
Using brown butter is sheer genius! Thanks!
OH MAI GOD
i made these and it was soo easy
and they are AMAZING!!! so so SO SO good. I will never make them any other way from now on. My parents are visiting me and the whole time they were cooling in the pan my dad was standing over them with a knife asking if he could eat them yet.
amazing.
brown butter.. get into my arrmmms
I’m not much of a sweets person, but thought it would be great to make them with my daughter. Oh My Goodness!! These are the best RKT ever! I can’t seem to stop eating them. Which is why, unfortunately, I can’t make them again!!
What’s with the Lamb of God ad that shows up at the bottom of the post? I half expected food porn to follow the fresco of Calvary, etc.
Are rice krispy treats just like kleenex? That is, ubiquitous to the point of conflating one tissue/treat with all tissue/treats. De-capitalizing (not a word) brand names could be the highest compliment you can pay a product :)
Mmmm, these look delicious! I can’t wait to make them this weekend :)
Made these! They came out fantastic. I am trying out recipes to include in my “Holiday cookie sampler” for gifts this year. This will be one! I love the enhanced flavor. I only wish I could bring out the caramel-y browned butter flavor even MORE! Maybe I’ll be evil and add a swirl of caramel or something. ;)
YUMMM!! And your little one it adorable!
They were fantastic. I made these with the uncorrected butter amount (2 sticks), so that would be coughquadruple the butter. Yeah. Very rich. Brown butter is good.
I finally made these last night. I tweaked it just a tad by adding 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar to the butter just prior to stirring in the cereal. I also sprinkled the sea salt on the top of the pan, rather than mixing it in. These are YUMMY! Just YUMMMMMMY! They may become my RKT of choice. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I never comment, but I made these last night and my entire world is a better and brighter place today. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing these. I don’t even LIKE these usually, and somehow I ate half a pan last night. (mmm.)
These look delicious. I once made a batch of no-bake cherry tarts using crushed waffle cones, peanut butter, and marshmallows for the crust. I cooked it in the same fashion and cooled it to make the crust before I filled them in with the cherry cream. I think combining your recipe with the one I used would also make an excellent dessert. I’ll try yours tonight and experiment with the combination this coming weekend.
I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. They’re delicious!!
Hi Deb… I find when I make these, they’re great with a big dollop of crunchy peanut butter added to the mix at the same time as the marshmallows!
Ok, I made these to take to work tomorrow but I’m afraid they may not make it-they’re very addictive! Love that little bit of saltiness that comes through…
These were amazing. I melted some white chocolate with the marshmallow and the combo was great with the salt and brown butter. Everyone loved them. Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect recipe! The best rice crispy treats I’ve ever had.
I’ve never found a variation on the classic RKT that I liked until this. These are perfect! And thanks for the tip (#46) about melting, not cooking the marshmellows. Cutest baby picture ever!
I stumbled upon your site in search of recipes – and I’m so excited to have found it! There are lots of things I want to try – but made these as a quick dessert. I haven’t had a RKT in years, but these were amazing!
Thank you!
These are my new favorite. I have made them the past two weekends. The monkey makes me smile :)
I’ve just made these with organic brown rice cereal, because it just seemed right with the “browned” butter. I can already tell these are going to be delicious. I was waiting for the “aha!” moment with the butter, and when it came it was fab.
I just made these. They are excellent, salty, almost caramelly wonderfulness. I am officially entranced by browned butter. I had never made anything with it before and in the last two days I have made both your browned butter shortbread cookies and these. Both are amazing!
I just made these this afternoon – delish!
I did 1.5 sticks of butter because I had a 16oz bag of marshmallows and a big pan.
My 16 month old and my husband are nuts about them!
Next time, I would add the salt TO the butter – adding it with the cereal caused it to not be incorporated well, so some spots don’t have any salt! They are totally awesome any way.
This is not the first of your recipes that I have made, and they have all been great! Thanks!
Oh and your baby is totally adorable! Makes me miss when mine was tiny!
Great Crispy Treats!!! They were so easy and so delicious! I’m definitely going to post about them in my own blog and post a link.
YOU ARE MY HERO! I am in love, these are my new best friend, I can’t stop ranting (in a delish, most spectacular way) !!!
Did I read somewhere that these could be frozen? And what kind of shelf life do you think they would have once made/defrosted (if I can freeze them)? I am thinking about making these for a cookie exchange and may have to make them ahead of time. Plus, some of these cookies are probably given out up to a week after the exchange…Any thoughts?
And, the little monkey is VERY cute :)
Thanks!
Look how many comments for Rice Krispy Treats! Who knew :) But these… oh my gooey deliciousness. The smell of browned butter entranced me and I almost forgot to pull it off the stove as I sniffed and sniffed and sniffed!
A friend of mine told me about your blog. I LOVE IT!! Your photography is amazing, and I always enjoy when you throw one in of your Jacob. He looks so incredibly sweet! You have such a way with the written word, that I find myself reading about recipes I might not indulge in just to enjoy your wit. Your recipes though, are incredible!!! I love your creativity!!
My husband said that these took him right back to his childhood and his moms kitchen. Extremely good idea. We have loved them! We are considering adding them to our Thanksgiving :)
I should be embarrassed by how many times I have made this recipe already, but I’m not. I think this is a typical smitten recipe- basic recipe that only requires a little extra effort to be awesome, and with your guidance- foolproof.
These are absolutely wonderful! I made a double batch and my husband and I ate one ourselves, then I packaged up the other half and shipped them for gifts. FYI, these ship well–I made them Sunday and they were recieved on Thursday and were still fresh & immediately devoured by the recipients. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and your little monkey with us! I have a little something for you over here: http://reciperhapsody.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/salted-brown-butter-crispy-treats/
These were SO GOOD! Kind of like salted caramel ice cream I’ve had at Molly Moons in Seattle. They’re extra gooey if you only add 5 cups of rice crispies! Yum!
Odalis — They can probably be frozen (I’ve never tried it, but none of the ingredients raise a flag for me) but it will take far, far longer to defrost them than to just make a batch fresh, and get the best flavor.
WOW – I love making the kids treats all grown up… and then I also love making them more kid friendly…. we like Fruity Pebble Treats as well as mixing Cocoa Pebbles into our Rice Krispies to make somewhat chocolaty treats. (or sprinkling chocolate chips on before they are 100% cooled.
Yum! Loved these at Jocelyn’s party :)
These are awesome. I have been waiting to make them for Thanksgiving. My dad is a huge RKT fans. They were so yum.
I was afraid to try making anything with browned butter for fear of burning it, but I am so glad I tried these – and thanks for the step by step instructions on how to properly brown butter. These are SO GOOD. I may even get around to sharing them next time. :)
I saw a comment up there about taking these to a fancy dinner party- and I thought I’d share… my hubby and I both hate cake (weird- I know) – so instead of regular cake at our wedding we had a rice-krispy-treat ‘cake’ (basically one big rice-krispy-treat tower- looked just like a wedding cake)… our wedding was on the fancy side, so we spruced it up with some flowers- but it was a hit. People were lined up to get a piece. Anyways- I have to say- these are THE BEST I have ever tried and/or made (even better than my own wedding ‘cake’). DELISH! THANK YOU!
Ohmy, these are delicious. Any tips on how to get that salt evenly mixed when you add the salt and rice cereal? Also, if I make these again I might just pour some ganache on top and roll it up into a log to slice. MIGHT, because I’m not sure if I should mess with perfection.
adult rice crispy treats – yum
Just made these this afternoon. I don’t think I’ve ever made a RK treat before, but “brown butter” could not be resisted. All I can say is the gunk I scraped out of the bottom of the pot was so good. Haven’t had a treat yet; must save for work party. Can’t wait!
These are to DIE for. I made 2 1/2 batches today – some for others – some for us – and I could have eaten our entire batch myself. I would have made myself sick, but it would have been totally worth it. I cut the butter back just a bit – more like 6 Tbsp, and had plenty – and I added more marshmallows, as i usually do – just to be sure of easy coating the cereal. WOW. I want to go back in the kitchen now and polish them off…..
This is my new way of making Rice Krispy Treats every time, from now on.
I just made these and they are awesome! I sprinkled a little sea salt on the bottom (before putting the rct to cool) and then on top.
These are so great and I love that they took 10 mins from start to clean up
I brought these into work today… at least three people have said, “Why are these so much better than the ones I make?” LOVE the sweet and salty… plus, I may have drizzled a little bit of bourbon butterscotch sauce on top of them just for a little something extra. Delicious!!
BTW, post-work-party-munching – I love these thing. Love. Next time, I’m thinking of using a larger pan, so the treats wouldn’t be quite so mile-high. Otherwise, yum yum and YUM.
3 days, 3 batches of these, all gone. I’m making them for the cookie party I’m attending tomorrow. thank you, thank you, thank you.
These were spectacularly good. I’m planning to make a double batch for my party next weekend. You are my go-to site for everything (flatbread, banana bread, tuna salad). Thank you so much.
These should come with a warning label! I just made some to give away as gifts and I’m tempted to keep the whole batch for myself!
Thanks for this idea, Deb! I have a holiday cookie exchange tomorrow, and because I’m in the middle of a move right now, I don’t have a fully operational kitchen at either location. I thought these might be my salvation, so I made FIVE BATCHES! The problem is, now I don’t want to give any away! (Ok, ok…I will…in the spirit of seasonal giving.)
WOW! thanks for the treats
Made these for a New Year’s party last night — people loved them! I wasn’t sure I browned the butter correctly (I probably didn’t let it brown enough, although it was more brown than golden) but people kept asking what I did to the treats, so it must have made a difference :)
I’m only sad there weren’t any to sneak home at the end of the night for myself!
Thanks for another great one, Deb.
I have a feeling that this will be my go-to recipe for 2010. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks. No seriously, thanks a bunch. Here we are at January 5th, and in my quest to discover an afterschool snack to satisfy both the 18 yr old and the kindergartener, I have instead discovered the years first resolution buster. This qualifies as a record. Even for me.
This recipe is the bomb, and that is a DAMN cute monkey.
These completely lived up to their promise. Just superb! I used even a little less cereal (maybe 5 1/2 cups), and because I feared maybe I hadn’t let my butter get brown enough (what shade of brown is “nutty”?) I impulsively added a tablespoon of dark brown sugar to the marshmallow and butter mix. Didn’t seem to hurt!
Just made these tonight. Actually, I hate Rice Krispies Treats but thought I’d at least try these for my kids. Turns out I love them too! Definitely not on our New Year’s diet plan, but good enough to make the occasional exception. I did add 3 tsp of non-toasted coconut flakes to mine but next time might try toasting the coconut. Really good! Thanks!
Hi Deb,
I want to make it with my own marshmallows, since I am a vegetarian and using agar-agar instead of gelatin, and want to use the recipe from your site.
How much marshmallows do I have to make for this recipe?
Thanks!
Oh boy these were wonderful. If you haven’t made them yet, make them. Thanks Deb!
I made these with Deb’s marshmallow recipe (I’m in Austria, where I can buy three different kinds of ground nuts, marzipan, and praline paste at my local grocery store, but marshmallows are exotic and can be very hard to find). They were fabulous right after I made them, but sadly soggy when I took them into work the next day. The marshmallow tasted lovely, but the kispies had lost their crisp. Don’t know if it’s a result of not having confectioner’s sugar (I measured out marshmallow goop by weight) or in my candy making skills. By the way, the marshmallow recipe seemed to make enough for three batches of treats. Maybe I’ll try again when I find more krispies.
These were so delicious. I probably could have browned my butter a bit more, but was afraid of burning. Next time I won’t be timid! Thanks for a great recipe that was enjoyed by the children and the grown-ups.
Deb, you have introduced me to browned butter, and I can’t thank you enough. Because I needed more ways to enjoy butter.
Chris (#37) has — I would hope, since it’s more than a year later — probably already found his vegan marshmallows of choice and enjoyed these many times over. However, if he (or anyone else) is still looking for a solution to the TOTAL LIFE CRISIS of avoiding gelatin but losing out on Rice Krispy Treats & S’mores, I have to recommend the vegan marshmallows made by Chicago Soy Dairy. They’re here, with a list of suppliers in different states as well as online stores:
http://www.dandiescandies.com/index.php
I feel gypped I didn’t know about these sooner; they melt into a gooey blob, they puff when you heat them, they crisp and singe over a flame, and their texture and flavor, right from the bag, is exactly right.
I was so excited to try this recipe over the weekend and was totally dismayed to realize I didn’t have enough rice krispies. I subbed 3 oz of cracker jacks for the missing rice krispies and the result was more sweet-salty-delicious than I could have imagined. I highly recommend!
i pocketed this recipe when you first posted it here and finally made them for Super Bowl last weekend, the world of rice crispies is forever changed, I can never go back!
Deb – I love rice crispy treats but have you ever made or found a recipe for a non-marshmallow rice treat? I have nothing against the butter (mmmm unsalted butter) but the marshmallows are just so, well, unnatural that I have a hard time wanting to use them again. Plus, I ate more than my fair share as a kid.
Just made these and they are delicious! I wonder what frosting would best complement them?
@Jenny 370 – have you ever made your own marshmallows? They’re not hard with a stand mixer and not “unnatural” at all. A non-marshmallow rice treat sounds like a bowl of cereal.
I made these the other day. The difference in taste between these and others I have tried surprised me… in a good way.It’s definitely the butter :). So yummy and simple.
Wow! This was my first time browning butter and with the really rich, tasty results I will be sure to brown butter for other treats from now on. This was a hit with my coworkers and I was so pleased to have a few leftover to bring home to the boyfriend!
Thanks for the creative twist on a classic.
Okay, so it’s been months since you posted this, but holy cow they are incredible!!!! I followed your recipe to a T and am still drooling (and I didn’t wait for them to cool before cutting my first square). So much for fitting into that wedding dress, hee hee- but so worth it!!!
This worked perfectly! Normally my rice krispies end up as sawdust blocks but these stayed unbelievably gooey, with that delicioius nutty flavor. I cut them in smaller pieces because they’re so sweet, but I’ve already eaten 3 of them. I can’t help it, they’re just so good!
fantastic. So glad to know I’m not the only one who needs salty with my sweet!
WOW!!! You would have thought I had just discovered the elixir of life!! After making these delicious and ohh so easy treats I called everyone I could think of who would care to know about this new discovery….who would have thought that just cooking the butter longer would change the overall taste so much….Thanks
I finally made these two days ago and they are DELICIOUS! Okay … I’ll be honest … they WERE delicious. Now they’re gone.
I wasn’t sure anyone could improve a basic rice krispie cookie… you did it! These are incredible! A grown up, sophisticated sensual cookie. Never knew there could be such a thing!
i just made these and i can’t wait to eat them..i mean..send them to iraq..ok i’ll send at least half of them..
I just got through making these yummy lil bars and I cannot wait to try them. Someone recommended your recipe on Craigslist which is what brought me here. I am thinking (real hard but not really) on sharing them with my neighbor..who am I kidding I’m going to share them with my kids..maybe. ;)
Luckily cooling doesn’t take long at all :D these are the BEST RK treats I have ever had!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe..it is amazing what the brown butter and sea salt do for these..wow!!! 5*’s
ok..one more post..I promise…I did share, with my kids, my husband and my neighbors and WE ALL agree, the best RK treats we’ve ever had. Really does make a HUGE difference. I had to share with everyone on my facebook I was so impressed :)
These are soooooo good. I read the recipe and just could not wait til the next time we went to the grocery store, so I made them with what I had on hand (salted butter) and reduced the amount of sea salt. They were fabulous. We pretty much devoured them in one evening! I will never use another RKT recipe again.
YUM! These are awesome! I only had kosher salt, so that’s what I used – I’m not really sure how different it is in coarse-ness, but I’m happy with the result! The butter wrapper was very convenient for pressing/spreading into the pan!
Doubt YUM! We made these twice in two sequential weekends and both were smashing successes. On the second batch, right after I put the treats into the 8×8 pan, I added a layer of chocolate covered toffee bits. I think it was a great addition. The chocolate melted down a bit, and the toffee was delicious, especially with the sea salt aspect. As one of my guests wrote the next day, “I’m still marvelling (sic) at the genius of salt in the krispey (sic) treats.” Thanks for the recipe.
I definitely made new friends today with these! I took them on a winery trip and we had them as our post-winery snack on the limobus ride home :) They were AWESOME!
Brown butter = Yumminess!! These are so good my daughter said that the she likes these better than the marshmallow bars from Starbucks! (She thinks they are good) And my son who doesn’t like the homemade crispy treats, can’t get enough of these! Thank you for another great recipe that I can’t stop eating!!
Just made these and they are excellent, definitely one of the more successful desserts this non-cook has made :) Will be trying more of your recipes soon!
Seriously…. THE BEST EVER!!!! I am a big fan of your blogs, your photos, your recipes, your adorable Jacob! I made these for Memorial day weekend and they were the first to go. Rave reviews from everyone – I gave you all the credit, Deb! Should have made a double batch… but then I would have to buy a bigger pan!
As with so many things in life, those extra few careful minutes (browning butter, in this case, obviously) make all the difference! Outstanding! My dentist and I thank you. Off to buy more Rice Krispies. Many thanks.
Hi Deb
I have enjoyed reading your comments to this recipe for the Rice Rispie treats but I am a little confused. I find this embarrassing since it appears that in all the comments no one else was confused but Where does the salt come in? Do I put it in with the butter or when I mix the rice in?
Don’t be embarrassed! It’s in the third paragraph, you add it with the cereal.
This past weekend I made these for a cabin full of women (who normally turn up their fit, health-conscious noses at sweets) and they DISAPPEARED! I loved them too – the perfect reconciliation of childhood memory and more adult tastes. You’re awesome. Browned butter rules.
These were very tasty!! The browned butter flavor came through very nicely. I’m gonna go heavier on the salt next time as well since they were still a bit sweet for me. I will be making these again as soon as this pan is gone and that won’t take long!
Hi Deb, I’m really craving something like this and they look sooo good, but one question… do u think they would work out using salted butter and skipping the sea salt? (i mean properly salted breton butter seeing as im in france and thats whats in the fridge!) Thanks
Hi, I’m a bit new to the cooking/baking process (so, sorry if my question is really silly) and I was wondering what you mean when you say a ‘prepared’ pan. I know you prepare a cake/bread pan by greasing and flouring it, is that what you’d do in this case? (It just didn’t seem quite right, but then again, what do I know!) Thanks!
ace — In this case, the pan was prepared (first step) by buttering it or spraying it with nonstick spray.
Thanks so much! I completely overlooked it in the recipe, I feel so silly. Thanks for answering me regardless!
Thanks so much for the great recipe! I made a double batch, buttered the pan with the butter wrapper, and added chocolate and peanut butter chips with some unsalted peanuts. I took them to our BBQ here at work, called Hot August Ribs- being in the northwest, of course it is raining today. Everyone loved the RCT’s, thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I made another batch with colored marshmallows and some gluten free rice cereal that had bits of freeze-dried berries in it. I put some white mini marshmallows in the hot butter first, then waited for them to mostly melt. Then I put in the colored marshmallows and stirred them a little to melt just a little, and put the whole thing in with the cereal. Someone else said that when their colored marshmallows completed melted, they turned gray- this way they retained their individual colors. I did not brown the butter for the colored marshmallows. Love your monkey/baby, too!
I read your website religiously, and have had a lot of success with a number of recipes I have cooked from here, but this one is the greatest. Both times I cooked it everyone loved it and the most recent time, just last night, I got accolades from my whole apartment building at a barbecue. Thank you for making me feel like a cooking genius although I’m not.
I made these last night and they were a hit! Everyone in my office loved them. I thought they were good, but I think I’ll use a little less butter next time.
I am a new fan of smitten kitchen and tonight, I made your chicken meatballs, and these sweet treats. In light of fall though, I added a quarter cup of canned pumpkin and a dash of cinnamon. Needless to say, they are a major hit with my dude. Thanks, Deb. I LOVE your site!
I love rice kirspy treats but had never been able to get them right, I just made these today and am so excited they turned out perfect and are the best tasting ones Ive ever had, the brown butter and salt definately makes a nice subtle difference. Thank you!
Deb: you are a girl after my own heart! I just made these last night and they turned out wonderfully!
I increased the recipe by 50% but doubled the salt and it fit perfectly into a 9 x 13 pan. I did have to put the marshmallows back on the heat to get them to fully melt into the butter. And I should have let the butter brown a smidgen more but I was nervous as it was the only butter I had in the house. But these are awesome! Oh…and they make a great breakfast too. :-)
I’m making these for Halloween 2010! Thanks!
I just made these again and loved them! I had a half bag of marshmallows left over from my previous time making them a few days ago so I used that and halved the recipe. I did find that using an already opened bag of marshmallows made them a little tough. So I would encourage you to use a fresh bag if you can.
I found these last Thursday under “surprise me” and made them for two Halloween parties. People went crazy over them. I will never make or eat a regular crispy treat again. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Well deb, I figured out one way to mess up this recipe. Using the organic brown rice puff cereal does not make for a crunchy treat. Flavor = good! crispiness = nonexistent. So much for trying to make an American classic a little healthier…
woops, those are awesome. beng a non-american, i don’t care about marshmallows, even less about rice puffs, and have never heard about rice krispie treats before. but the sheer amount of effusive reviews and the easiness of the recipe made me make this, and oh it’s so incredibly easy and delicious :) i’ll have to distribute these goodies before i eat them all..
OMG…. I had read this recipe back when when Deb first published it, but only just today got arround to making them. They are freaking DELICIOUS!!! Seriously – I will likely never ever make “traditional” rice crispy treats again.
Thank you for all that you do Deb!!!
I just found this site a few months ago and have been happily slogging backwards in time ever since. I found these around the beginning of October this year and I’ve already made them three times. I subbed out Marshmallow cream for the marshmallows (I’m vegetarian) and I’ve had nothing but rave reviews. I, too don’t think I’ll ever make regular rice crispy treats again. Thank you so much!!
I haven’t had a traditional RCT in a long time, so it’s hard for me to compare, but I made this recipe this past weekend and they were delish! I really like the salt addition. I think I probably should have browned the butter a bit more — next time!
It really is amazing how much better these are than the original. I mean, the original is good, don’t get me wrong. But there’s something about this version that just elevates the crispie treat to another level. I might even call them avant-garde crispie treats, if doing so would not make me sound incredibly pretentious. Anyway, thanks for bringing these into my life.
So much better than the original! I mixed the salt into the melted marshmallow before adding cereal, just to be sure it was well blended. Turned out fab and kids loved it too!
Wow – these are fantastic. I was the lucky recipient of these in a tin of Christmas goodies and they are, hands-down, the yummiest thing in the tin, edging out the all-time favourite, Mayan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. I will never go back to the old ones, and you may join Mildred Day in the Rice Krispie Hall of Fame.
Mmmm. :) I’m so glad I finally made these!
I made these once and they were lovely, but the second time round the marshmallows just wouldn’t melt! After 5 minutes on low heat and vigorous stirring they were barely incorporated, but I went ahead and added the rice krispies. They were tasty, but had large pockets of tough chewy caramel within. Possible mistakes:
-Switched off flame halfway through browning butter (baking brownies and had to take them out, good reason!)
-Very Large marshmallows used
-Pot with a large base area (10-11inch)
Am v. sad! What did I do wrong?
Yes, just as I suspected. These are delightful. I’m making them for the second time tonight, but I have to take this pan to work so I won’t eat them all. Probably won’t ever go back to my old recipe, that’s for sure. YB…I’m wondering if you used the same brand of marshmallows each time? I’ve tried making krispie treats with the generic brand of marshmallows and lo and behold, they are just not the same.
So simple to make and completely, utterly delicious!
These are unbelievably good. I added extra marshmallows, some of them at the end (so they wouldn’t melt but would stay whole). It was delicious! http://emandam.com/2011/02/16/double-marshmallow-salted-brown-butter-rice-krispies-treats/
I want to echo how phenomenal these rice crispy treats are. I have made them several times, most recently this week for a quick happy-birthday-surprise for a roommate. (He doesn’t like cake… or chocolate… who are these people?). He loved them, said they were the best he ever had, offered them to the rest of the house and they were gone in 10 minutes. Good thing it only takes about 10 minutes to make them :) We will be making more soon.
So delicious – I couldn’t even wait for these to cool before trying one! I agree that higher quality marshmellows would make a big difference if you have them.
These are awesome- I added a little somethin extra- spread half the rice krispie mixture in the pan, sprinkled a layer of banana chips on top, then layered the rest of the rice krispie mixture on top, and sprinkled it with salted roasted cashews. It was gooooooooooood!
I adore these and make them for my toddler all the time. I also used the brown rice crisps and didn’t experience the ‘sogginess’ problem in a comment above, they were perfect. I typically add a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds and either chopped up dried apricots or dried cranberries to the mix to make them a touch more ‘nutritious’ for the preschool crowd (eyes roll). I also sub in different cereals if I’m running short of rice krisps, cheerios and flakey cereals add interest to the texture. Hard to go wrong with this one….thanks!
I pretty sure I hadn’t made rice krispie treats in over 10 years until I saw this recipe! What a great update on a classic. I’m embarrassed to say it was my first time attempting to brown butter.. I was so nervous that I’d burn it, that I don’t think I let the butter develop quite as much flavor as it should’ve. My second batch were much better & the nutty goodness really shined through. Thanks so much for another great recipe Deb!
By the way.. StuffCooksWant’s idea of drizzling the finished product with dark chocolate & sprinkling with more sea salt? Genius. I’ve also been loving a hint of spice in my desserts lately. I wonder how they’d be with just a touch of cayenne pepper to give them a little kick?
question?
I’ve made this recipe six times in two weeks. The first batch was alright. I added to salt while the butter was melting thinking it was not big deal – it’s a big deal, but the second batch was awesome. I tasted the salt and butter. The third batch I used the mini marshmallows and browned the butter in under 5 mins and didn’t get the right taste. The last three batches I used the easter egg shaped marshmallows; to get color – not recommended. I still can’t get it right. Is it possible to get different results when brown butter too quickly in less than 5 min opposed to around 12 min? (not burning it of course.) Thanks!
I say take your time on browning the butter and get it as toasty brown as you can before removing it from the heat. Stirring will help it get evenly toasty. Adding the salt to the butter will probably help it distribute better, in hindsight it makes sense. I would use big, standard marshmallows if you can — the less surface area covered with dusty stabilizers, the gooey-er they’ll be. Glad you’re enjoying them!
So..I originally wanted a recipe for RCTs that I could use to make the easter egg treats (advertised on TV) with my children. With the extra gooey-ness..this didn’t work so well..so I decided to just drizzle some melted PB on top..YUM..I am def. going to use this recipe from now on..so easy, but a fresh new spin on an old recipe..thank you so much! :)
Hi Deb, I’ve been asked for make a dessert (to contribute to a dessert table) for a very causal wedding. Rice krispie treats are one of the bride’s favorite desserts, so I thought these grown up ones would be good. I haven’t tried them yet, but in your opinion, what would you use to spruce them up further? Dipping in chocolate? Caramel? Thanks!
Wow! These were declious!
I printed off this recipe months ago and just now got around to making it tonight. You have completely changed my view of the rice crispy treat. It was divine. Forever grateful.
Just made these… YUMMMMM!
I recently made your homemade marshmallows and absolutely loved it! I’m thinking of using that marshmallow recipe to make these RKTs, but besides letting the mallows set and then measuring out 10 ounces for use in this recipe, I can’t seem to figure out how much of the marshmallow recipe to make so that I get the right amount for this RKT recipe. Does anyone know? Thanks!
So this is where I got the idea! I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now and remember when Jacob was just a new baby. I made rice krispie treats this morning (something I haven’t done in years) and upon tasting thought, “You know, I think these could use some salt.” Then, ” Who would put salt on a rice krispie treat? Weird. Hmmm…Well someone should, salt makes sweet better.” I went for it; a very light sprinkle of sea salt and WOW, a completely different treat. I look forward to browning the butter next time. And thank you, Deb, for empowering me, even if it was subconsciously.
I love your blog and have made several yummy things from it. The other day I had an idea for an “elevated” rice crispy treat and wasn’t surprised when a search brought me back to you again. I dipped them in dark chocolate and macadamia nuts. This isn’t at all necessary… they are quite amazing on their own… but it was an homage to the scotcheroos I fondly remember my grandmother making when I was kid.
Made these yesterday and they are definitely worth it! This is my 4th SK recipe that I’ve tried (blondies, choco cake, cottage cheese pancakes, and now this). I’ve made the blondies at least 5 times, and I already plan on making another batch of these crispy treats for my brother tomorrow.
I compared the taste of these to the Kellogg’s Rice Crispy Treats, and SK’s version won hands down :D Especially when comparing the ingredients list between the two. Speckles of brown butter milk solids could be seen in the finished product. I used Campfire marshmallows since they were on sale, and they worked great :)
Bottom line: Super-easy recipe, essential for rice crispy treat lovers! 5 stars!
Originally I had used Jewel’s rice crispy cereal which worked out great. When I tried with Trader Joe’s puffed rice cereal, it didn’t turn out as sweet. Prefer the original batch more, but maybe taste will improve on the 2nd day…
I’m glad you added the tip about using big marshmallows for keeping them gooey and just cooking them to the point of melting.
Yay for Deb, you just made my day! My little monkey turns two tomorrow, and I just asked his daycare centre if I was allowed to bake cupcakes for his playmates to celebrate. She said they like to ask for rice crispy squares (crazy, rampant allergies these days, blah, boring). I was all disappointed, and then I thought – hey, maybe, just maybe … smittenkitchen has a take on rice crispy treats?? You never disappoint :)
P.S – a very happy birthday to *your* little monkey, too. We delivered right around the same time!
I attempted to make these, and they came out hard as rocks! :( Can someone tell me what may have caused this? Everything I used was fresh. I did use salted butter instead of unsalted though. I browned it ok, but once I stirred in the marshmallows, it turned into a disaster. i tried to stir in the cereal but the mixture started hardening before i could even get it in the pan. what happened :(
Jae – that kinda happened to me the 2nd time I tried this recipe though not to the point of hard as rocks lol. Just that once they cooled, they weren’t as gooey as my first attempt. I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times and this is what I do to keep the gooey texture:
“turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows…Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together”
Heating the marshmallows too much until they lose their creamy-white color to a more opaque color means it’s been overheated.
I’ve used salted butter before and it turns out fine :)
Jen- thank you :) I tried making them a few times after that, and I got them right finally. I had to use the smaller marshmallows for mine to turn out right. The big ones never melted fast enough, and I always over heated them and so the krispy treats turned out like cement squares. :) but you’re right, it was overheating of the marshmallows! I don’t know why the big ones messed me up so much. I just could not get them to melt, and then they burnt! But I was determined, so I got them right now! Thanks :))
I made these with organic brown rice crispies and they are out of this world! My new favorite!!! THANK YOU!!!
The flavour of these were extraordinary but they turned out hard. Could it have been too little marshmallows, to many krispies. Bad luck…
These are amazing. I made them recently, using Gluten Free Rice Krispies. So easy.
i was really disappointed by these-they were WAY TOO SALTY! I had to throw the whole batch out…gross.
I made these for a Potluck at work and some people didn’t notice the difference, while those that did raved about them and went back for seconds and thirds!
Thanks for sharing!
I just made these last night, I love the addition of the sea salt, it adds just the right amount of saltiness and a little extra crunch. I loved them! Thank you for the recipe!
Just made these…I never thought rice krispie treats could be made better, but oh man was I proven wrong. Deliciousssss!!!!! Thanks!!
Faaaantastic, was bopping around looking for a better recipe for basic crispy treats, thought salted sounded amazing and since it was your recipe and your guide has never failed me before, I went with it.
Splendid. Whole family ate em up. I’ll have to try caramel or peanut butter next time, maybe even chocolate! Thanks.
Try fluff in them….its creamier somehow and adds even more vanilla flavor to them!
I made these two days ago and they were amazing…possibly the best rice krispie treats I’ve ever had! I love the hint of sea salt and the nutty aroma. Thanks for the recipe!
These are incredible! I doubled the recipe and accidentally made them with salted butter. I didn’t realize until after the sea salt was put in but they are delicious! Hopefully my Christmas party won’t think them too salty because I don’t think I can eat all of it on my own!
I have made this recipe a few times, and each time, they get RAVE reviews. I will never go back to traditional Rice Krispie Treats. These are INCREDIBLE. Thank you!
OK, so your post is a few years old, but I have to tell you, I discovered a new addition to this recipe that will blow your socks off. And I apologize if this was suggested somewhere else but I didn’t read all the posts. So, when you throw the marshmallows in the butter, simply add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped ROSEMARY to the mixture. You will be amazed at how simple and different this is, but people taste them and they just don’t know what to think…so they try another. It really is a good combination of savory and sweet. Enjoy!
I just made these last night based on the rave reviews and agree that they are delicious. The hint of salt really adds something to these and cuts the sweetness of the marshmallows. I am not sure I waited long enough to brown the butter. I was too afraid of overdoing it that I think I did not take the butter all the way to the “brown butter” stage. I also used a non-stick dark pan, which makes it hard to tell if the butter is brown. I used small marshmallows because that is all the store had and it worked well and they melted off the heat in the butter easily. I can’t wait to take to book club tonight to see what everyone thinks! Thanks for another delicious recipe.
I used the idea of these to make flavored rice crispy treats for the sales girls at the hotel I work in to use as give away treats at a bridal fair. They said ” These aren’t fancy enough” … I told them I didn’t have any time to make more. 400 of anything takes a long time to make!
The next day I go in, and all they can talk about is how we had people walking past all the cake pops and cupcakes to get the “gourmet” rice crispy treats at our booth!
We were the hit of the bridal fair and have people calling and asking if we can make them for their wedding. So take that non-believers.. the rice crispy treat is king!
These are divine! Such a simple recipe that I could make them whilst catching up on Mad Men! This may be my new go-to dessert. Much more unexpected, and in my opinion, tastier than, cupcakes or cookies. Good work!
These are a revalation! Made them with Lurpak danish butter and they were absolutely addictive. My new go-to crispy. Thanks for perfecting the recipe!
Made these on a lazy Sunday afternoon…delicious! I added a handful of Godiva chocolate chips just before I poured them in the pan to set. The combo of the nutty butter, sea salt and chocolate was heavenly. Thanks for the twist on an old favorite!
These are literally my favorite thing ever. I’ve made them at least 3 or 4 times. They’re super easy and always a major hit with my friends, and I agree that they’re much better than cupcakes, cookies, or the original rice crispy treats.
I saw these months ago, and thought they sounded delicious. I whipped them together this morning in about 10 minutes, and everyone in my office is delighted! Thanks, Deb!
I adore your blog and this was the first recipe I tried. It turned out pretty well, in fact, I loved them so much I translated the recipe into german and wrote it on my blog- I do NOT want to steal this recipe from you or even pretend that it’s mine! In my post there are tons of references to your site and the original recipe.
For “us” germans american recipes are sometimes hard to do because our measurements are completely different.
If you don’t like it I will immediately delete the post!
Anyway keep on doing what you do and I will try to get my hands on your cookbook :-)
Sincerely,
Caren
First time I’ve ever bothered to comment on a blog.. but your brown butter rice crispy treats were DELISH and SO EASY to make. It was a hit at our potluck tonight. You made some very hardworking pediatric nurses on the nightshift very happy! I’m giving them your recipe & referring them to your blog. Can’t wait to try more recipes, they all look so good!
Every time I make these (and I’ve made them a LOT) people tell me that I make the.best. rice crispy treats and that they can’t stop eating them. I can’t say I blame them! These are so addictingly delicious!
Wow. I just made these after thinking about making them after your original post. Sublime! I can’t wait until the parents get to taste these too, and it’s hard to believe I waited so long.
I have just made these for the millionth time and i just wanted to let you know how much we love these! i’ll never get sick of them!!
Made these delightfully satly, sweet, crispy, marshmellowy treats today as my first recipe after finding your site. Wow, I didnt think that rice crispy treats could be improved upon but these did! Thank you for your site, ideas, recipes, and pictures.
Just have to say again that these are FANTASTIC. I made them multiple times in the last few weeks for various events and they are gobbled up so quickly and people ask for more! I add a sprinkling of sea salt on top of the treats too and they are so good!
My friend just directed me to this recipe that I can’t wait to try! However, I had to comment on your little monkey. It looks like the same costume my first little one wore in 2008. Thanks for the warm memory!
Just wanna say I tried this recipe on a whim and it turned out delicious. I only did two things different. I added the salt and a few drops of vanilla extract to the melted marshmallows and mixed thoroughly BEFORE adding the cereal. (Seemed to me that’s a more reliable way to get the salt evenly distributed.)
This recipe is OUT OF THIS WORLD good! Wow! I didn’t know RCT could taste this good. Seriously! AMAZING!
I made these tonight for a neighborhood BBQ and they were a HUGE hit. I was even called a “goddess.” Goddess of desserts? Yes please! I will be giving you a shout out on my blog as well, probably tomorrow. Thank you for forever changing the way I make krispy treats (for the better.)
hey, so i just made these (and this is crazy), but they’re the best krispie treats i’ve ever eaten and i’m including some really delicious ones on that list. thank you thank you!
I made these and soon discovered they are dangerously good. After dinner my dad had a small piece, then he came into the other room with a huge piece and said, “these are rediculous”. High praise from our whole family!
ok, i could NOT resist. It’s a grey monday morning and I had to make these. the salt is the killer ingredient. I added kahlua (about 4 teaspoons). and now i can’t stop eating them. i couldn’t even really wait for them to cool properly. these will be a hit with my clients, thanks sooo much from Paris :)
Here’s my picture: http://parisbread.com/images/rice.krispie.jpg
~ all best, Shelley
I have to say that this recipe is to die for! I am having an annual Halloween party and made these as a treat because i could not resist. I used spooky shaped cookie cutters to make some ghost and batty treats then drizzled some from scratch caramel on top, outlined the shapes with some very basic black sugar frosting and then veeery lightly sprinkled some sea salt on top. These are great for any holiday and i plan on making them again! Thank you!!
I am late to this rice crispy party, but I have to tell you since finding this recipe I have made these for my kids, for book club and a double batch for a bake sale, all in the span of two weeks (my husband could not figure out why we were out of butter yet again.) They are enthusiastically inhaled every time, and so easy! Thanks for a great recipe.
Deb,
I am also late to the crispy party. I only made these because they made it into your book and I figured this must be something great and they are! They were so great I’ve already made them twice in one week. I notice in your photo you have the white from the marshmallows showing up between the crispies. I don’t have this. What am I doing different?
Weird smittencoincidences all day: I was off for veterans day, and enjoyed your interview on diane rehm this AM while running errands – especially since I too grew up in amidst foodlovers who considered Julia Child a member of the family. Thought it was the first I had ever heard of smittenkitchen. (I blog too, but on auto manufacturing and climate policy. I do occaisionally tweet an 140 character recipe – but recognize thats kind of antithetical to user friendly instructions). Then this evening, decided it was finally time to cook the salted butter rice crispy treats I had been promising the office for two months. Went to look up the recipe and found it was yours! RC treats did take 5 minutes and are about as elegant and excellent as rice crispies get. Went to twitter to say thanks. Discovered you had just finished speaking at a bookstore… on my corner! Could have brought you a rice crispy treat! So weird! Hope DC treated you as well as the RC treats will treat our staff meeting… thanks!
WHY DEB WHY? I thought, how much of a difference can brown butter and flaky sea salt make? WOW! These were amazing. I ate 1/4 of the pan. By myself. In one sitting. Why did you do this to me Deb?
Just made these with Erewhon “Crispy Brown Rice” organic, gluten free cereal and Elyon “natural vanilla” marshmallows because I have two gf friends on my Christmas cookie list this year. Came out great with these brands, just in case people are looking for gf options. Two boxes of cereal and 4 bags of marshmallows made just under three batches.
After seeing your demonstration making these at the Chicago book signing, I decided I must try them (since we weren’t allowed to at the library!) They are amazing and I have added them to my holiday cookie tray list of things to make. So simple and yet divine!
Finally made these — after having bought marshmallows 3 months ago. Thankfully I put them in a freezer bag b/c at altitude (7000′) things dry up mighty fast, but they melted just fine.
Anyway, everything was exceedingly delicious — just as every DP recipe I’ve made has been! Thanks, Deb, and I know you wouldn’t mind me adding my usual 1 t vanilla to the mix. Happy New Year!
Why does it say half a stick here when it says a whole stick in the cookbook?
Never mind
OMG…I made my first batch night before last. Everyone who got a piece of them demanded the recipe. They are amazing!
Word of advice: Have all of your ingredients measured and ready. If you’ve never made brown butter before, it truly does need to be tended constantly. However, your efforts will be rewarded. YUM!!!!
When I was in fifth grade, I had to interview a “senior citizen” for a project about memories. I was lucky enough to get to interview Mildred Day – who not only invented Rice Krispie Treats but also was the first (or so she claimed?) airline stewardess (there was a lovely picture of her in her uniform, brandishing a tray laden with the kinds of goodies you only dream of getting on a plane nowadays). So when I saw in your new cookbook, and then here, that you credited her for these, it made that little 10 year old in me feel proud for knowing her. And I think she’d love your improvements, by the way.
Made these the first time with double the butter (1 stick) per recipe. They were delicious but a little greasy. I’m no butter-hater, but next time I dialed back the butter to 3/4 stick. I think that was perfect, except that it resulted in me eating way too many.
I made these for work before Christmas, left the tray in the office kitchen then sent an email to the few staff remaining at the office letting them know that the treats were there. Went back to the kitchen 15 minutes later and there wasn’t any evidence that the tray had ever held anything. I think these may have spoiled me for more complicated dessert making though – they’re so easy, people love them so much, that it makes it somewhat difficult to contemplate spending a few hours on, say, your delicious (and so worth it) apple pie cookies. I now keep a bag of marshmallows and box of rice cereal at the ready.
OH MY GOD! Just had these at a party yesterday and they are so, so, sooooo good. I can’t wait to go to another party where I can bring these. I definitely can’t make them for us at home or I might get diabetes or a cavity or something. A perfect recipe for me since I’ve got me a little monkey too.
Best rice krispy treat ever!!!
These are fabulous – and then we one-upped them by taking leftover Girl Scout cookies (Caramel Delights or Samoas) and chopping them – then layering them between two sections of the krispies…..to DIE for!!!!
Good Lord these are sooooo good!
http://myninjanaan.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/browned-butter-rice-krispie-treats/
My sister recommended these to me and I don’t think either of us have gone more than a day without them since your cookbook came out! Last time I added a touch of concentrated lavender simple syrup, too. They were completely delicious. Thank you for elevating a childhood treat to grown up status, Deb!
So wish I had seen Ginger’s (491) comment before making these. I shuddered at the amount of butter, but trusted these would be worth it. They are indeed delicious, but to me, these fall more into the category of “huge indulgence” rather than just a weeknight goodie or afternoon snack, which is more how I think of regular rice crispy treats. This was a fun and supereasy recipe to try, but next time I think I’ll dial back the butter to a saner amount – probably a 1/2 stick. I’ll save my butter and calories for true indulgences on this – red wine velvet cake, strawberry pink lady cake, or hazelnut brown butter cake. All SO good and SO worth the indulgence! As for weeknight goodies, I’ll stick with any one of the awesome everyday cakes, muffins, or puddings (many with very moderate amounts of butter and sugar). I’ve loved every one I’ve tried (probably about 65% of them)!!
I made a batch of these, ate a couple, sent about half to my friend in Afghanistan. I’ve also sent your Hello Dolly bars and a batch of your Gooey Cinnamon Cakes (from the cookbook) to my friend and his buddies. Your treats keep well in transit and are a big hit with hungry soldiers!
Back to the brown butter crispy treats…When my husband tried to confiscate the leftovers, I shoved about three in my mouth at once. This is probably a sign of addiction. Thank you for enabling me. :)
I have not made rice crispy treats in what feels like a million years. Your cookbook was calling my name the other day however and I was in need of a quick treat for friends. This absolutely did not disappoint whatsoever. I can’t imagine a rice crispy getting any better than this. Thank you for the new easy recipe!
You wanna make these EVEN BETTER? Mix in a cup or two of broken up pretzel sticks. Drizzle top of pan of treats with melted chocolate. DIE from the awesomeness.
Just made these and am now waiting for them to cool. The smell of brown butter is filling the house…..yum! :)
I love these treats.. they are my go to recipe.. I’m taking a leap tonight.. and modifying them.. I’m going to make some strawberry marshmallows and make browned butter strawberry marshmallow treats (Cause I’m feeling like an overachiever) ;)
I cannot endorse these enough. I add a cup of frozen reese’s pieces to mix but they are great with or without them!
I have made these several times now, and I have a couple bits of advice… First, I’ve tried using a couple of different types of off-brand marshmallows, and they don’t taste as inoffensively marshmallowy as the Kraft ones do. They tend towards too vanilla-y. So, either make sure you’re familiar with the particular off-brand you’re using, or just pay the extra 50 cents for the Kraft brand.
Also, even in addition to the kosher salt, they’re great with a good sprinkling of crunchy sea salt over the top.
Finally, Deb’s recipe says “as soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn off the heat.” I don’t think “as soon as” is brown enough. I haven’t totally burned the butter yet, but I’ve found (and my tasters have ALL agreed) that when I get it as dark brown as I can (so that it smells deeply nutty and even a bit burned) is when it’s the best. This means that it will take on a light golden nutty color, and then if you keep stirring and scraping the bottom consistently there will start to be a bunch of golden bits in the bottom of the clearer gold liquid butter, and then those gold bits will turn darker gold, and then reddish gold, and you’ll think you should turn it off but don’t yet, then brownish red, and then brown, and then dark brown. This point – when the liquid butter is deep gold and the bits in it are very dark brown, and you think you’ve probably cooked it too long and it’s probably burned but not necessarily so burned you should just throw it away – is when you should turn the heat off and immediately stir in the marshmallows. If you’ve slightly under-browned it, the butter will just turn the marshmallows gold and your rice crispy treats will be maybe a tiny bit darker than normal and very good. If you’ve timed it just right, though, the marshmallow goo will be darker and have a lot of visible dark brown speckles, and the finished rice-crispy treats will be discernibly gold and you will still be able to see the brown speckles all over them. And they will not taste burned, they will surprise you by tasting way darker and nuttier and complex and insanely, maddeningly addictive than with lightly browned butter, and then you will never be able to make them again without hovering over the pan, trying to walk that razor’s edge of getting the butter as dark as possible without ruining it.
Any idea on how long/well these might keep after making? I’m contemplating using them as treats in some welcome bags for my wedding, but I would need to make them four days in advance… I’ve made and loved them a bunch of other times, but they have always been gobbled up the same day!
Got these from the cook book and am eating one right now. Delicious.
I’ve been making these for a couple of years, and they’ve been a big hit around here. Yesterday, I decided to try something different, and I used 6 cups of broken thin salted pretzels instead of the Rice Krispies (and I left out the salt). Wow. The brown butter with the pretzels works really well, and I just wanted to share. Keep up the great work Deb!
WOW, these are amazing! For a week now I have been scouring out new recipes to try and so far these are my ABSOLUTE favorite. After, I got home from my summer job today my mom suggested we make “regular” rice crispy treats but I had specifically bought the marshmallows and rice crispies to make your version (I will be moving into a closet-sized-college-dorm in two weeks and I will not have many opportunities to bake for a while so I want to get it all out of my system ). Now I did what any other 17 year old girl would do when she doesn’t think she’ll get what she wants….pout (I admit it). Then my mom decided she’ll give it a shot, so we made your version instead and we both LOVE them!! Thank you so much for this recipe! :)
I’ve made these several times – they are such a keeper in our place. I only make treats when I’ve got a crowd of people to serve, so I always double the recipe. This time I added mini-marshmallows to the batch (not melted, but extra so they have marshmallow chunks in them) and topped it with sprinkles. So cute. The kids I’m making these for will just gobble them up!
THESE ARE DIVINE!!!
I don’t remember how it was that I found this post. It has to have been at least a year ago but this has become my single most favorite treat recipe, ever!
It never fails to impress others and I always end up taking home an empty pan at the end of the evening no matter how many batches I make. I would like to say… “Thank You” because I hate to cook but these little devils make everyone think I’m Julia Child.
My sister, nieces and I just made these tonight. VERY Delicious! Thank you for the recipe!!! And we both agree, very cute baby!!!
Amazing! I made 1.5 times the recipe which used an entire 9 oz. box of cereal. I also used Marshmallow Fluff (1.5 jars) so it would be vegetarian. Easily the best RKT I’ve ever had.
This is now my favorite way to eat rice krispies! Thanks for the tasty recipe.
I read this recipe back when you posted it and four years later, I actually tried it. My first batch was given to coworkers as Christmas treats. The overwhelming response I received encouraged me to make another batch for my family and me to enjoy. This truly is the best RKT recipe I’ve ever used. Thank you so much for it. :)
HI Deb! My brother got me your book for Hannukah and I’ve already made two dishes from it (that’s a high frequency for me :) ) thank you! I was wondering, can I substitute kosher salt (which I have lying around) for sea salt (which I don’t). Apologies if you’ve already covered this. Thanks for the beautiful book!
I made these as written the first time. Exceeded my expectations. The next day, I made them again with some tweaks: I microwaved the marshmallows in a large bowl for about 30 seconds to start the melting while the butter was browning. Then I added the butter to the bowl and stirred until smooth, eliminating the need to scrape the marshmallows out of a pan. To that bowl, I added the cereal, and it was a breeze to stir together. I used a 9-inch pan since my 8-inch wasn’t tall enough, and they were a perfect height. Lastly, I froze them after cutting, and they defrosted beautifully, tasting as good as they day I made them.
I’ve made these twice in the past month and people can’t get enough! They are the easiest, fastest bulk dessert I’ve ever made and are now a crowd favorite. I drizzled dark chocolate on top and added some festive sprinkles.
Your precious makes the absolute cutest monkey oh and I love the recipe too lol
If these are anywhere near as good as the brownie roll out cookies, I’m kicking myself. I just finished a pan of RKT for a bake sale. I bought enough supplies to make them twice though, so I will HAVE to try these for the Egg Hunt bake sale next week. Btw, making Brownie Roll-Out cookies for next week as well. :)
Do not make these. Seriously, they are deadly good and will ruin all other rice crispy squares for all time. I’ve made 2 batches in 4 days and cannot stop eating them!!
To make them extra deadly I made the Smitten Kitchen marshmallows with homemade vanilla extract and once those set I used them for both batches of squares. A single batch of marshmallow will give you enough for 2 batches of rice crispy squares and some extra marshmallows for s’mores!
Making them with homemade marshmallows may be over the top but for my multi-allergen 4 year old it meant he got to have his first ever rice crispy squares, so thank you for always posting recipes for crazy things!
Excuse me, I need to go change into some elastic waist pants. :-P
I love these! I always add extra salt though, just sprinkled on top. Today, I went a little nuts and I’m happy I did! I love Brown butter…anything, but it’s never enough little brown bits. I wondered if you could get more brown stuff by adding more milk solids, in the form of milk powder. YOU CAN AND IT’S WORTH IT! I put about 1/4c. Nonfat dry milk powder into my butter and browned as usual. Oh my!
Deb, if you get the chance to try this Extra-Brown, Brown Butter in another recipe, I beg you to tell me how it goes! I’d love to do it sometime in a savory recipe, like a sauce for gnocchi or something.
I went to a camp out last weekend and someone brought brown butter rice crispy treats and they were amazing. Seeing as you introduced me to brown butter years ago, I thought, maybe deb has a recipe… And of course you do!! Amazing!! I ate an unhealthy amount of these.
I was directed to this recipe from another blog and just finished making them. With my teen son in mind, I added crumbled, crisp bacon. They are absolutely amazing. Can’t wait for him to get home and have these for his after-school snack. Hmm, probably should have made a double batch… Thanks for a great recipe.
I made these tonight, my plan was to bring them to work tomorrow. That is going to be very difficult. These are the best I have ever eaten,,,
These really are the very best rice crispie treats!
I love these! Made them twice already! Making them again, but only have salted butter, should this be ok? I don’t want them to turn out too salty.
Breanna — Glad they’re a hit. If you’re using salted butter, you can skip the added salt, or just add a pinch for texture.
Yum! Can’t wait to make these! If I wanted little chunks of marshmallows, could I stir in some mini marshmallows at the end?
Thanks!
Yes, or you could just not fully melt the big ones. However, your method would probably more reliably leave chunks.
Made these with my five year old and they were a huge hit with the big and small. I am embarrassed at how many I ate….
I have made these every year for the past 4 years around the holidays, and they are always a HUGE HIT! I add a little extra butter to keep people coming back for more…. :)
Absolutely melt in your mouth tastefully divine! The browned butter and the salt completely raise the bar and take Rice Krispy Treats to a whole new level. Your recipe completely trumps the original! Thanks for your continued deliciousness!
Just made these with Kosher marshmallows. They are thickened and fish gelatin, so they’re still not vegan (and some vegetarians might not eat them either). The brand I got was Paskesz – they’re available on Amazon if you don’t have kosher foods at your local stores. It was an 8oz bag instead of 10oz so I used 5 scant cups of rice crispies and 4/5 of the stick of butter. They turned out great!
thickened *with fish gelatin
This recipe just helped me conquer my long stand fear of making sub-par Rice Crispy Treats. Amazing
Growing up, we made Scotcheroos, not the marshmallow treats. http://www.ricekrispies.com/recipes/chocolate-scotcheroos The Rice Krispy part is gooey peanut butter, the topping is a mix of chocolate and butterscotch chips. They’re incredibly simple, but a huge hit every time I serve them. I am dying to try this brown butter version. Is there anything made with butter that ISN’T better made with brown butter? Also, word to the wise – homemade marshmallows do not work well with Rice Krispies. I think the moisture content may be too high, and it makes them taste stale.
made these today with “Just Right” cereal instead of Rice Krispies – oh so goooood. 38 weeks pregnant and fulfilled my craving :) just wish my stomach wasn’t so squished because I want to eat them ALL but they won’t fit!
SO. GOOD. I heard about these on the Spilled Milk podcast today and drove straight to the store to pick up the necessary goods to make these. Another hit from SmittenKitchen. =)
I’ve made this many times over the years, but last night I made some tweaks and found my new favorite combination: as-brown-as-it-can-get-without-burning browned butter and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. It adds a different flavor that makes them just a little more grown up, but still has the traditional flavor that people love. Also, they flew off the plate faster than normal. I’m going to try hazelnut extract in my next batch (later today… don’t judge).
I put a little sprinkle of cinnamon in them-perfect!
We made these again last night and I just had to thank you.
Somehow, I’d made nearly every cookie & dessert in the cookbook except for these. Enter: Baby’s First Birthday. Monkey Cake + Salted Brown Butter Krispie Treats = Smashing (pun embarrassingly intended) success! Not even a huge fan of these treats usually, but brown butter is magical. Thank you for 2 more perfect recipes and a great party!
I have made these many, many times since you first posted them, but usually have to come back to make sure I have the measurements correct. But, really, I just come back to look at that monkey face!
I just made these, and apart from being scared by the butter foam (I don’t think I let it cook quite long enough to be deemed officially browned) they look and taste excellent. Pink marshmallows definitely add something a little extra! Thank you for the great recipe.
The wrapper from the stick of butter works phenomenally well to press into the pan.
These look wonderful. However, is it just me, or does browning the butter take for-ev-er? I’ve been at this for 30 mins and am not into foam yet.
Hi! Is there any reason to use packaged marshmallows when homemade are so much better?
These were amazing and came out perfectly! I melted the butter and added mini-marshmallows in a deep saute pan.
Note that my teenaged son thought he “tasted salt” in them. More telling was that he did not come for seconds. So these might be better for tastes who have not been “recently” desensitized by the traditional and/or commercial recipe. But I loved them, thank you!
I made these for Halloween and added reese’s pieces – which was absolutely the best idea of all time – the colors were great, and the crunch and peanut butter flavor was SO GREAT. I’ll never make rice crispy treats any other way!
OH MY GAH.I made these over the weekend, and yeah they have ruined all other rice crispy treats for me.
Your directions are fabulous. This combo is even more fabulous. Thanks!
I’m completely late to this party. I think using my vegan/non-gelatin marshmallows were a bit odd in the melting step, plus I was so paranoid about burning the butter that I’m not sure it’s actually “browned” but whatever. They taste hella good!
Thank you so much for the amazing recipe! You are so talented. Happy Holidays!
Will be trying these as soon as we get over all the holiday treats! My fav trick for smoothing crispy squares is to rub the back of a clean spoon with butter and then smooth out the squares. Works every time, gives lots of control, no mess or fuss.
another twist for rice crispie treats.
make your treats then bake them.
a spoonful at at a time @350 for 11-13 minutes until golden brown….
extra good if you sprinkle some sliced almonds on top before baking.
instead of a kids favorite treat you have a lace cookie.
these are simple and easy and well liked ….am thinking of dipping in chocolate.
Do you have a recipe for the monkey? Precious!
Looking forward to making these for girls’ night in. Brown butter makes everything better.
Years on and this is still my go-to!! It’s been too long at this point – a batch is definitely in the (very) near future. Amazing to look back at little monkey pictures and realize how long I’ve been reading this blog! Thanks for all the great years and inspiration!
i found this recipe maybe a month ago and have made them at least 4 times. They are addicting! I love them and everyone who has had them loves them. It is so hard for me to keep these in the house I want to eat them nonstop. This and the oatmeal raisin cookies are amazing!
Love this site! So viele Leckereien, wie in den Hotels in Schenna Südtirol
Ahhhh wonderful… I made these with the marshmallow recipe of yours that I used at thanksgiving: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/11/sweet-potato-cake-with-marshmallow-frosting/
I can always count on you to give me a wonderful new take on an old favorite:)
Found this recipe this morning and had all ingredients on hand except I only had salted butter. Used it anyway with a level 1/4 tsp kosher salt. I have never tried browned butter before. OMG! These are better than sex! No contest. Ate almost half the batch before I could stop. This is a keeper. I will be making these weekly for the rest of my life. If I can waddle myself to the stove, that is. :-)
Will it matter if I use fine Sea Salt instead of coarse?
Sue — I use a flaky sea salt. You can use another kind, but you’ll want to use much less because it will be more dense/heavy and thus salty per 1/4 teaspoon.
I really like this recipe, although I wonder if I should be adding vanilla. Anyway, to avoid gelatin (I keep kosher, and getting decent kosher marshmallows is a bit inconvenient and expensive), I use 7 oz marshmallow fluff instead of the 10 oz marshmallows. The mixing is a bit less obvious, as it doesn’t really melt but has to be mixed fairly stubbornly with the butter, but the result is great.
These were incredible! Doubled the recipe, used a 9×13″, and cut medium sized cubes. It was a fun look! The one thing I added and can recommend is heavily sprinkling the buttered bottom of the pan with toffee bits before pressing in the bars. The toffee complemented the browned butter and added a little extra surprise crunch and flavor.
These are spectacular!! The marshmallows melt easier with mini ones.
I will be making these for the first time as a gift for guests at my daughter’s baby shower. How far in advance can I prepare these?
I made these and I don’t know what happened. They were fine right after I made them, but as time went on they got harder and harder. In fact two days later I had to throw them away because they were inedible.I followed the recipe to a tee. I wrapped them in saran and kept them in the fridge. I think the culprit might be the amount of butter. The back-of-the-RK-box recipe says 3 tablespoons of butter and this is 8 tablespoons.
Gail — Were they hard at first? Were they in an airtight container? The only thing that can make them to hard otherwise is if the marshamallows get cooked — you just want to stir them until they mostly melt, then add the crispies. Much longer, they lose their stretchiness. The extra butter does not affect the texture, just makes it more delicious.
I made these for the first time last Mother’s Day and now it is requested that I bring a double batch to every family gathering. They are a delicious, simple, not-too-sweet version of a classic picnic treat.
In response to Gail – the fridge hardens them, a lot. They can be kept at room temperature.
Two questions:
-Do you think it would work to use Fluff in the place of marshmallows? I live in France and white marshmallows are hard to come by…
-How long do these keep? Would they freeze well?
Love these! Made the recipe three times in two days. (First batch…disappeared…without anyone knowing they existed.) For the third batch, I added a bit of brown sugar (a handful – don’t judge me). It gave it only a slightly more browned flavor, but probably not worth the extra calories.
Katherine –
I’ve used marshmallow fluff instead of marshmallows with excellent results. In fact, I only have ever used fluff since I’m a vegetarian. Use 1 jar of fluff per batch of the recipe.
I’ve kept them for more than a couple of days in an airtight container.
These are so good, I just made them and had some before they had a chance to cool. To up the gourmet aspect and since they are a pre/post workout treat I used Himalayan salt.
Made these and they were great! actually used other cereal I had lying around instead of rice krispies, however the addition of brown butter and sea salt (I used Malden) was incredible.
You might not think that the standard rice crispy treat recipe needs any tweaking, but adding the simple step of browning the butter and adding a bit more salt adds a whole new, delicious, dimension to these guys. Give it a try, definitely. This is now my go-to cripsy treat.
I have made these hundreds of times. I saw the recipe in a magazine years ago and ever since I made them and brought them into work people have raved about them. This recipe takes time but it’s totally worth it.
Thank you !!
Amazing! I made these and took them to work and promptly had to send everyone the recipe!
Hey!!! I wanna try making this, but may I know the amount of ingredient in grams? Thank you! Hope to hear from you soon!!
Weights now added.
My family loves this recipe, although I have upped the (salted) butter to 150g and increased the salt flakes to about 1/2 tsp. Very hard to make it last more than a couple of days, though!
“4 ounces (113 grams or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan”
This says ‘4 ounces’ twice. Did one of them use to be in tablespoons? That’s 8 tablespoons, right?
My typo, now fixed, sorry for the trouble. 8 tablespoons = 4 ounces.
I just made these, and they are so freaking delicious!! I’ll never go back to the old rice crispy treats. These are gourmet treats! YUMMY!!!
LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it with a bag of Trader Joe’s marshmallows because they’re gelatin free. I felt like I was having trouble getting the marshmallows to melt but they were scarfed down. Next time I made them I used the Ricemellow Creme. I used the entire 10oz container in place of a bag of marshmallows. Was WAY easier/faster and just as yummy!
Can I make this with salted butter?
Yes, but then omit or greatly reduce the flaky sea salt.
ACK. This was my problem. Is there any way to de-salt too salty treats?
I’d put a layer of ganache on them. The sweet should cut the salty…
I like the way you think. 😈
Treats are great and all but THE MONKEY!
Hi Deb, when do you add the salt?
4 oz is also 1 stick of butter, yes? Would be easy to also add that for your readers….perhaps ? Thanks!
My readers get mad when I measure butter in sticks, usually, as sticks come in different amounts in different places and it’s easier to make mistakes.
I made these and added a Halloween touch with black & orange sprinkles and orange sugar, which were stirred in after I mixed the cereal with the marshmallows. Everyone loved them, but quite frankly, I thought they were only slightly better than the traditional rice crispy treats; guess I was expecting a swoon-worthy OMG reaction, given the high praise I was reading from the others who made these. Nevertheless, I will make these again.
I made these again since my last attempt in Oct and this time, I browned the butter a little longer. I also happened to have an extra box of Sur la Table’s Caramel & Crushed Pretzel Ice Cream Mix-In so I stirred those in along with the cereal. The overall results were a sophisticated salty caramel taste and I got rave reviews!
What an awesome recipe! I got back from the grocery store at 5:15, my party is at 6…the treats are chilling in the fridge now but I tasted a sample and they are scrumptious! Thanks!
Made these again today for Christmas and this time I had a lot of trouble using Trader Joe’s marshmallows. The batch was very crumbly and even after really pressing down in the pan, I couldn’t get them to hold together. The taste was fine, but cutting into squares was impossible. What a disappointment. I’m going to go back to Kraft marshmallows; have never had a problem before.
Just made two batches. The first was taken away as soon as it made it in the pan. These are divine!
Hi Deb,
Can I use plain unsweetened puffed rice or should I stick with the breakfast cereal type of sweetened puffed rice?
I think you’ll be fine with both, so long as the plain stuff is equally crispy.
For those of us who don’t have marshmallows around, do you have a favorite marshmallow/marshmallow cream recipe to use for these? I have a corn allergy, so something w/o corn syrup would be ideal.
I *think* Alton Brown has a version made without corn syrup. Not positive, but worth checking into. Try Martha Stewart, if need be, too.
These are AMAZING – perfect combination of sweet and salty! I’ve made them twice in the last couple of weeks and they have been demolished both times.
TIP: to add an extra dimension of flavour, sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the squares before they set. Lush :)
About to make these for the second (Friendsgiving) and third (for work) time. First time I made them everyone said they were the best rice krispie treats they ever had!! I literally did make new friends.
Hi just curious. You mention that there is double the butter in these but it looks like you are using 1/2 cup butter which is the same amount as my regular recipe. Am I reading this wrong? These sound delicious!
It may be the same as your usual recipe but the original recipe used 3 tablespoons butter.
Thanks!!! Looking forward to these
I made these and they were scarfed in 5 minutes after laying down on the table at the church.
1/2 C (1 stick) butter, browned to “nutty aroma”
2 T vanilla flavoring
1 tsp sea salt
10 oz bag of Mini Marshmallows
6 C Rice Krispie Cereal
These were very good. I will try and make with 1 less T butter next time. These were good, gooey and crispy though, just thought there was a tad too much butter.
These are heavenly! My pregnant self is ready to name you the godmother of my unborn child.
Made these for our annual holiday party. Sooo yummy! Finished off the 1″ x 2″ bars with a salted caramel drizzle and some flaked pink salt. Such a nice grown-up version of the classic treat. Thanks for recipe!
Didn’t see when you add the sea salt ?
With the cereal, second to last paragraph:
Made these tonight, because apparently my holiday weekends are best spent making SK recipes! So very good. Thank you for making these adult-worthy but still kid-treat fun!
So… a word of warning. I bought the ingredients for this at Whole Foods (“natural” marshmallows, whatever that means, and brown rice krispy cereal, because that’s the closest thing they had to what I needed.) While the flavor of the finished product was good, the texture was all off: chewy to the point I was worried about breaking a tooth–not fluffy and soft like it is supposed to be. I fully blame the ingredients and not the recipe, and plan to try this again with the right ingredients. Just wanted to share in case anyone is considering going the same route.
I also had this same issue using the Ingredients I bought from Whole Foods. The dandies brand marshmallows take longer to melt and are seriously chewy. I had to cut mine up into bite sized pieces to avoid the tooth breaking situation. When the little pieces were so tiny, I could not stop eating them because they were so chewy. I am making them again now with half of the dandies marshmallows and half of the softer 365 brand marshmallows…. mmm!
These are my go-to bring-along-in-a-pinch treats for just about every occasion under the sun, and have been for years. Everyone raves about them every time. Husband and I just moved into a new house and I decided to make them for our new neighbors (along with a few other treats), but I wanted to do something just a tad different.
Tried adding just a 1/2 tsp of almond extract and a little bit of cayenne for an extra kick last night, and they were maybe (maaaaayyyyyybe) even better. Or maybe I just love these every time because how can you go wrong with brown butter anything? I don’t know, but thank you!
I made them with the store brand version of Wheat Chex cereal and added mini chocolate chips and my daughter loved them.
How long will these last (if they don’t get gobbled up immediately) in an airtight container? Thanks!
When I made them for our Christmas holiday party (added a salted caramel drizzle for that “festive look”), the leftovers stored in an airtight container did well for about 5 days. Just like any RCT, they start to get a little stale – still tasty but texture starts to go.
I actually froze some of the cut bars (sans caramel drizzle) then vacuum sealed them in packs of 4 or 6. These freeze and thaw beautifully and it’s nice to pull out a package of treats when the urge strikes!
I keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. I would say they don’t start seeming stale until day 3. Still delicious.
Making these now, for Super Bowl munchies.
These are what I always wanted when I went for a Rice Crispy Treat but was always disappointed with the regular recipe. I can’t even begin to explain how perfect these are. It is taking all my self restraint to not polish off the pan by myself.
Interesting how elevated the flecks of browned butter made these so much better. SO was off of these, due to having too many that tasted like styrofoam. He was pleasantly surprised by the carmelly (new word), taste. Very well done.
Ooey gooey deliciousness! Easy to make. Got a little nervous about over-browning the butter, so might not have had the strongest flavor. But the texture and consistency was great. Will definitely use this recipe again!
Best go-to for any occasion (not that you need one) especially if you need something quick and easy. Even though these are “just” rice krispy treats, the extra time – and really, it’s no time at all – taken to brown the butter takes these morsels to another dimension. I’ve never felt like a cheater for bringing these to events, because they leave a LASTING impression…everyone always asks for more! I’ve even had a friend request that I mail them! It’s a great recipe that leaves the door wide open for additional interpretation…I’ve added creamy peanut butter, for instance, or different flavors of marshmallows. Thanks, Deb, for taking something so “basic” and making it into a must-have staple!
I love the way you write. “Take it up with the monkey,” made me laugh out loud. Thank you.
One of my favorite local coffee shops has a brown butter crispy bar that my husband and I love, so today we finally tried this recipe. We used Himalayan pink salt but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter, and the bars are DELICIOUS. Love your recipes, Deb!
Hi! I was just wondering if you knew of any vegetarian gelatin I could use to make marshmallows! I recently became a vegetarian and one of the things I really miss are marshmallows and rice crispy treats like this.
Annie, We use an entire container of Ricemellow Creme when making these to keep them vegetarian. SO yummy!!! Sorry – I can’t help you with making your own marshmallows though :(
Trader Joe’s sells vegan marshmallows!
I had problems using TJ’s vegan marshmallows. They never set up right and crumbled when I tried to cut into squares. Never had this problem with Kraft marshmallows.
The original Marshmallow Fluff is vegetarian. It only contains corn syrup, sugar, egg white, and vanillin.
I’ve substituted 1/3 of the rice crispy with crushed graham crackers. Combination between the grahams and brown butter is addictive. Going to try the sea salt next time.
Can’t wait to try them. I altered the recipe as well. I hope you will try my way someday. I cook the marshmallows longer and as you mentioned, this makes for rock hard treats so to alleviate that I stir in 2 cups mini marshmallows at the end to keep the mixture gooey. Just before the cereal I add 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste and 1 teaspoon good vanilla. After the cereal, 1/4 t coarse salt.
About 25 years ago (my daughter was about 8) I was making RKT and had to step away from the stove for “just a second” as I was melting my salted butter to referee a disagreement. Your boys aren’the old enough for you to know just how easy those refs on TV make it look. Not so in real life. The “second” became a minute or three or four and I ended up with a generous amount of browned butter. Being frugal, I just couldn’t see throwing out the butter so I continued with the recipe. What started out as a treat for my daughter became a coveted adult snack as well. Have not made them according to the original recipe since them. My daughter continues the tradition to this day.
I m going to give this decatant little treat a try. Have no doubt it will be a hit with the Granchildren. Question whether I may need to keep this a secret from their parents. Lol!! Thanks so much. I’m sure the kids will love it. Won’t be telling the parents………. ❤️
Just made these with left over Easter Peeps! Haven’t tried them yet, but the specks of colored sugar and the smell of browned butter is making it difficult to let them cool!
I had leftover Peeps, too, and wish I had thought of using them for these crispy treats. However, taking a tip from another reviewer, my next batch will have graham cracker crumbs mixed in – that sounded really good! Thanks for all the great ideas – so inspirational.
Hi! Can’t wait to make this for my husband’s graduation party this Saturday. How far ahead do you think I could make these? Thank you. Cutie monkey!
Based on a suggestion I saw somewhere online, I subbed 1 T white miso for the salt. Added it to the melted browned butter before the marshmallows. People went INSANE for them. I am making them this way from now on. Perfect summer/pool party fare.
I tried your suggestion and it was great, you don’t really taste the miso but it plays up the maltiness of the rice krispies really well. Definitely use the full tablespoon, I was nervous and used a little less and can tell it would be better with the full amount (maybe even more!)
Thinking to make these for a crowd. Okay to double the recipe? Or would it make it more difficult to get the cereal mixed into the marshmallow? Thanks.
I double this recipe all the time. You definitely need a huge pot (I use a 10 qt stockpot) and I find it easier to mix in the marshmallows with the heat on very low to keep them fluid. It’s an arm workout but doable; they fit perfectly in a 9×13 pan or if you want thinner ones, a 10X15 jelly roll pan.
No, not more difficult, in my opinion, just use a big pot.
I finally made these again after too many years. The twist? I doubled the recipe, added an extra 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 bag of crushed, freeze-dried strawberries from Trader Joe’s, that I tossed around with the krispies beforehand. Absolutely brilliant this was. And delicious!
Yes! I just made them with crushed freeze dried raspberries! So good. Fruity and adds a little tart.
Company is coming, so when I spotted the red, white and blue Rice Krispies at the store I knew I had to make these bars. Always a hit. I had a 16 oz bag of marshmallows on hand, so I used 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter and 12 cups of cereal. Spread them in my 1/2 sheet pan. This is such an easy, festive, do-ahead treat for family coming for the weekend.
I can’t believe I’ve never commented – this is our go-to last minute dessert, and is always a huge hit. THANK YOU!
These were wonderful and easy! The Best rice krispie treats I’ve ever had! Followed exactly except at the end of mixing I threw in a handful or two of extra marshmallows then pressed into the pan. I don’t think I’ll ever make them the standard way again! Tip…I used a 5 quart ceramic non stick pot and cleanup was a snap! Thank you for such a great version of this fun recipe! I will always try to have ingredients on hand to make these often. So easy n quick to make n take anywhere!!!
Just wanted to leave a note here to say how much I love this recipe. It takes under 15 minutes to make and is utterly delicious.
I made rice krispies, they were crunchy the first day but soggy the next. I used homemade marshmallows. I stored the treats in the freezer. What am I doing wrong?
Can you make this with Fluff instead of marshmallows? I can’t eat marshmallows, because of the gelatin (I’m vegetarian). But these sound so goooooooood.
Katie Long – I always use Ricemellow Creme for the same reason (I use the entire container for this recipe) Works perfectly! I imagine Fluff would work the same, enjoy!!
Thank you! I’m going to give it a shot. These look sooo good.
These are HEAVENLY! They even impressed my skeptical bf. Yum!!
These are so fantastic! I found last minute that I only had Kerrygold salted butter. I used that and cut the salt to a heaping 1/8 teaspoon and they turned out just fine. I used Maldon sea salt flakes. Thanks for a great recipe!
Another suggestion to make them truly epic – try broiling the marshmallows in the oven for a minute or 2 till they become golden and puffy.
Bonjour, Je vais réaliser votre recette exactement comme vous nous l’offrez et verrai ainsi la saveur que cela procure. Je vous reviendrai pour commentaires. Merci de nous offrir ce rappel de base de soupe que ma grand-mère faisait quand j’étais enfant, dans les années 1930. Maintenant je suis survivante de quatre générations et rappellerai aux plus jeunes ces secrets de cuisine d’autrefois qui reviennent à la mode. Salutations. rdechamplain@hotmail.com de la région de Bas Saint-Laurent, province de Québec, Canada.
These are perfect version of old standard ….they are addictive 😍
You hit it out of the ballpark once again. I’m pregnant and all I want is rice crispy treats. These are the best. Thank you. :)
Just made ‘me…yummy and just a couple minutes longer than the usual.
When do you add the salt!?
Made these for a 2nd time in a week and they hit the spot. I did add a splash of vanilla to the melted butter for some extra flavor. Might reduce the butter down next time a sub out a couple tablespoons of peanut butter…..mmmmmmm…..
I just made these for the first time in about 30 yrs. I love brown butter & salt & thought I’d give them a try. I left some in the bowl to try while the ones cooled in the pan. They are soooo good & crunchy and love the brown butter flavor w/ the salt!! I’ll make this receipe again & again! So quick & easy too.
Just made these for the first time and they’re amazing! I had vanilla sea salt so I used that but didn’t really notice any difference from if I’d used regular. One tip…use the butter wrapper to smoosh it down in the pan rather than a new piece of parchment. Worked like a charm and doesn’t stick :)
If you have the right size pan and the right size rolling pin, rolling it compresses it nicely. I have a 12x 18 two inch deep pan. I do a double recipe to fill it and use a rolling pin. Perfection!
I plan on making these for the holidays. I have some espresso salt. Think that would be good, in place of the regular salt? Anyone?
Katie – since the recipe calls for only a heaping 1/4 tsp salt, the espresso flavor may not come through. However, I’m intrigued with the idea and wonder if adding chopped up chocolate espresso beans might amp up the espresso flavor. I’ve made this recipe with all kinds of variations, including espresso nib peanut butter, Halloween and Christmas riffs – so much fun to come up with different add-ins.
Thank you for the reply! I do love the idea of adding the chopped up chocolate espresso beans. I’m making them for “grown-ups” and wanted to add a bit of grown-up flavor to the classic. That is a good idea. I wonder if using a little less salt in the recipe, then sprinkling the espresso salt around on the top might work? Then the espresso salt would kind of directly hit the tongue. I think I’ll try both!
Sprinkling the espresso salt lightly (with your fingers to avoid clumps) is a great idea. Definitely a grown-up variation!
this is my go-to easy-but-oh-so-impressive treat to bring in to win over new coworkers, classmates, potential friends. people always look down their nose expecting typical Rice Krispies and inevitably apologize while shoving a seventh square in their mouth. the brown butter and salt are perfect. I’ve made successful variations with 1. crushed Oreos thrown in; 2. pumpkin pie spices and molasses added; 3. peanut butter stirred in.
These taste like heaven.
Really easy and amazing. I had large marshmallows which I probably should have cut into smaller pieces. It just took a bit longer to melt and I needed to turn the heat back on. End result had a beautiful flavour with slight hits of salt. Well-received and really quick to make! My previous making Rice Krispies treats turned out stale/soggy and these didn’t have that issue at all.
Really easy and amazing. I had large marshmallows which I probably should have cut into smaller pieces. It just took a bit longer to melt and I needed to turn the heat back on. End result had a beautiful flavour with slight hits of salt. Well-received and really quick to make! My previous making Rice Krispies treats turned out stale/soggy and these didn’t have that issue at all.
I made these several times with Trader Joe’s rice cereal before trying it with Kellogg’s. I liked the Trader Joe’s cereal better in the end. The TJ’s cereal is denser and rounder(?) so they don’t seem so flat compared to the Kellogg’s one. Another change I made was to add the salt with the marshmallows. I wanted to make sure the salt was evenly distributed and it seemed easier to mix it into the marshmallow “sauce” instead of trying to get it all mixed in the folding process of the cereal. Overall, delightful, easy recipe and receives rave reviews whenever I take them somewhere.
I made these with Trader Joe’s Rice Cereal, too, and was so surprised at how different they turned out compared to Kellogg’s. These were so much whiter (the cereal itself is almost white so add that to the marshmallow/butter mix-even with browned butter) and denser. We ate them all and they were good but just not what I had expected having always used a different cereal. I do like the extra browned butter addition. In a 9” square pan, my bars were squares.
These are hands down the best. You’ll be the star of the party if you bring these. People are always skeptical until they try them and then they can’t stop eating them. I’ve created a monster in bringing these to the office or to parties. It’s now expected that I show up w/ these in hand.
We LOVE this recipe! Has been a hubby and family favorite for some time. The browned butter takes an already loved treat and makes it phenomenal!
Do you move the pot off the burner, before you add the cereal? Does it matter if it’s an electric burner vs. gas?
I do. I only put it back of if the marshmallows aren’t melting well in the residual heat.
Can you make these day before? If so how do you store?
Airtight container, room temperature. They keep fine.
I was told of your website by a dear, dear friend who swears by your rice Krispy treat recipe. I love to bake treats and take them to work on Fridays, since the ladies I work with won’t eat treats on Mondays (“I’m trying to be good”)- but by Friday, anything goes. I’d like to make these, but worry I will mess them up since I’m already thinking of putting a “Scotcharoo” topping on it. Will this ruin the salted, brown buttery goodness of it all??
Recurving America one baked treat at a time,
Derrick
I think as a topping it could definitely work. Hope you like them.
Deb,
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks,
Derrick
So glad to see these on the website! I want to make some for treats for my friends helping me move and have foolishly already packed my cookbooks. I never seem to do a great job incorporating everything (but never really mind having some cereal fall off and other parts have bonus marshmallow). Perhaps I’ll do better this time. Any tricks to mixing well?
I actually like little pockets of unmixed marshmallow here, but just try to give it enough turns that all the cereal is stuck to something.
These are so good! The browned butter really elevates it.
My mom had a great trick to press them evenly. You just have to wet you hands with cold water and shake off the excess and then you use your hands. With the water it doesn’t stick to your hands and with the marshmallows it doesn’t wet the cereals. :)
I’ve made this twice and am not sure I’ve actually browned the butter either time. Today, I stirred the butter over med-lo for about 7-8 minutes and it still wasn’t foaming so I stopped for fear of burning it. Any guidelines as far as how long the browning process typically takes? Thanks!
Butter doesn’t always foam (some brands more than others) but it will get toasty at the edges and bottom and smell fantastic. That’s how you know it’s done.
Great answer, Deb. I personally like to take it right to the edge (and yes, I’ve burnt a batch of butter and have had to start over but that’s how I’ve learned to maximize the nuttiness). I find that a light-colored, thick bottomed skillet (like All-clad) works best while any kind of dark-colored, non-stick does NOT (a tip from the folks at Cook’s Illustrated). I also don’t stir the butter constantly but rather, swirl the pan to prevent burning (another CI tip for the perfectly browned butter).
I made these for a family reunion last weekend and they were very well loved. I was even told that if I don’t make them again, I’ll be kicked out of the family. It is lovely to get such high praise for a recipe that is so easy. (I made 1.5 batches and used a 9×13 pan, which worked well.)
Amazing recipe! So simple! It’s my go to for rice crispy squares!
I was too impatient in waiting for the butter to brown, I think. I melted it as directed for close to 7 minutes maybe? Still wasn’t born in color but i smelled a faint nut so I proceeded to melt marshmallows and finish them. They tasted like salty rice krispy treats, but still good and we ate them. Ha. Next time I’ll be more patient with browning the butter.
Love, love, love these, Deb! Have made them often and sometimes manage to share!
Here’s my Q: I’d like to send these to a friend; she’s a crispies treat fan from way back but doesn’t cook any longer.
Can you think of anything special I could do — besides wrapping in wax paper and then foil, and shipping priority, which was my plan — to ensure their safe travels?
Thanks so much.
I’m not Deb BUT these freeze beautifully and thaw like they were fresh. If it were me, I’d freeze them before mailing. Wrap in wax paper, then foil. They should arrive thawed and ready to eat!
Thanks so much, milkayphoto!
It had not occurred to me to try freezing. doh.
I think that will do the trick nicely.
Please add these to the new “5 ingredients or fewer” tag!
Good point! Thanks.
I’ve just made these for what seems like the zillionth time since you posted the recipe. We refer to them as “crack RKT” because they are so addictive. Beloved by adults and children alike, these are the consistent request of the out-of-town little ones who head to the kitchen immediately to look for the pan on the counter. Always delicious!
The Irish recipe for these is equal quantities (200g is good for a party) of salted butter, marshmallows, toffee and cereal. Heat first three ingredients slowly until melted and all mixed together, then add cereal. I’ve always found it’s the toffee that makes the difference. Adults tend to be even bigger fans than the kids…
whenever i make this i always double it! it’s just too good!
Yuuuuuummmy! A hit! I make rice crispy treats every year for Halloween, but these just elevate a childhood favorite into an adult party treat!! My office just devoured an entire pan!! So good!
Hi. I plan to make these sometime this week, they look delicious! Are there any updates to this recipe since it was originally posted, or should I follow it as is? Also, what do you consider your very best crispy treat recipe? Thank you.
I made these and then melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, drizzled over the top and sprinkled with more coarse sea salt. Next level!! My friends at the book club couldn’t stop eating them ;)
I added melted butterscotch chips over the top, then chopped peanuts. Excellent!!
I just made a batch of these and I found the measurements to be off. 160 g of Kellogs rice krispies, weighed on a food scale, came to four cups, not 6 cups. I weighed out 160 g of rice krispies (as I have gone to metric measurements for all my cooking) and kept another cup of rice krispies on hand in case the ratios seemed off when I mixed it into the marshmallow. I’m glad I did as there seemed to be way too much marshmallow to rice krispies. I quickly added the extra cup of rice krispies and I was much happier with the results. It still had a good amount of sticky, gooey marshmallow. I’m questioning whether I should have added the sixth cup.
I had the same experience. I weighed the cereal and it didn’t look like enough so I threw it in my big measuring bowl and it was more than a cup short. I went ahead and used all six cups (by volume). I wonder, if like so many products, the formula has changed slightly. The individual pieces of cereal look smaller to me than they used to.
I think with cereal (and oats and many other things), you’re never going to get a consistent weight from cups. The top of the box will be fluffier with unbroken pieces; the bottom more dense with broken ones.
I made these yesterday- we all agreed they’re the best rice cereal treats we’ve had! This recipe is amazing
I made this with kosher/vegan marshmallows (but regular dairy butter), and it turned out fantastically!
Oh my gosh, this recipe is nearly TEN YEARS OLD!?!??? Which means your monkey is also almost ten! o_O I’ve been making these in lieu of regular rice crispy treats for a decade, wow. That’s a little mind-blowing.
I KNOW. I cannot handle it either.
I liked these, and added some more flaky sea salt as a sparse, SPARSE topping. Then I decided to “commit a variation”, and in the second batch, I added a teaspoonful of Asian sesame oil to the browned butter. A definite improvement, if you like that toasty flavor. Next batch, I’ll up it to a whole tablespoonful.
These have become a major-league breakfast item in our house, especially with peanut butter.
Peter, I love this idea, thanks for sharing!
Love love love Krispie treats…..for a different spin…try little snips of rosemary, or grate some lemon peel for a bright surprise .
Delicious! Next time will mix the salt in with the marshmallows for more even distribution. The treats are very gooey so can probably support a bit more cereal (I measured it out by weight).
Wow, I just made these, and they are amazing! I know it sounds traitorous, but I don’t even like regular rice crispy treats (not even as a kid). I made them as a treat for my grandchildren. Who knew they would convert me! Thanks, Deb.
Oh. my. gosh. These are the most dangerously addictive treats. The only change I made was using brown rice cereal (that makes them healthy, right?).
The three adults in my house have almost eaten the whole pan, and they are not even fully cooled yet.
The only thing keeping me from making another batch right now is that then we would eat two full batches in one day.
these are great! browning the butter makes such a difference!
Browning the butter is a huge flavor win, but the extra oil makes the rice krispies tough. Any special reason for doubling the butter?
I have made these about ten times since you posted this on Instagram. They are hands down the best things ever!
If you want a little extra treat with this, use 4 cups Rice Krispies and 2 cups Moms Best Cocoa Krispies. I promise you won’t regret it!
Thanks for another great recipe Deb!!! You are the best. I make your stuff all the time and everyone loves it:)
These are so good that we devoured a half pan in ten minutes. Doesn’t hurt that it’s the easiest dessert ever, who knew the power of brown butter and a little salt!
Can I make these two days before I need them? They look amazing!
Yes
You can BUT they might get stale. If you want to make ahead, you can freeze them as these freeze and thaw beautifully and will taste fresh once thawed. I do this with any leftovers all the time for a future treat!
Yes, keep them in an airtight container.
I have literally made these more times than I can count in the past month, what started as making a quadruple batch for my nieces and nephews on New Years Eve turned into all the adults hording them and then begging me to make them every day of our vacation after that, which I happily did. Now we’ve been home for a month and the addiction continues lol. My husband and I have made these twice a week (at least) for the past month and must finally admit that we have a serious problem, a seriously delicious problem ;)
I just made these but used toasted coconut oat cereal instead of crispy and they are so good
Crispy bar EMERGENCY! I made a batch tonight but used bigger flake salt and – too salty. Is there any way to save them? Yes, they are already pressed into the pan.
A layer of ganache to sweeten them up?
Cut into squares and then dip each square into dark chocolate. The contrast of sweet and salty should be delightful!
I love this recipe so much! I’ve made it multiple times. One thing I’ve found is that it is easier for me to see the butter change color if I am melting it in my ceramic (white) Dutch oven instead of a normal metal pot. Delicious!!
Deb you’ve done it again taken something so simple and classic and found a way to elevate is without complicating things. These are THE best Rice Krispie treats I’ve ever had. I made a tray to send to my niece and nephew but I’ll be needing to make another for my house asap!!
These are amazing. I am not a real fan of rice crispy treats, or even marshmallows. I tried these and could not stop eating them. Then I tried salted caramel rice treats, not only were they more trouble, they were just too sweet. This is the only recipe I will make going forward. What a treat!
I made these today, with great excitement. But my marshmallows would not melt. I put them back on the heat and the finally softened into shapeless lumps which I mixed with the krispies. End result was tasty but not to the level I think these can go. I did notice the marshmallows were “no gelatin, vegan” (they were a grocery delivery, was not intending to use vegan). Could that have made the difference in melting? Thanks so much!
Yes, that was the difference. Isn’t it fun what you get from grocery delivery that you weren’t expecting? (That was total sarcasm from someone with a few things sitting in the pantry that I’ll never use due to delivery shopper error.) Try again with the real deal and you’ll have great results cuz these things are amazing!
I have made these treats many times over the years, and they are, hands down, the BEST EVER crispy treats! They get tons of compliments every time I bring them as my potluck dish (my go-to recipe), and I always refer people to your site. I just figured I should thank you for truly a life-changing recipe :D I’ll never make the regular kind again!
Made these today with a tiny splash of vanilla added to the marshmallow and butter mix and then topped with more flaky salt and omg. Best. Rice. Crispies. Ever.
I adore this recipe and have made it many times . PSAT-do NOT make with the nature’s path (aka the only Rice Krispie equivalent at Whole Foods ). Nothing at all like the beloved original!
I’m not usually a rice krispie treat fan, but for whatever reason I was craving them. These were so good! Salty, sweet, chewy, and crunchy. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Confused why the butter is measures in ounces instead of tablespoons? Can you clarify?
4 ounces = 8 tablespoons. Will add. Butter is sold by weight but I usually add cups and spoons too.
These are always a hit whenever I make these. I’ve tried the recipe as written, which is still quite delicious but what really takes this is up a notch is toasting the cereal in single layer on a rimmed sheet pan. It usually takes less than 15 minutes at 275F for them to turn golden brown. Instead of 160g of cereal, I use 170g so that’s it’s still chewy but less sticky. I use salted Kerrygold butter in place of the salt & add a teaspoon of vanilla extract when stirring in the marshmallows. Chef’s kiss!
These are incredible! The addition of the coarse sea salt takes it to another level. Sweet with a crunch of salt in the background sooo good. I like that the marshmallow mixture completely covers all the rice cereal so it isn’t dry buy gooey.
my mom requested rice krispy treats because she was feeling nostalgic for her mom who made them for her as a child. i had never actually made these but remembered them from here and the first book. these did not disappoint. they’re super easy to make & the taste is out of this world. my mom loved them and thanked me for making something that was even better than she remembered.
I just made these this afternoon for the first time. We loved them! My young-adult age son tasted them and told me they taste like I made them with roasted marshmallows. I don’t think we will ever go back to the plain recipe.
Does size of marshmallows matter (jumbo vs mini)? And/or, could you use marshmallow fluff?
I just used a whole 12oz bag of the large marshmallows and it worked fine. Added some Halloween candies to dress them up. Later I will cut into bars, place on a stick, and give them to my friend’s kids tonight!
If you add a little sweetened condensed milk, they stay soft indefinitely!
Hi Deb! How do you get the large chunks of marshmallows throughout the Krispies? If you completely melt, it doesn’t do that and I have never seemed to perfect what to do. Do you use extra marshmallows (say, half a bag extra) after the melted mixture is mixed with the cereal? I want mine to look just like yours. Thank you!
You can just stop mixing the marshmallows when they’re, say, 7/8 broken down to leave some marshmallow-y pockets.
My family loves these! I did find that the marshmallow won’t fully melt, so I have to keep it on low and turn the flame off when I add the crispies.
These work great to double and put in 9×13 pan. Like why would anyone make just an 8×8 pan of these? ;)
I use a very large enameled Dutch oven and stirring carefully, it fits. It works best for me to keep it over a very low flame until the marshmallows are melted and the cereal is thoroughly mixed.
Brown butter was delicious, but maybe because I used vegan marshmallows that didn’t melt easily, the rice crispie to marshmallow ratio was way off and didn’t distribute evenly leaving areas not covered. Flavor is good just need to tweak the recipe a bit or use gelatin marshmallows.
I completely agree about using the vegan marshmallows. I grabbed a bag from Trader Joe’s not realizing they were different. They don’t melt and spread. At all. I am concerned that I cooked the marshmallow which may make them too hard to eat. I am serving these for a group tonight and they look kinda strange but probably will still be delicious. At least that’s my hope. I make all the time using regular marshmallows and everything works perfectly.
I don’t know what took me so long to make these. Oh yes, knowing I’d eat the entire batch in one sitting.
These are seriously the best Crispy treats I’ve ever eaten.
I’m saving some for breakfast.
Love the browned butter. I found a similar recipe at once upon a chef that uses browned butter but replaces about 1/3 of the rice Krispies with Golden Grahams, which is a nice change to try too!
In the interest of self-control, I halved the recipe which set up beautifully in a loaf pan. Browning the butter is so magical! Wow, stretchy, chewy, salted butter popcorn flavors oozing with sticky sweetness! A mouthful of favorite flavors! Love it, new SK fave.
This has been my go-to recipe for years now. Everyone gets excited when I bring these krispie treats over. But if you want to get a real work out, make up a double batch!
Ohhhhhhhhhh boy. These are dangerous. I used Trader Joe’s marshmallows which did require additional heat and time to melt down, but I think they have a better chew than the Jet-Puffed. Perfect recipe as is, don’t change a thing.
Great recipe. Yes the (extra! Yum!) browned butter and sea salt make a big difference. I have always added a bit more marshmallow than the traditional recipe. Personal preference. FYI in Canada marshmallows come in 400 gm or 14 oz bags. I just use the whole bag after filling my cheeks with marshmallows and usually have to add a bit more cereal as well.
These were wonderful. I was so pleased with them. They’ll be my go to from now on. Thanks!
I agree that using a white bottom Creuset makes it easier to track the browning of the butter! And also my package of Jet-Puff marshmallows is 12 oz not 10 and yes I did take out 2 ounces. Is my husband the only one who requests M&Ms added? I can say this is soooooo goood either way.
Funny that the little monkey in original post is still looking adorable but in the Iceland photos this morning is now as tall? taller? than Mom!
I’ve made these since college, maybe 8 years now? I’ve made them multiple times each year since. They are the best, and definitely remember, brown the butter a good long time. Push it past the point you think, it just is sooooo much better!
Please send help, I can’t stop eating these!! My blood type is now M+ due to the marshmallows in my system…these are really the most sensational thing I’ve ever tasted, and I don’t even like marshallows or crispy rice cereal that much! It’s crazy.
Every few weeks with my Year 11 English class we do ‘Milo Monday’ and make cold Milo before our class starts. I’ve made them a few treats to accompany the Milos. They requested for our last MM, ‘those white marshmallow things’. Thanks for an amazing recipe. It never fails to be totally devoured.
Has anyone tried adding food coloring to these? I’d love to make orange ones for Halloween but don’t know if it would work to add food dye at any point.
H Alexa!
Yes, I added food coloring to the melted marshmallows for a Halloween/Birthday party over the weekend. I used the McCormick brand liquid coloring. You may need to add more of it than you think, as the color of mine was a bit lighter than what I wanted. Still looked and tasted great!
I’ve made these a few times before, but today I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon and a bit of vanilla, and they turned into fall decadence crispy treats!
I made these and these were awesome. I put in two pinches of Morton’s kosher salt instead of the 1/4 coarse salt and spread these on a quarter sheet pan. Highly recommended! Thanks Deb!
Flavor was amazing, but a word of warning! Don’t use stale marshmallows, especially big stale marshmallows. I used a mix of stale minis and larges, and the minis melted first but the larges took forever to melt…which meant that I had made caramel with the minis plus butter by the time they all melted, and caramel is…hard. So, unless you want crunchy/hard treats (review: like sweet croutons), I’d say small, fresh marshmallows are the way to go.
Ha, this is actually helpful! Because thinking this would be a good way to use up stale marshmallows is something I would do. Wouldn’t mix sizes though cuz even fresh ones might melt at different speeds.
Oh my good gosh this is incredible! I’ve always been underwhelmed when making this before (think I overbooked the marshmallows so they were too chewy) but this is is amazing! I’ve had to make a second batch in a week because I couldn’t stop thinking about it 😆 it shouldn’t be so moreish for something so simple, but it really is!
I’ve been here for a long time and can remember when you posted these originally and I made a mental note to make them. Today was *finally* the day, topped with Christmasy sprinkles. The best!!!! Thanks Deb. No one other way to make these now.
Just some love for this recipe. It’s instant sunshine in our house.
I’m wondering if it might be possible to make these with something like your s’mores frosting instead of actual marshmallows. Has anyone tried something like that? It wouldn’t have the stretchiness, but it might have the flavor still? The gelatin in the mashmallows makes these not vegetarian, and I have a sister-in-law who can’t have anything with corn products in it — which all marshmallows seem to have. (Side note — I was totally bummed to find out that most grocery store crisped rice cereals are *not* gluten free — both the ones I found have malted barley syrup in them and barley has gluten — ugh! I did find some online that are gluten free though. I’ll have to order one of those for my next try at this.)
Totally addictive! How can something is simple be so fabulous? Plus they’re light, so they don’t fill you up like other yummy sweet treats. Wish I’d tried these sooner! I’ll make them often.
These are so delicious and super addictive! I’m now buying family size boxes of Rice Krispies just to make theme. Thanks so much for sharing this fun and easy recipe.
These are DIVINE. I used 4 cups instead of 6 of rice krispies (I like mine extra marshmellowy). I also added a dash of vanilla after taking the butter of the heat. Do not exclude the salt. It takes it next level.
HIGHLY recommend!!
Thank you for this recipe! This is the first time I’ve made these in my adult life, and I melted in about 1/2 cup of Kraft caramels before adding in the marshmallows and it turned out great! Will definitely use the recipe again for summer picnics.
I love the versatility of this recipe. I added some left over honey’ed apricots I have in the fridge chopped in small pieces, and sprinkled mini chocolate chips on top.
I have made these several (maybe more!) times to rave reviews. The college class my husband teaches gobbles them up, & even my husband asked how I made them even better than he remembered. I stick strictly to your recipe, but with the addition of 1 tsp. vanilla. I’ve thought about dipping one side in melted chocolate, but haven’t actually done it yet. Building the lily, maybe? Thanks for another great recipe!
OK, but adding about a tsp of instant espresso (NOT coffee grounds!) right before the cereal is like…heaven. i made THREE versions of these treats this year — standard, coffee added, and apple cide caramel and they are all amazing.
I have made those by the recipe and then vegan. I used a sprouted rice krispy cereal that is really great. The only thing I added to the vegan recipe was a few tablespoons of corn syrup as otherwise they aren’t gooey.
These are a big hit with our “Friday at Five” neighbors! TYVM!
Does the corn syrup make it much sweeter? Thanks!
It didn’t seem to. Maybe the vegan marshmallows aren’t as sweet?
I’ve secretly loved RKT’s for years but have limited that disclosure to only my close friends – mostly because I somehow felt they were too pedestrian and didn’t include the requisite “eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog” (it’s Shakespeare, look it up) to qualify as an “acceptable” cookie – but I’ve made these several times now – and I’m pleased to say that my former shackles of confidentially are now gone forever – because these are so freakin’ good that I just don’t care anymore. Let the purists think what they want and let them wallow in their ignorance. I’m amending my will to include being buried with some of these.
I made these last night and my boyfriend said “I don’t know what the flavour is but it doesn’t taste cheap” lol thank you for the brown butter tips!
These are really delicious, to the point of grave danger to my health. If you are as in love with marshmallows and Rice Krispie squares as much as I am, you were forewarned.
These are my absolute addiction. They are so perfect with the brown butter and salt. I sometimes bring these to parties and people shrug them off since they think they are basic rice krispie squares, but as soon as they try one, they are always wanting the recipe. I will probably never go back to making them the “rice krispie” way.
Made these for a party and not only are they super easy to make but they were gobbled up by guests and multiple people asked for the recipe. I think next time, I can brown the butter a bit more (I’m always so nervous it will burn!) and do a bit more salt. I also added a bit of homemade vanilla extract. Delicious!
Hello Deb!
My 7 year old twins and I made these on the weekend after watching your YouTube video. They loved them – but say we added a secrete ingredient (love!).
They would also like you to make another season of youtube videos, especially with the kid (Anna)!!
I have never appreciated rice krispie bars. Until. This. Moment. So freakishly delicious!!!!
Made this with sweetened oat rings cereal and a cup of spiced pecans. Over the top delicious!
Has anyone tried this with Cocoa Krispies or a chocolate cereal?? Results??
Yes, tried Fruity Pebbles, too. They result in a sweeter treat, but not necessarily more flavorful. Fruity Pebbles do bring a slightly fruity taste, but Cocoa Pebbles don’t really add a chocolate taste. We definitely prefer scattering a layer of dark chocolate chips over the top and letting the residual heat melt them enough to spread.
Great recipe. Always wanted to try the brown butter trick, so glad I did. When pressing them into the pan, I always use my empty butter wrapper. That is how my mom taught me.
I havebeen making your recipe for year’s now. Always the biggest hit of the party. I mail them to my grown kids in holiday/birthday care packages. I started adding 2-3 Tablespoons of good bourbon a few years ago. It really takes this already-superb recipe over the top!
We gave our neighbors some of our garden tomatoes this summer and, much to our surprise, they made these salted brown butter crispy treats for us. HOLY MOLY. I have never been one for rice crispy treats. These are not those. These are delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, addictive, salty (but not too salty) bars of wonderfulness.
Today she provided us with another batch AND this recipe (which is how I knew where to come to post this review.) These are amazing and I am excited to make them myself. I just had to come here to share feedback, I can attest they are THAT good. :)
This is my go-to “take to a casual get-together” recipe these days…everyone LOVES them and as a bonus, the gluten-free crowd can also enjoy them. Thanks for this delightful addition to my life!
I just made these…what a difference the browned butter makes. Delish!!!
I have made these so many times now! I always add vanilla and this time I tried adding some mint also. Yum!
what do you recommend? salted or unsalted butter?
Either, but a little less salt if salted butter.
Oh my goodness…these are so good.
I just made this recipe Deb. OMG it is so good! The brown butter elevates this simple recipe to something so much better. Can I say it’s sophisticated? I’m a believer. Everyone should try this! Thank you Deb! You’re very clever.
Just a thank you for the joy this recipe has brought my family !
so easy to make! But i accidentally used salted butter instead. Not sure if it made a difference. Still yummy!
In the video you do three big punches of flaky salt but in the printed recipe it states 1/4 cup of coarse salt. I made them according the recipe, without watching the video and they were SO salty. Went back to watch the video and noticed the difference in the instructions. Luckily, had enough extra ingredients laying around to make a second batch.
There is not 1/4 cup of salt in the recipe. It’s a heaped quarter-teaspoon of coarse sea salt, which is about the same as the three pinches I grab.
I made these and I added varies chai masala spices to the marshmellows as they were melting. Then added the rice krispies. Delicious spin on a classic!
I like the original recipe but this is a whole new level. Quick, easy and more of an adult taste. I used a 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows and 168g of cereal. I only had salted butter so did not add extra salt but did sprinkle a few Maldon flakes on top.
I am not worried about how they store. I am not sure they will even make it to the party.
This is the fastest recipe! What a good one to have in my back pocket
Hi Deb! Do you think these would survive a trip through the mail individually wrapped in plastic wrap?
Absolutely.
Awesome, thank you!!
I am never going back to old school rice krispie treats. These are absolutely delicious!!!
I have made this recipe several times and LOVE it but never experimented with how far in advance I can make it. I know it’s quite easy and quick to whip up last minute, but anyone know how long they might last if I want to make them ahead of time?
I find they keep for a few days in an airtight container — like, the rubber or plastic kind, well-sealed. They’re fine for longer, but stretchiest in the first couple days.
Smitten Kitchen always has the BEST RECIPES..my daughter forwards hers to me..now I can have my own!