Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Who doesn’t love a rice cereal treat? It’s the perfect blend of sweet, gooey marshmallow and crisp rice cereal. From children to adults alike, the sight of a pan of these treats puts a smile on everyone’s face.
I like these treats, but I’ve always felt that they needed a little something. So many of them have but one flavor: sweet. I love marshmallow flavor as much as the next person, but I wanted something to balance it out, give it more depth and make me want more.
One day as I was making a batch of these treats, I left the butter on a bit too long. Suddenly, the farmhouse kitchen was filled with the delightful aroma of brown butter. I wondered if brown butter might be exactly the flavor I was looking for and continued on, making a pan of treats and cutting one immediately to see if I had happened upon a delicious combination by pure luck.
One bite later, I knew that I had. The flavor was sweet and slightly salty, with the rich buttery flavor that brown butter is famous for. This was a treat that was greater than the sum of its parts. It was perfect and I couldn’t wait for my family to have a bite and weigh in.
They loved the combination just as much as I did, so a new family favorite recipe was born. I haven’t made marshmallow rice cereal treats any other way since then. Here’s hoping that you won’t dream of making them any other way once your friends and family have had a bite of your first pan of these!
Brown Butter Marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter divided into two equal portions
- 10 ounces mini marshmallows 1 cup reserved
- 5 cups Rice Krispies or other crisp rice cereal
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, measure out 1 cup of the mini marshmallows and 5 cups of crisp rice cereal. Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper or waxed paper to prevent the treats from sticking to the pan. Set aside.
- Make the brown butter by adding half of the stick of butter to a large pot over medium heat. After the butter melts, you will notice that the milk solids will begin to separate. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally to allow those solids to brown slightly. You will notice a slight change in color and aroma. Brown butter has a slightly nutty aroma which will signal that the solids have caramelized and that the brown butter has finished cooking.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the remaining butter. This will cool the pan and stop the brown butter from cooking, preventing the solids from burning. Once all of the butter has melted, add the bag of marshmallows (less the cup that has been removeto the pan. Stir until the marshmallows and butter have combined to create a melted, smooth mixture. Add the vanilla extract and salt, stirring to fully combine. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the crisp rice cereal and reserved mini marshmallows in a single addition, stirring with a spatula until it is fully combined and the melted butter marshmallow mixture evenly coats the cereal. Transfer the entire mix to the lined pan. Using the back of the spatula, press the warm mixture to the edges of the pan, smoothing the top to create an even pan of treats.
- Allow the treats to cool slightly before cutting into squares and serving. They’re delicious on their own or paired with coffee or hot chocolate.