Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats Recipe

by Dorothy Reinhold on April 20, 2010


Print This Post Print This Post Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats on Shockingly Delicious
  1. You and I both know the adults are always over at the kids’ dessert table snitching things. Rice Krispies Treats don’t stand a chance. But have you ever had the adult version?

To. Die. For.

From food blogger Smittenkitchen, these are astoundingly good. They should be, with nearly 3 times the butter of the originals. Browning the butter adds a new nutty dimension, and the salt gives my whole sweet-salty addiction a goose. They are scary good.

Cut them in 25 pieces, because you are going to eat more than one, no matter what size they are, so they might as well be small-ish.

Here’s my slight adaptation of her now classic:

Recipe: Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

  • 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1 (10-ounce) bag marshmallows
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • Garnish: chocolate chips equal to the number of pieces you are cutting

Lightly mist an 8-inch square pan (with 2-inch sides) with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will first melt, then foam, then become clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. As this transformation occurs, add salt and stir frequently, scraping up any tiny brown bits from the pot bottom. Don’t walk away from the pot because once the butter begins to take on color, it browns quickly. It may burn in as little as a minute, so watch carefully.

As soon as the butter becomes nutty brown, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the butter should melt the mallows, but if not, turn the heat back on low and stir until the marshmallows are smooth and glossy. (Then turn heat off if you have turned it back on to melt the mallows.)

Quickly stir in the cereal and scrape sticky contents out into prepared pan. Use your greased hand, an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to gently press the mixture evenly into the pan. Add point-down chocolate chips to the top, spacing them appropriately so each piece will get a chip (use chips equal to the number of pieces you intend to cut).  Chip demarcation is entirely optional, but adds additional interest!

Cool completely and cut between chips into squares.

Makes 16, 25 or 32 pieces, depending on how piggy you are.

Source: Adapted from Smittenkitchen

Shockingly Delicious variation

  • Add 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary along with the marshmallows. Omit the ch0colate chips on top. This is astoundingly good!

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

The chocolate chips decorate the top and also define where to cut

{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }

Karen from Globetrotter Diaries May 4, 2011 at 9:06 am

O I love this take on rice crispy treats! I don’t remember the last time I made them but it brings back good childhood memories 🙂

Reply

Dorothy May 4, 2011 at 9:11 am

Karen,
I quite agree that making these (the new extra delicious way) is a comforting step back into childhood, just for a moment.

Reply

Hilary April 7, 2011 at 3:47 pm

I’m making these tonight as a blatant bribe for my co-workers tomorrow. Taking a page out of Erika K’s play book!

Reply

Dorothy April 8, 2011 at 6:32 am

Hilary,
I highly approve coworker food bribes! Delicious idea!

Reply

Gregg B June 25, 2010 at 2:01 pm

These things are deadly good. We are fortunate enough to have Dorothy as a neighbor and we all patiently to pounce on a sample of anything she makes. These things caused a fight in the house causing my son to break out the big eyes and puffed lip in an effort to get the last one. Better luck next time kid…sometimes Dad comes first, and these represent one of those times.

Reply

ada rubin May 22, 2010 at 11:51 am

Dorothy,
These are good!! Would these be okay for Passover? I would need to use margarine (kosher)…and are they gluten-free? My one daughter has gluten allergies.
Let me know…in the meantime I’m out to buy Rice Krispies and marshmallows.

Reply

dorothy May 22, 2010 at 1:02 pm

Hi Ada,
GLUTEN: Rice Krispies contain barley malt, so are not considered safe for celiacs, I believe. There are apparently gluten-free rice crisp cereals, though.
PASSOVER: I confess I don’t know the rules for Passover, but I do know it is complicated! There is kosher, and then there is “kosher for Passover.” I think you need an answer from someone wiser than me in Jewish dietary laws and retstrictions. Also, I have never tried to brown margarine (like you would brown the butter in this recipe), so I don’t know if that works well. If you try it, come back and post here, so others can learn! Thanks!
ANOTHER THOUGHT ON PASSOVER: I have a great Passover cookie/candy that is made of matzah. I will post it for you.

Reply

Marie May 20, 2010 at 6:00 pm

You had me at salted brown butter and after one taste I am in love!

Reply

Leslie May 17, 2010 at 9:51 pm

Hi,
I made these for an eighth grade dance. They were such a huge hit that when some kids came over after the dance, they made another batch. Super easy and delicious! New favorite in the Frost house.

Reply

Pat Samarge May 16, 2010 at 6:59 pm

Wow, can’t wait to make these, I loved the touch of sea salt with the browned butter. I’ve sometimes put an M&M on the top of my rice krispies. Thanks for sending them with Susan.

Reply

dorothy May 16, 2010 at 8:12 pm

Pat and Susan, you are welcome! Yes, M&Ms are good on most anything.
–DR

Reply

Lucy Beer May 13, 2010 at 9:04 am

I had these FRESH from the Malibu Kitchen, and they were melt-in-your-mouth deeee-licious!!

Reply

dorothy May 16, 2010 at 8:13 pm

Thank you Lucy!
For everything….
–DR

Reply

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: