Salted (yes) Brown Butter (yes) Rice Krispies Treats (a thousand times yes)
I love butter. It’s the base of everything delicious. It’s the topping that make everything even more delicious. Popcorn? Yum. Popcorn with extra butter? Delicious! Fresh, steamed lobster? YUM. Fresh, steamed lobster drenched in clarified butter? EXTRA DELICIOUS. If you ever find that something is missing in your recipe, add a little butter. But don’t go getting all obese on my account.
Out of no where one night, I had this intense craving for Rice Krispies treats. I remembered this recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen and immediately walked down 4 flights of stairs and went to 3 different deli’s (apparently no one eats Rice Krispies anymore) then proceeded back up 4 flights of stairs and straight to my kitchen. What do Rice Krispies treats have to do with my love for butter you ask? Well, only that an entire stick goes into this recipe is all. One. Entire. Stick. (On occasion, I use 3/4 stick. But let’s just keep that between us OK?)
I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but there are a few things that pass under my toothy radar. Rice Krispies Treats are one of them. Especially when they’re made with an entire stick of butter. Then there’s the browning of the butter that make it all nutty and the salt that gives you that sweet/salty sensation. Does this still count in the sweets department? Yes, I suppose the bag of marshmallows says it does.
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Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter - I’ve been using 3/4 of a stick the last few times I’ve made this (so sue me - but know that I still love butter).
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 1/2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
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 vanilla and add 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. If you have a 9x13 inch pan, put the treats in there and flatten it. Frankly, I like to wash as few dishes as possible so I put a large sheet of wax paper on the counter and put the treats on to that and form it into a rectangle with my hands.
