L. periodically craves Rice Krispy Treats and, since I once read the list of ingredients on the store bought version, I feel compelled to make them for him instead of buying them. It is no great sacrifice since they take five minutes to make but I have always wanted to slightly elevate the iconic treat to a more foodie-friendly version. These still take five minutes but the couple of subtle changes really do make a huge difference.
These tend to come in large cubes so I decided to go with long rectangular slices instead. This worked well as it completely changed the the mouthfeel of the snack and made it more airy in texture. I considered adding iridescent edible glitter to the surface of the treats for some visual "vavavoom" but decided that this would be a bit pointless in view of my target audience - a 17 year old boy with a very large appetite.
1 stick butter
1 12 oz package of marshmallows
12 oz of Rice Krispy cereal
Finishing salt such as Maldon salt flakes
Measure your Rice Krispies into a large bowl. Set aside. Line a square pan with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang to be able fold the excess back over the top of the pan. Set aside as well.
Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Keep heating it, swirling the pan to keep it from burning, until the butter turns a rich golden brown and smells very nutty. Keep an eye on the pan as the brown butter can go from fabulous to burnt in just a few seconds.
Lower the heat further and add the marshmallows to the pan. Let them melt, stirring from time to time until you have what looks as a pan full of collapsed cotton balls and the marshmallow, when prodded, starts to dissolve further. This will only take a few minutes.
Pour the butter-marshmallow mixture over the Rice Krispies and stir well to combine, taking care that you don't break up the cereal with your spoon but that all of the cereal gets a coating of the hot sugar mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the lined pan. Smooth the surface as well as you can with a spoon and then fold the excess plastic wrap over the top of the snacks. Using the palm of your hand, press gently to further smooth the surface and compress the mixture. Do not apply too much force as you will end up with Rice Krispy treats that are too dense.
Leave the mixture alone for 15 minutes to allow the marshmallow mixture to cool and set.
Remove the mixture from the pan by opening the excess plastic wrap, inverting the pan onto a cutting board and peeling away the plastic wrap.
Sprinkle with finishing salt and cut into your desired portion size and shape. Stand back as your teen stampedes the kitchen to get at his or her treats.
Comments