Sweet Bites: Crispy Rice Treats with Browned Butter and Crushed Cookies

Update a classic childhood treat with browned butter, sea salt, and crushed cookies - wow!

The Occasion: Be the hero by bringing sweets to work or a volunteer committee meeting.

Are you familiar with that charming Julie-Andrews-as-Mary-Poppins song lyric, “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down”? Well, sometimes it’s actually true. Bringing food to a meeting goes a long way toward achieving the desired outcomes (not to mention team morale) and homemade dessert is best of all. You might even call it 'sweetening the pot.' 

What Makes This Special? The recipe comes from renowned dessert queen Joy the Baker, whose fun blog and cookbooks are drool-worthy, inspirational, and accessible. It takes the classic childhood favorite – Rice Krispie treats – and fancies it up to appeal to adult taste buds. Sea salt – yes!

Serve With: I’m not sure, maybe a cup of coffee, glass of milk? Wet Wipes for your sticky fingers?

Individually wrapped treats for your snacking pleasure

Set the Table: In this case it’s not so much setting the table as preparing the goodies for transport. You can leave the crispy rice treats in the pan, cut into bars, and let folks reach in and help themselves, nothing wrong with that.

​But I decided to wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap (I had colorful wrap in the pantry – who knew?) so they would stay moist and fresh, and the meeting attendees could keep their fingers free from the sweet sticky goodness. 

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The Verdict: This modern version of a classic treat is fun and tasty for kids and grown-ups alike. A few tips for success:

1) Work fast-fast-fast once the marshmallows have melted. Stir them into the crispy rice quickly and thoroughly, before the gooey stuff hardens.

2) You need strong forearms and a sturdy wooden spoon to thoroughly mix the mess. I may need to recruit a super-strong helper next time.

​I also wonder if less is more – would this be better with fewer cookie crumbles in it? Something to think about for next time – and I do predict that there will be a next time! Please click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

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Crispy Rice Treats with Browned Butter and Crushed Cookies
Recipe source: Joy the Baker
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 9-12 ounces rice krispie cold cereal

(Note: The original recipe calls for 12 ounces; I followed a commenter’s advice and reduced it to 10 ounces for better balance with the marshmallows. It was still quite crispy, and if you prefer chewier bars you may reduce the quantity of cereal even further.)

• 16 ounces large or small marshmallows
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted to browned
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 16 Oreo cookies, chopped and crushed

DIRECTIONS:

• Place the rice krispies in a very large bowl. Set aside.
• Butter a 9x13-inch pan. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, melt together the marshmallows and butter. Stir as the mixture melts until thoroughly combined.
• Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the rice krispies. Sprinkle in most of the salt. Stir until all of the cereal is coated in marshmallow. Add most of the chopped cookies.
• To make pressing the mixture into the prepared pan easier, grease your wooden spoon (even if it's covered in sticky rice krispie treats) with butter.
• Press into the pan. Sprinkle with remaining salt and cookies and use your fingers to press them into the treats.
• Allow treats to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This will make the treats easier to slice and handle.
• Wrap individually, share, and enjoy!

What is your favorite sweet treat from childhood? Do you still indulge in it now? Tell us in the Comments