I’ve never cared much for Rice Krispie treats, not even as a child. I always felt disappointed pulling back the signature blue foil wrapper to find a hard and chewy brick of a blah, sugary mass. Typically my thoughts run more along the line of this: marshmallows-chocolate-graham crackers-want-now. Breakfast cereal has never really interrupted that sequence…
…Until last summer. I was at a birthday party on the beach and there was an enormous tray of the nostalgic marshmallow/cereal treats that someone had made. They were topped with white chocolate and instantly caught my eye. You say chocolate and I say: “yes, please,” so I picked one up and took a bite. So good! Wait what? Had the Jell-O shots made my mind fuzzy? A., was I actually eating this? And B. was I really enjoying it? I took another bite “just to be sure,” and yes, it was true. That treat was damn good. I also reminded myself that “actually girl, you’ve only had one Jell-O shot so far so…” (Yes; my internal dialogue/monologue does often involve calling myself “girl.”) It was chewy, buttery, sweet and a little bit salty all at the same time, which is all that can be asked of a dessert made with cereal, marshmallows and butter. Right?
Just to make sure the above occurrence wasn’t some kind of a fluke, I put other Rice Krispie treats to the test elsewhere and I will tell you this: they did not stand. They were either too sweet, too tasteless or frankly, too stale. So with my pursuit of that wonderful experience coming up short, I knew I had to make them myself. It took almost an entire year for me to do it: as I cannot think of anytime of year other than a summer party or a kid’s birthday party, for which they are appropriate. So Memorial Day weekend came, and it was time for me to try my hand.
To be honest, I had yet to make anything with browned butter, and was aching to try that out as well. Making Rice Krispie treats seemed like the perfect opportunity. Little research proved that others had the same (dare I say, genius?) idea, so I ended up adapting this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. The only changes that I made were to use slightly fewer marshmallows, topped the bars with sprinkles (for color!) and of course, drizzled them with white chocolate. Just as the recipe says, the browned butter gives the treats a slightly nuttier dimension and the sea salt combined with the white chocolate really makes a perfect combination.
So happy summer! Go to a party this weekend and make your friends some Rice Krispie treats! Make them some Jell-o shots too… they’ll love you for it!
xx LP
