If you are a gen-Xer like me, you may have grown up with these chewy, distinctly vanilla-tasting Rice Krispies Treats. I tweaked the rice krispie treats recipe a bit to stay a little chewier and softer after cooling.
The trick was waiting until the warm goo was set before eating it. Turns out, warm and right off the spoon tasted pretty good too.
While the treats have the brand name, you don’t have to use Kellog’s RIce Krispies. I have used every store brand and generic crisped rice cereal out there, and they all come out about the same, as long as you use FRESH cereal.
You can’t really have a good-tasting treat made out of stale cereal. But if your cereal is hanging in there, you may as well use up the box.
Be sure to measure out the cereal in a measuring cup and don’t just guess, especially if the package is open and you don’t know how much is missing.
Pro Tip: Use vinyl or rubber gloves and spray each gloved hand with cooking spray before spreading the warm mix into the sprayed pan. This stuff is STICKY, and gets even stickier until it’s completely cool.
Fun mix-in ideas!
The fun part about Rice Krispie treats are all of the variations on the recipe. Once you have made the original plain version of these treats and have the process down, the additional options are truly endless.
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- Chocolate chips
- Peanut butter
- Broken chocolate bar pieces
- Sprinkles
- Candy confetti
- Drizzle with chocolate or caramel
- Holiday M&Ms
- Fruity pebbles
- Shredded coconut
- Red hots
- Cinnamon and brown sugar
- Dried fruit
Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 3/4 c Rice Krispies brand cereal or generic crisp rice cereal
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 8 oz mini marshmallows big ones are okay too, but the small ones melt faster and more evenly
- 1 1/4 T milk
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Add butter to a large saucepan and slowly melt it over low heat. Don’t let the butter burn.
- Add marshmallows and stir occasionally until they are melted.
- Add in milk and stir.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cereal. Stir until the cereal is fully coated.
- Coat a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
- Use your cooking-spray-coated vinyl gloves to spread the mixture into the pan. Or spray a spatula with cooking spray first.
- Allow the treats to cool.
- Cut into squares and serve.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
The bottom line
When taking the cut Rice Krispie Treats in a container to a function, event or classroom party, we highly recommend using parchment or wax paper between layers.
I see a lot of “blocks” of rice crispy treats, ones that are three inches high, but I think those are harder to eat, and make a mess.
Use a big casserole dish or sheet pan so that you can make skinnier squares that are easy to bite into.
If possible, don’t pack them in too tightly side to side either, or they will be a little harder to separate, and little hands will be digging in and touching two or three at a time.
How often do you make rice crispy treats now? Do you have a favorite mix-in? Mine is still creamy peanut butter, and I like mine to be softer than the original recipe, even after cool. (It’s why I like that extra milk in the recipe.)
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