Brown butter rice krispie treats made with homemade marshmallows are infinitely better than anything you can buy from the store! Gooey, buttery, and all round delicious, and you know and can control exactly what goes into these treats! No corn syrup and no preservatives.
Rice krispie treats made with homemade marshmallows, so you can make them just the way you like!
I’ll be honest, I never enjoyed rice krispie treats, growing up. BUT, that all changed when I made rice krispie treats with homemade marshmallows! Turns out, my aversion to store-bought marshmallows was the one thing that kept me from enjoying these delicious little treats.
So if you’re like me, and don’t much care for store-bought marshmallows or rice krispie treats made with store-bought marshmallows, then this recipe is for YOU!
It’s also for anyone who wants to know and control what goes into their homemade rice krispies treats. Because store-bought ones are often chock-full of awful stuff. These homemade brown butter rice krispie treats have,
- No corn syrup
- No additives or preservatives
- You can make them corn free (using cornstarch free confectioner’s sugar)
- You can also make them gluten free using gluten free rice krispies
These are now firmly one of my favorite holiday treats, ones I make every year for friends, along with honeycomb candy, chocolate caramels, oatmeal lace cookies, peanut brittle, and chocolate truffle.
How to make homemade marshmallows
I have a detailed post on how to make homemade vanilla marshmallows that is much loved by all my readers. Everything you need to know about making marshmallows can be found in that post.
The post will show you how to make marshmallows from scratch, with or without corn syrup. And I share lots of tips, so you know exactly what to look for at each stage of the process, and how to guarantee perfect results.
Can I make these rice krispie treats with any type of homemade marshmallow?
Yes, you can.
However, depending on the texture of your marshmallows, there could be slight variations in the texture of your rice krispie treats as well. You can also use store-bought marshmallows if that’s all you have. Because of the extra marshmallows and the butter in this recipe, these rice krispie treats will be more gooey than regular rice krispie treats.
How to make Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats with homemade marshmallows
The process of making these brown butter rice krispie treats is similar to the regular version. But there are a few differences in terms of the ingredients.
- Homemade marshmallows – Softer, with a more silky texture when melted.
- Brown butter – You can certainly make these treats with regular butter, but browning the butter first will give these rice krispie treats incomparable flavor!
- Salt and vanilla – Absolutely crucial. The salt balances the sweetness, and the vanilla adds depth of flavor to the sweetness.
Make the brown butter
Making brown butter is easy. It’s only a few extra minutes added to the cook time, but the resulting depth of flavor you get from the brown butter is just glorious!
Place the butter in a small stainless steel pot. You can also use a non-stick pot, or a pan. But you need to make sure you can see the color of the milk solids as they caramelize. If you use a dark bottom pot, then you can use a spatula or spoon to check the milk solids from time to time, so that you can stop cooking the butter on time.
Heat the butter until melted. As you cook the butter, the milk solids will separate and settle on the bottom of the pot. So whisk the butter frequently to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the bottom.
These milk solids will discolor a little at first, and then start to turn golden in color. Next, the milk solids will quickly go from light golden to dark golden to amber in color, and finally black (when burned!).
Remove the butter from the stove as soon as the milk solids start turning amber in color, and pour it into a bowl. The residual heat will continue to cook the butter until it turns a beautiful amber color. Now you can use the brown butter right away to make these delicious rice krispie treats!
Making the marshmallow base
This step is so easy it’s embarrassing!
Line a baking pan or any pan (8 x 8 inch or 9 x 9 inch square pan) with parchment paper. This simply makes clean up easier. You can also use foil if you prefer.
Place the homemade marshmallow in a large pot, along with the brown butter and salt. Make sure the pot is large enough to hold all of the rice krispies.
Heat over low-medium heat until the marshmallows are melted. The marshmallows melt pretty fast, since homemade marshmallows have a nicer, more gooey consistency.
When the base is ready, remove it from the heat. Add the vanilla and stir it in. Next, add the rice krispies into the brown butter marshmallow mix and fold it in gently, but quickly. The marshmallow base will become stickier and thicker as it cools down. As soon as the rice krispies are evenly coated, transfer the mix into the prepared baking pan.
Spread the mix and gently press it down to create an even layer of the rice krispies. Allow the brown butter rice krispie treats to cool down completely to room temperature.
Once cooled down, and set, remove your homemade rice krispie treats slab onto a cutting board, and cut into squares.
How to store rice krispie treats
Rice krispie treats can be stored at room temperature for about 2 days, in an air-tight container. They will keep longer in the freezer, for up to about 6 months. To store them in the freezer, wrap each rice krispie square with freezer paper / parchment paper and store in an air-tight container / freezer bag.
Why I love this recipe
These homemade brown butter rice krispie treats are infinitely better than store-bought. That’s straight up just a fact. They are softer, with a more gooey texture. The marshmallow flavor is so much better. The salt and vanilla add even more flavor to the rice krispie treats. But most of all, the brown butter takes these babies to a whole new level!
I like to drizzle some extra dark chocolate on top, because I love the bittersweet flavor of the chocolate against the sweet rice krispie treats.
I was a true convert after making my own homemade rice krispie treats. They are incomparable to store-bought ones on so many levels. And there’s no going back once you’ve tried these brown butter rice krispie treats made with homemade marshmallows!
More delicious rice krispie treats
Recipe
Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
- 115 g unsalted butter 1 stick, cut into tbsp sized pieces. Only use 4 tbsp / 55 g, if you're not making brown butter.
- 340 – 455 g homemade marshmallows 12 – 16 oz (see recipe notes)
- 180 g rice krispies about 6 cups (see recipe notes)
- ¼ tsp sea salt generous ¼ tsp, use less if you're using table salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract 10 mL
Instructions:
Making brown butter (optional step, but recommended)
- Place the butter in a saucepan, and heat over medium high heat.115 g unsalted butter
- Stir the mixture occasionally, while allowing the butter to melt.
- The butter will start to foam, and then the milk solids will start to separate. First they will float to the top, and then sink to the bottom of the pan.
- Make sure to whisk or stir the saucepan well – more frequently as the milk solids sink to the bottom.
- Keep heating the butter while stirring, as the milk solids turn golden in color, and then amber.
- As soon as the milk solids turn a dark golden or amber color, remove the pot from the heat, and pour the butter into a bowl THROUGH a sieve to separate the milk solids. Place the milk solids in a separate smaller bowl.
- To the smaller bowl with the milk solids, measure and add upto 4 tbsp of the liquid brown butter. Set aside until needed. The extra melted butter can be used for other purposes.
Rice krispie treats base
- Line an 8 x 8 inch square pan or 9 x 9 inch square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large pot (large enough to generously fit and mix 6 cups of rice krispies), place the marshmallows, brown butter (or regular butter), and salt.340 – 455 g homemade marshmallows, ¼ tsp sea salt
- Heat the mixture over medium heat, while stirring to melt the marshmallows and to mix the 4 tbsp of brown butter with milk solids, to make a smooth mixture. Stir in the vanilla.2 tsp vanilla extract
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the rice krispies. Make sure to carefully fold them in so that you don't crush the rice krispies.180 g rice krispies
- As soon as the rice krispies are mixed through, transfer the mix into the prepared pan.
- Spread the rice krispie treats base in the pan and gently press it in. Take care not to press down too hard.
- Allow the rice krispie treats to cool down to room temperature and set.
- Once set, remove it from the pan using the parchment paper, and cut it into squares. I like to cut 16 pieces (4 x 4), but you can cut smaller pieces to get 25 (5 x 5) as well.
Recipe Notes
Note on marshmallows
I made 1 batch of my homemade marshmallows for this recipe. You can use fewer marshmallows to make this less sweet, OR more to make it sweeter. The more marshmallows you use, the more gooey your rice krispie treats will be.Note on rice krispies
If you want to make this treat gluten free, use gluten free rice krispies / puffed rice cereal.Storage information
Rice krispie treats can be stored at room temperature for about 2 days, in an air-tight container. They will keep longer in the freezer, for up to about 6 months. Wrap each rice krispie square with freezer paper / parchment paper and store in an air-tight container / freezer bag.Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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