Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats

I really can’t remember the last time I had a rice krispie treat. They are such a childhood favorite, but now I just never think about making them, and I don’t really come across them very often in bakeries and coffee shops. I was flipping through the Flour cookbook the other night and saw a recipe for brown butter rice krispies treats. Um, yum! I knew I had to try them!

Sidenote, this is one of my favorite cookbooks. TheBetterHalf and I first visited Flour bakery in Boston a few years ago because I had seen it on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  How could I not try the amazing looking sticky buns?!  And they did not disappoint.  So on our next trip to Boston, I had to go back for more.  We had three mornings in Boston, so we went to three different locations of Flour.  I have issues, I know.  But everything there is just so good!  Of course I had to buy the cookbook, and now it is one of my favorites.

But anyway, back to these delicious treats. It is a like a grown up version of rice krispie treat. First you brown some butter. I’ve professed my love for brown butter here and here – it is just so nutty and flavorful. But then the brown butter gets even better by adding some vanilla beans. Have you ever used these? You take a vanilla bean pod and cut it open. Use the tip of a knife to scrape out the small, black beans. They are sometimes called caviar and I can see why – these tiny little beans have so much scent and flavor! Then you add in marshmallows and salt and melt the whole mixture together.  Finally, you mix rice krispies cereal into the delicious sweet, salty, vanilla, sticky goo. YUM!

I am so glad that I re-discovered these perfect little treats – they taste AMAZING and there are so many variations.  Just look up rice krispies treats on pinterest and you will be amazed by the options. Plus, they are so easy! In about 8 minutes, you are done. Talk about instant gratification! They do cut a lot better if you let them cool for about 30 minutes, but sometimes you don’t really care if your bars look neat and perfect. So feel free to dig into the sticky gooey bars right when they are done. I won’t tell!

Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treats
Recipe adapted from Flour

Ingredients
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 10-ounce bags marshmallows
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4.5 cups rice krispies cereal

Directions
Prepare a 9x9inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. As the butter melts, use the tip of a knife to scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the butter. Once the butter has melted, start slowly swirling the pan to brown the butter. The butter will start to crackle and smell very nutty and will start to get brown bits. Watch it closely so that it does not burn. This will take about 5 minutes. Once the butter is brown, add the marshmallows and salt and stir constantly over low heat until the marshmallows are completely melted. Remove pan from heat, add cereal, and mix well to coat evenly. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and pat into an even layer. I like to use a square of parchment paper to do this because the mixture is quite sticky. Cool for about 30 minutes before cutting into squares.