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Have you ever had a subpar Rice Krispie treat? You know what I mean… it’s dry, scrapes the roof of your mouth raw, and has no flavor. Well, my friends, we are leaving the standard Rice Krispie treat in the past. Today, we’re making the gooiest, marshmallowiest, brown butter Rice Krispie treats.
These babies are exploding with flavor from brown butter, white chocolate, vanilla bean paste, and salt while boasting more marshmallows than you can fathom. The result is a chewy bite full of stretchy marshmallow that leaves you wanting more.
Ingredients for Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Let’s round up our ingredients, first.
Butter – You need a whole stick for this recipe. When you brown butter, it loses a bit of weight in water evaporation. But we are also working with additional ingredients so a little extra butter than you may be used to is just necessary.
White Chocolate Chips – This is my secret ingredient, and you may never go back to the old recipe after you give it a try. The white chocolate chips add a teeny bit of flavor, but they also provide the marshmallow a little stability so that your treats last for a full week without going stale or getting dry.
Vanilla Bean Paste – Vanilla extract will give you a similar flavor, but vanilla bean paste adds in those cute little flecks of bean that give your brown butter Rice Krispie Treats a little more personality.
Rice cereal – The search engine overlords seem to prefer the brand name to get this recipe in front of you, but truth be told, I used the generic brand stuff from Aldi. Use what you can find, and save money where you can. It just needs to be rice cereal. Cool?
Marshmallows – For this recipe, you need two bags of marshmallows. I used a bag of big ones to make the coating and half a bag of the minis as the add-ins. But two bags of minis will do the same thing. The point is that you need one bag to melt into the butter and white chocolate mixture for the base, but to make these ultra gooey, we’re adding half a bag extra to create those stretchy pockets between our cereal bits.
What Tools Do You Need?
You don’t need anything fancy. All you’ll need are:
Large Stock Pot – Whatever big pot you use to make chili for the whole family, that’s where you’re going to want to make these. I rely heavily on my Calphalon stock pot because it holds a LOT, but it still fits in my dishwasher… and yes, it’s dishwasher-safe. Let’s be honest, that’s why I bought it in the first place. I didn’t want to handwash any big dishes.
Half-Sheet Pan – If you’ve been to my page before, you know I’m all about my sheet pans. They work for everything from cookies to sheet pan meals. My brown butter Rice Krispie treats recipe makes a great big batch. So while you could try and stuff this into a 9×13 pan for insanely thick treats, I recommend using a half sheet and cutting more bars to share.
Parchment Paper – I often say you can use either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This time is a little different though. You do need parchment paper that is slightly larger than the sheet pan so that the marshmallow doesn’t stick to the pan.
Non-stick Spray – I like the non-stick spray to keep my brown butter Rice Krispie treats from sticking to the paper, but it’s also great to spray your hands so you can press the mixture into the pan. I use an avocado oil spray for everything.
The following post may contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra charge to you. To learn more about this, please visit my Disclaimer page. Thank you for your continued support!
Extra Gooey Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
My brown butter Rice Krispie treats are exploding with flavor from brown butter, white chocolate, vanilla bean, and all the marshmallows!
Line your rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. You want the paper large enough that it comes up the sides as well. A spritz of non-stick spray will help the paper stick to the pan. Then spray the top of the paper with non-stick spray.
Set your large pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Melt the butter completely, and then continue cooking the butter until the milk solids sink to the bottom and become amber-brown. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add the white chocolate chips, vanilla bean paste, salt. Mix until the chips are fully melted. Add 10 oz (1 bag) of mini marshmallows. Stir to coat in the brown butter white chocolate mixture, and continue stirring until the marshmallows are melted and smooth.
Dump in the rice cereal and the remaining 5 oz (½ bag) of mini marshmallows. Stir until the cereal and extra marshmallows are coated in the gooey marshmallow mixture. There should be no extra dry cereal at the bottom. The extra marshmallows will melt a little bit.
Pour the brown butter rice krispie mixture into your prepared sheet pan. Scrape all the remaining sticky bits out of the pot. Spray your hands with non-stick spray and press the mixture gently into the pan. It should reach all sides and into the corners and be nice and level.
Allow the pan to cool for 30 minutes. Remove the Rice Krispies from the pan and cut into 16 equal bars.
Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
Keyword Brown Butter, Rice Krispies, Vanilla Bean, White Chocolate
