Chewy, Gooey Golden Rice Krispie Treats
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These toasty, golden, and caramel-y Rice Krispie Treats are made with brown butter and a secret ingredient.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
The inspiration for these delicious Rice Krispie treats comes from the bakery bar at Summer House Santa Monica, a fun restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland. They’re made with a secret ingredient that gives the bars a distinctly toasty, caramel flavor. After one bite, you’ll pause and wonder, “What’s in these?” I’ll give you a clue: it starts with “golden” and ends with “grahams.” Once you try them, you may never go back to the classic version of Rice Krispie Treats! And if you want another riff on the original Rice Krispie Treats, Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats are a really fun option for peanut butter lovers.
Table of Contents
“These are absolutely amazing…I work in a nice restaurant and bring them in for my coworkers…they are always inhaled and greatly appreciated!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chewy, Gooey Golden Rice Krispie Treats
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, place the Golden Grahams in a resealable plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, the bottom of a dry measuring cup or your fist, pound the cereal into smaller pieces. You don’t want to pulverize it – some pieces should be Rice Krispies-sized, some should be larger, and some should be crumbs.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
After the butter melts, it will begin to bubble, foam, and turn golden around the edges.
Eventually it will turn a dark golden color and smell nutty — watch carefully, it will go from golden brown to burned quickly. (You’ll see little bits of brown sediment forming; that’s okay.)
Once the butter is browned, remove the pan from the heat and add all but 2 cups of the marshmallows, the vanilla, and salt.
Place the pot over low heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are completely melted.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the cereals.
Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until evenly combined. Add the reserved marshmallows.
Stir until they are softened and partially melted, but not completely mixed in.
Using the butter wrapper or damp fingers, press the mixture into an even layer in the prepared baking pan.
Let cool for at least an hour.
Use the foil overhang to lift the treats onto a cutting board, then cut into squares. Enjoy!
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Chewy, Gooey Golden Rice Krispie Treats
These toasty, golden, and caramel-y Rice Krispie Treats are made with brown butter and a secret ingredient.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- Two 10-oz bags mini marshmallows, divided (about 10⅔ cups)
- 3 cups Golden Grahams
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Heaping ½ teaspoon salt
- 5½ cups Rice Krispies or crispy rice cereal
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and lightly grease with softened butter or nonstick spray. Set aside 2 cups of the marshmallows.
- Place the Golden Grahams in a resealable plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, the bottom of a dry measuring cup, or your fist, pound the cereal into smaller pieces. You don't want to pulverize it -- some pieces should be Rice Krispies-sized, some should be larger, and some should be crumbs.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat (save the wrappers for pressing the mixture into the pan). After the butter is melted, it will begin to bubble, foam, and turn golden around the edges. Swirl or stir the butter as it continues to brown; eventually it will turn a dark golden color and smell nutty -- watch carefully as it will go from golden brown to burned quickly. (You'll see little bits of brown sediment forming; that's okay.) This whole process should take just a few minutes. Once the butter is browned, immediately remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining marshmallows, vanilla, and salt.
- Place the pot over low heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until the marshmallows are completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cereals. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until evenly combined. Add the reserved marshmallows and stir until they are softened and partially melted (you want pockets of goo). Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and, using the butter wrapper or damp fingers, press the mixture gently into an even layer. Let cool for at least an hour.
- Use the foil overhang to lift the treats onto a cutting board, then cut into 18 to 24 bars, depending on how large you'd like them. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (24 servings)
- Calories: 187
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Sugar: 16g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 104mg
- Cholesterol: 20mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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WOW!!!!! These are truly fantastic! The browned butter makes a level of nuttiness that is ridiculously good. I knew with golden grahams in this I would love them, but they really are better than I imagined…..very gooey & tender.
O my goodness… Its a debate in my head as to what I should make next but this recipe just moved to my top-ten-of-Jens to try !!! These look amazing!
It’s 9:30pm and once again I forgot to prepare something for work potluck. Remembered these treasures, ran to store, prepared them per directions, cooled them, wrapped them, DONE in one hour.
All the foodies at work, LOVE the browned butter and Golden Grahams combo!
Thank you for this and all of your other recipes, I am always happy with the results.
Made this as a second, fun dessert for my family dinner last weekend. Both my three grandsons and their parents enjoyed and I split the remaining squares for them to take home afterward, per their requests! Will be making a second batch as soon as I pick up more marshmallows.
Text message from daughter #1 at college: My friends want the Rice Krispie recipe
Text message from daughter #2 at college: Please don’t forget to bring the Rice Krispies tomorrow. Everyone loves them!
Both same night! I would say, a success!!
Thanks Jenn.
Love that!! 🙂
I made this recipe as written and found it too gooey and just not my ideal texture. However, I tried it again adding an extra 1c Rice Krispies and 1/2-3/4c Golden Grahams per a
friend’s suggestion and they were AMAZING! They definitely beat regular Rice Krispy Treats.
These are the best Rice Krispie treats around. I love the flavor the brown butter gives them, I love the crunch of the semi-crushed Golden Grahams add and the pockets of gooey marshmallow. This may have been a kid treat before, but I take them to work and they always disappear with rave reviews. Also, they freeze beautifully which I would never have thought of. I think it may be all that butter:)
I have tried them with Cinnamon Toast Crunch because I ran out of Golden Grahams. Amazing with the hint of cinnamon but less crunch than the Golden Grahams. Very viable alternative! Thanks Jenn!
Hands down these are the best rice krispie squares ever. Every time I make these everyone raves about them!
This just opened up huge possibilities! Honey Nut Cheerios, Kix, Cocoa Puffs?! Have you used any other cereals? Thanks!
I haven’t, Stephanie, but I’d love to know how they turn out if you try any!
Made these as written and they were amazing! Thanks Jen for another fantastic recipe!
These are the Rice Krispie Treats you are looking for!!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, we loved them!