toasted brown butter rice krispie treats

FINALS WEEEEEEEK! (insert screaming and bone crunching noises)
I hope you'll forgive me for making this short; I have to go study :(
Two more days until the glory of second semester senior year!

These guys are perfect finals week fare. They take all of 15 minutes, 4 ingredients and one large pan to make. They travel beautifully for stress-induced snacking on the go, so they are prime candidates for between-test energizing.

Oh yeah also, they taste incredible. The sweetness of the marshmallow is tempered with deep, nutty brown butter and sea salt. And after the gooey mixture is pressed into a pan, it is toasted under the broiler until the surface bubbles up and caramelizes. So much better than the pasty grocery store originals.

I was surprised and more than a little excited by how well the broiling worked out–the tops of the bars turn a deep golden brown and, once cool, form a crunchy nutty layer of sugar that shatters under your teeth. The only thing holding me back was that the bars browned unevenly, but I decreased the temperature a bit and we are good to go!

To my fellow final-takers, sleep well, study hard, and I'll see you on the other side.


Toasted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 cups crisp rice cereal
10.4 ounce bag of mini marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Grease an 9-inch square pan.

Melt the butter in a large pan (large enough to hold all the other ingredients later). Keep the butter on low heat, stirring often, until it turns an amber color.

Turn off the heat and stir in marshmallows immediately. Be patient; it may look like a hopeless slippery mess at first, but keep stirring and it will come together to a creamy mixture (bonus: flecked with little toasted brown butter bits!)

Dump in the cereal and salt and stir gently, being careful not to crush the cereal as you do so. Stir until all the cereal is mostly coated in marshmallow.

Pour entire mixture into your 9-inch square pan. With the help of slightly wet hands, press the mixture into the pan edges until even.

Broil the entire pan on the top rack of your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (any higher and the top will burn unevenly) for 1-3 minutes. I give such a variable time because these burn fast. Any difference in oven temperatures will make a big difference in the time, so watch the pan like a hawk. It will be done when the top is a deep caramel color.

Let the bars cool for at least 2 hours, remove from pan, and then cut into pieces with a serrated knife. They keep well, I would say for about a week at least (they didn't last that long).