rice krispies

Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats, and Some News!

Posted on by Ruth

Hello, hi, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted here! I hope you all are staying safe and well during this crazy, confusing time. A lot of you are baking bread and making sourdough starters, which is certainly a bright spot amongst all the madness. As the days start to meld together, the rising and falling of my own starter provides a comforting rhythm to the days.

I’ve been baking a lot, though in smaller batches since I can’t give away extras as easily any more. Banana bread and brownies always, plus a lot of new recipes for my cookbook.

Sorry, I buried the lede there — I’m working on a baking cookbook! I can’t share too many details right now, except to say it’s a collection of 60+ recipes from cookies to cakes to yeasted and sourdough breads to pastries. It’s been a wild ride (I didn’t expect finding butter and eggs to be one of the challenges I’d face, but there you go) and I’ve questioned my sanity more than a few times. But now that the first draft of my manuscript is almost finished I’m starting to feel excited! There’s still a lot of work to do, but I can’t wait to see it all come together in the coming months.

I wanted to share a recipe for some funfetti rice krispie treats that I made a couple months back (pre-social distancing…) for a bake sale. These are a colorful variation of my brown butter rice krispie treats, and they never fail to put a smile on my face. If you want to add a sweet-salty kick you could sub some (or all) of the rice krispies with lightly crushed Ruffles potato chips. SO GOOD.

Funfetti Rice Krispie Treats

Makes one 8×8 or 9×9 pan

Ingredients

  • 113g / 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 400g / 10 cups mini marshmallows, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (use artificial if you want to emphasize the funfetti flavor)
  • 160g / 6 cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies (about half a 12-ounce box)
  • 40g / 1/4 c rainbow sprinkles, plus more for the top

Method

  1. Line an 8×8 or 9×9 pan with foil. Lightly butter or oil the foil for easy removal. Measure out all your ingredients — this is a quick and simple recipe, but once you start, you do need to move quickly!
  2. In a large pot over medium-low heat, brown the butter. Place the cubed butter in a large, light-colored pot over low-medium heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat up to medium-high. Stir frequently with a heatproof spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan as needed. The butter will crackle, foam, turn clear gold, then finally start browning. It’s done when the crackling subsides and you smell toasted nuts.
  3. When the butter has browned, immediately take the pan off the heat and add the salt, vanilla, and 8 cups of marshmallows. Stir constantly until the marshmallows are melted and you have a smooth mixture. If the residual heat from the butter isn’t enough to melt the marshmallows completely, turn the heat back to low.
  4. Add the cereal and stir until evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture. Stir in the remaining two cups of mini marshmallows, followed by the 1/4 c rainbow sprinkles. Don’t overmix once you add the sprinkles or the colors will bleed.
  5. Immediately scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and, using a greased silicone spatula or a piece of greased parchment/wax paper, press it firmly into an even layer. Garnish with extra sprinkles. Let cool completely at room temperature before cutting into squares.
  6. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days. I’ve heard you can refrigerate or freeze them, well wrapped, for longer storage, though they haven’t lasted long enough around here for me to test that.

Rice Krispies Snowmen: Treats for Toys

Posted on by Ruth

Rice Krispies Snowmen

This post is sponsored by Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. As always, all ideas and opinions expressed here are my own.

I grew up in the mild Pacific Northwest, where snow doesn’t necessarily make an appearance each winter. So when it did snow, it was a huge deal — school would get cancelled for the lightest of dustings, and we’d all bundle up and head outside to make snow angels and build snowmen (largely because there was hot chocolate waiting for us afterwards). My Canadian-born kids, on the other hand, will probably build more snowmen before kindergarten then I did my entire childhood.

But whether you have half an inch or twenty inches of snow outside, you can make these cute Rice Krispies Snowmen! They’re a breeze to whip up (no oven required!) and are a great creative activity for the little ones in your life. This is the second year that I’ve made something for the Kellogg’s Treats for Toys campaign (remember last year’s DIY Christmas Forest?), which donates funds to provide real toys for children in need. If you’re looking for a way to make a difference this season, I encourage you to make your own Treats for Toys, either using this recipe or something from your own imagination! It’s simple: create a toy-inspired Rice Krispies treat, upload it to the Treats for Toys site or social media (using the #treatsfortoys hashtag), and Kellogg’s will donate $20 to the Salvation Army to buy real toys for children in need.

A few notes:

  • These Rice Krispies snowmen are easy to make, but you have to work fast! The cereal mixture is easiest to mold within the first 5-8 minutes, so it definitely helps to have an extra pair of hands — one person can portion out the cereal and the other can shape the portions into balls.
  • Grease your measuring cups and hands well — otherwise you will spend more time scraping sticky marshmallow than making snowmen.
  • Use a skewer or chopstick to make light indents for facial features and arms. This makes it much easier to stick your candies/pretzels in place.

rice krispies balls

snowmen undressed

snowmen couple

Rice Krispies Snowmen

Ingredients

  • 56 g / 1/4 c unsalted butter
  • 250 g marshmallows (I used mini)
  • 168 g / 6 c Rice Krispies cereal
  • Flaked coconut
  • Pretzel rods
  • Assorted candies for decoration (such as mini chocolate chips, gummies, mini candy canes)
  • Melted white chocolate / royal icing / frosting for glue (optional)
  • Measuring cups
  • Cooking spray
  • Parchment paper

Method

  1. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Melt the butter over low heat in a large pot (big enough to hold the Rice Krispies).
  2. When the butter is melted, add the marshmallows, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. When the marshmallows are melted, turn off the heat, add the cereal, and stir with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon to coat evenly.
  3. Using well-greased measuring cups, portion out cereal in a few different sizes (I used 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2 cup measures) onto the prepared sheet pan. When all the cereal is portioned out, use well-greased hands to shape the portions into round balls. Pack firmly but not so hard as to crush the cereal.
  4. Roll each ball in flaked coconut for a snowy effect. Press two or three balls together to form snowmen of various sizes. Use a bit of melted white chocolate / royal icing / frosting for glue, if desired.
  5. Use pretzels and candies to decorate snowmen as desired. Some ideas:
    • Pretzel sticks for arms
    • Mini chocolate chips for eyes and mouths
    • Small orange gummies or candy corn for noses
    • Small round candies for buttons
    • Mini candy canes for skis

Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Posted on by Ruth

rice krispie treat stack

Here’s the thing: I don’t mind complicated recipes. Since I break a lot of my baking into multiple days, a long list of directions doesn’t usually put me off. Plus, there’s something really satisfying about seeing larger projects come to life!

But sometimes you just need simple, 30-minutes-no-oven-required back pocket recipes; and this is one of those gems. These are not your back-of-the-box Rice Krispie treats. These are BROWN BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS. But good news, they’re practically just as easy as the original recipe. What makes them special?

  • Brown butter. If you’re going to melt the butter anyways, why not take a few extra minutes and brown it for that extra delicious nutty edge? Oh yeah, this also calls for double the butter compared to the original recipe, because you only live once (don’t worry, it’s not so much that they’re greasy).
  • More marshmallows. WAY more marshmallows. And some are left unmelted for an extra surprise. Nothing is worse than a dry Rice Krispie Treat.
  • Thick, bakery-style pieces. I like my treats tall, so I make them in an 8×8 pan (I do the same thing with brownies). Double the recipe if you’re making this in a 9×13 pan; no thin and wimpy Rice Krispie treats here!
  • Salt. One of my pet peeves is under-salted baked goods. Especially when you’ve got all the sweetness from the marshmallows in there — you need a little bit of salt to round out the flavor. You might as well throw a dash of vanilla in there while you’re at it.

OK, enough talking. Here we go!

rice krispie treats close up

Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Makes 9 – 16 treats, depending on how big you like them

Ingredients

  • 113g / 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 425g / 10 cups mini marshmallows, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
  • Dash of pure vanilla extract
  • 160g / 6 cups crispy rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies (about half a 12-ounce box)

Method

  1. Line an 8×8 pan with foil. Lightly butter or oil the foil for easy removal. Measure out all your ingredients — this is a quick and simple recipe, but once you start, you do need to move quickly!
  2. In a large pot over medium-low heat, brown the butter. It will melt, foam, turn clear gold, then finally start browning (and smelling nutty). Stir frequently with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan as needed.
  3. When the butter has browned, take the pan off the heat and add the salt, vanilla, and 8 cups of marshmallows. Stir constantly until the marshmallows are melted and you have a smooth mixture. If the residual heat from the butter isn’t enough to melt the mallows completely, turn the heat back to low.
  4. Add the cereal and stir until evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture. Stir in the remaining two cups of mini marshmallows.
  5. Immediately scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and, using a greased silicon spatula or a piece of greased parchment/wax paper, press it firmly into an even layer. Let cool completely at room temperature before cutting into squares.
  6. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.

rice krispie treats in hand

rice krispie treats marshmallows

DIY Christmas Tree Forest: Treats for Toys

Posted on by Ruth

full christmas tree forest

As cliche as it sounds, I love Christmas. I have many fond memories of driving around looking at lights (with McDonald’s hot chocolate and apple pies, which were the real highlight), dousing sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles, and playing for candlelight services. Nowadays, Christmastime is even more special for me because it means traveling back to Seattle to see family, friends, and all my old haunts. I don’t know how long this tradition will last, but I definitely will enjoy it while I can.

full christmas tree forest 2

When Gastropost asked me to help create something with Rice Krispies for the Treats for Toys campaign, I jumped at the opportunity because playing with food for a good cause is totally something I can get behind. My treat was inspired by a couple of things: first, those little miniature Christmas scenes that stores set up during the holidays; and second, one of my favorite childhood Christmas activities: picking out a Christmas tree. This year is the first I can remember NOT having a tree — between having a destructive busy toddler and traveling it doesn’t make sense (sniff sniff) — so in lieu of that I made an edible forest. And of course I had to add my favorite mountain pillows, Bambi, one of Marcus’ cars, and a little snow to jazz it up a little. Honestly, it was so fun. AND easy. The hardest part was trying to find decent light during naptime to photograph it!

car with tree

This little forest scene would make a great centerpiece for a holiday party, or a fun craft project for the family. (My husband and I did it as a little date night activity; I probably had more fun than he did but he’s a good sport, lol.) Of course, you don’t need to make a forest scene. Individual trees would make great gifts or stocking stuffers — just be sure to make them soon before gifting (like the day of or night before) and keep them in an airtight container/wrapping so they don’t dry out. You should get about 18 small trees from one recipe (about 1/3 c mixture for each tree).

bambi with tree

Want to join in the fun? Create a toy-inspired Rice Krispies treat, upload it to the Treats for Toys site or social media (using the #treatsfortoys hashtag), and Kellogg’s will donate $20 to the Salvation Army to buy real toys for children in need.

christmas trees

DIY Christmas Tree Forest

Recipe adapted from Kelloggs Canada / Treats for Toys | Makes about 18 small trees

Ingredients:

For the trees:

  • 56 g / 1/4 c unsalted butter
  • 250 g marshmallows (I used mini)
  • 168 g / 6 c Rice Krispies (or other rice puff cereal)
  • Green food coloring (I used gel, a couple drops each of Wilton Moss Green and Americolor Leaf Green)
  • Sprinkles / mini M&M’s / small candies for decorating
  • Small chocolates (such as Snickers’ bites or Rolos) for the trunks

For the rest of the scene:

  • 56 g / 1/4 c unsalted butter
  • 250 g marshmallows (I used mini)
  • 168 g / 6 c Rice Krispies (or other rice puff cereal)
  • Graham crackers
  • Icing sugar
  • Toy car
  • Baker’s twine

Method:

  1. First, make the trees. Melt the butter over low heat in a large pot (big enough to hold the Rice Krispies). When the butter is melted, add the marshmallows, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. When the marshmallows are almost melted, stir the food coloring a drop at a time until you reach your desired shade of green (go a little bolder than you want as the color will be slightly muted by the cereal). When the marshmallows are melted and the color is evenly dispersed, turn off the heat, add the cereal, and stir to coat evenly. Allow to cool for a minute or so (it’s hot!), then, using well-greased hands, take a small handful at a time and form into pyramids or cones, whatever your preference. Pack firmly but not so hard as to crush the cereal. Place on a piece of parchment paper to set. If you’re making a forest, try to vary the shapes / sizes a little for a more realistic effect; and if you want a tree for the top of the car, make sure to form a tree that will fit properly (for my car this was quite small). The mixture is most pliable within the first 5-8 minutes after mixing, so try to work quickly (or have a couple people help).
  2. When the trees are still a little pliable but not so hot as to melt your sprinkles, decorate. Press the candies / sprinkles into the sides of the trees. (I just pushed them in and they stuck fine, though if your sprinkles are flat you may need to use some royal icing to glue them on.) Press a chocolate into the bottom for the trunk. (You can also glue with icing / cut a toothpick in half, poke one end into your chocolate, and poke the other end into the tree for more security.)
  3. Once your trees are decorated, make your snow scene. Make another batch of Rice Krispies as above, but omit the food coloring. Press into a greased quarter-sheet pan. To make a road, break your graham crackers along the perforations and line them up through the center of the pan. Press the trees into the Rice Krispies along either side of the road, staggering the sizes. Tie the small tree to the top of the car using baker’s twine. When the Rice Krispies are totally cool, dust some icing sugar over the top for a snow-like effect. Enjoy!

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