Salted brown butter crispy treats from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook (page 201) by Deb Perelman

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Ingredients

marshmallows
sea salt flakes
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Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

angela_gnbj4y on April 29, 2026

If you like a Rice Krispie (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t) this is the ideal version. A little salty. A little buttery. I’ll never make them any other way.
tiaralynn_jy6ecc on March 10, 2026

Made the mistake of using a butter spray to coat the dish and it overtook the flavor. I thought they needed more salt, so I added more, and a little vanilla bean to the marshmallow. A very easy recipe to get creative with!! I’ll definitely be making this over and over.
abigayle_d5od7q on January 03, 2026

Incredible. I stirred a tbsp of aged rum into the melted marshmallows and they were an incredible treat for grown-ups ??
peaceoutdesign on February 23, 2023

Great but don't press the cereal mix too firmly at the end. The coated parchment worked perfectly even when I layered in almond paste from Flourless Cookbook (with an added tablespoon of spiced rum) for an even more delicious version.
jenmacgregor18 on October 21, 2022

They are absolutely our favorites now. We can't go back to the regular version.
jimandtammyfaye on July 17, 2022

I used mini marshmallows, and these turned out delicious. The combo of browned butter and flaky sea salt set these apart from the typical crispy treat. I also added 1 tsp vanilla and a couple handfuls of unmelted marshmallows before pressing into a pan.
EmilyR on February 22, 2022

I had to see if these lived up to the hype and they are good, but not so amazing. If you've had anything with browned butter it's a nice way to elevate flavor, but I can see where others may have ran into troubles. I'd also slightly reduce the amount of cereal, and it's a thin line between browned butter and mixing to incorporate the marshmallows (I also used mini).
snoozermoose on December 06, 2021

These are a standby at gatherings with my friends. They are irresistible and fairly easy to make as well. Definitely a crowdpleaser.
sharone7 on December 31, 2020

This is the only way to make rice krispie treats as far as I'm concerned
hbakke on December 26, 2020

Yum! I doubled the recipe for a 9x13" pan for Christmas with some red and green colored sugar sprinkled on top. Everyone loved these. I made these again with Trader Joe's Crisp Rice cereal and they were exponentially better (more flavorful, less powdery) than made with Rice Krispies. Highly recommend the TJ's cereal for these.
taste24 on June 12, 2020

As others have noted, make sure the butter is nice and browned. Loved the brown butter change up on a classic. All of my guests went crazy for these!
shirofly12 on June 07, 2020

Easy way to elevate a classic. Made this a number of times and you definitely want to make sure the butter specks are a dark brown (just before burnt) in order to get the flavor in the finished product. Press some sprinkles on the top for some added curb appeal.
lacyann84 on January 10, 2018

Delicious. Definitely wait to get the butter browned properly (first time I made this, I did not brown the butter enough for fear of burning it). Also use fresh marshmallows & I usually leave the heat on low to incorporate. End results were great, people love this slightly different take on rice krispie treats. I added sprinkles (pressed down to stick) to the top for fun!
clcorbi on November 18, 2016

We loved these! My boyfriend ended up using 2c less cereal than called for, which was a genius move as it upped the ratio of delicious buttery marshmallow. We brought these to a friend's as an after-dinner treat, and the four of us finished the whole pan. Dangerously good.
Rutabaga on May 29, 2014

This was a simple way to make a tastier treat. In my case, I used mini marshmallows that melted easily. The only time I've had difficulty with melting marshmallows for rice kris pie treats was once when using exceptionally old marshmallows. Even dried out marshmallows from a package that been open for many months will generally work fine, but there's a line that cannot be crossed. In my case, I, too, had to throw out the batch - it was disgusting! But if you're using normal marshmallows that haven't yet turned into impenetrable pellets, you'll find they melt within minutes.
Melanie on January 26, 2014

These were a success! The marshmallow melted in very quickly for me. These ended up nice and soft and were quite delicious. I would make again. Note - I only used 250g marshmallows (instead of buying an extra bag to get a couple extra).
Astrid5555 on February 16, 2013

What a disaster! Eveything went well until I added the marshmallows to the (delicious smelling) butter. But then nothing happenend. She says that the residual heat from the melted butter will melt the marshmallows, but if it is not you should turn the pot back on low heat until they are melted. 30! minutes later I was still stirring and waiting for the butter & marshmallow mixture to smooth out. I ended up with a puddle of butter that never incorporated into the very sticky marshmallows. In the end I threw out that sticky/buttery mixture and did not even try to add the brown rice cereal/popped amaranth mixture I had prepared in order not to waste it as well. Will definitely never try again!