The Best Rice Krispies Treats Recipe

Rice Krispie Treats are trickier to get right than you might think. Make the rice krispies stick together is  easy, but getting the texture right is tricky. Often they're not much more than a brick of cereal that's only good for those who are either teething or desperately hungry.

So I decided to try and find out what is the best Rice Krispies treat out there. Eating them fresh is key, but what else can be done? This Instructable is all about the goal of making the best basic Rice Krispies treat and not about all the other tasty stuff you can add to make it more complex.

OK, let's begin!

Step 1: How to make Rice Krispie treats

The basics of making Rice Krispies treats are simple. Here's how it goes:

• Over low, low heat, melt the butter in a pot
• Once it's melted, add the marshmallows
• Still with low heat, stir the marshmallows until thoroughly melted and cook another minute
• Turn off heat
• Stir in cereal
• Transfer to buttered pan
• Cover with wax paper and press down
• Let cool for 20 minutes and cut it up

If you've made Rice Krispies treats before, all of this should be familiar. I just want to emphasize the low heat. The flame should just tickle the bottom of the pan. Be patient, it still doesn't take that long.

Extra: For easy clean-up, just soak the pot in hot water and give it a few minutes

With the technique down, let's make some treats!

Comments

[NatNoBrains]

Thanks for this recipe!
Used it for a pudding for a weekend away!

[jenjenbug]

I use the recipe on the box of cereal, but double all ingredients but the cereal. Makes for a ooey, gooey, wonderful mess!

[nalderson]

Be aware that in New Zealand, Sanitarium Rice Bubbles have gluten added to them. :-\ Go figure. "Take one ingredient that doesn't have gluten in it and add! = less expensive than the gluten free ricies!"

[skimmo]

im from Australia and what my mother makes goes...
125g of butter
1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup of shredded coconut
4 cups of rice bubbles

combine rice bubbles and coconut in a large bowl
put other ingredients into a saucepan and heat over a low heat until simmering. do not stop stirring until it boils and then stop stirring and allow to boil for 5 mins. Mix into rice bubbles and then press into a flat tray which has been lined with bake paper. allow to cool in the fridge and cut into squares

[grannyjones]

I had really good results with the recipe on the box, except melting the gooey part in the microwave.  It works like a charm, is faster and almost impossible to mess up.

[guitarpicker]

Try adding 3 heaping tablespoons of Cocoa to the marshmallows after they're dissolved and before putting in the Rice Krispies. 

Ymmmmmmmmmmmmm

[mman1506]

my dad made them alought when we were little. we added extra marshmallows and a splash of vanilla, they were really great and nice and fluffy and not dry, w never added extra butter though,  i think that would make them to rich for normal consumption  

[mman1506]

oh yah and using holiday rice krispies make it look cool for christmas partys at school

[jess]

The absolute best rice crispy treats I've ever eaten were the usual recipe, but with browned butter, and a bit of added salt.  Browned butter salted rice crispy treats were stupidly, ridiculously tasty.  I think I may have to kick it up even further by incorporating your modifications.  (I found the browned butter recipe here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/salted-brown-butter-crispy-treats/ )

[fungus amungus]

That's an interesting variation! Will definitely try that someday. For now I've had quite enough Rice Krispies treats.

[twobusymom]

Our family variation is to use peanut butter and butterscotch morsels. Melt them together & add rice krispies. Pour into buttered pan and put in fridge for an hour or so. You' may never go back to marshmallow.

[BubbaJCrow]

Until we found out the spouse had a sensitivity to whole wheat, we'd use half Rice Krispies and half puffed wheat. They weren't quite as sweet as regular RK Treats, but they had a really nice nuttiness to them. We'll probably try making them with half Rice Krispies and half Cheerios next time.

[gringasheffield]

 My recipe calls for a double batch of the krispies, with a caramel layer in between...to die for!

[knexsuperbuilderfreak]

you forgot the really sugary ones like with the candy inside

[AIMEERS]

Oh my... I think I am having a suger rush just reading all these recipes! They all look delicious!!!

[westfw]

> "deliciously gooey."
Huh.  I tend to prefer them LESS gooey.  And cook them in the microwave (marshmallows in the microwave is entertaining!)  One of the interesting things that has an effect on the final tastes is how long you cook the marshmallow/butter mix.  Too long and you get essentially sugar syrup.  Too little and it doesn't mix with the crispies as well.

Um.  You seem to have the same photo in all the steps except step 7.  Is that intentional?

[fungus amungus]

Then you'd be on the same side as the one tester here who preferred them that way.

It's the same shot for now. I'll add more, but they all looked the same.

[westfw]

BTW, I really like having "tastings" of non-traditional ltems like this.  We've done
apples (REALLY interesting), rice, noodles (didn't work too well), bread, butter, tuna (as salad),  chocolate (of course!), and sweet potato/yams...

[travw]

Me and my gramma use to do that when I was younger. With apples, that is.

I like Gala's.

[fungus amungus]

It's true. So much time passes between somewhat equivalent experiences that it's impossible to tell the small differences. Once you put things side by side you can see just how much better one version can be.

[Grathio]

Rice Krispie treats are like mayonnaise, everyone thinks that the kind they grew up with is the best and everyone else's are inferior.  Which is why...

The only ones that have been allowed in the house since I was a kid (ie: too long ago) have been peanut butter ones (no chocolate).  No they're not gooey, but they are head and shoulders above the marshmallow ones in taste which make my teeth hurt for all the sweetness.

Oh, and don't creamy peanut butter is a sin against yummy peanuts. Use extra crunchy.   If you're feeling luxurious, throw in a bunch of whole cashews.  Delicious!

[fungus amungus]

Agreed, crunchy is far better than creamy.

I used creamy here to try and modify the stickiness and flavor without introducing the extra element of the peanut chunks.

[Lmh691]

The only kind of rice krispy treats I make don't have marshmallows, they have corn syrup (I know, what are marshmallows?), and I always make them with peanut butter and chocolate chips, they are addicting (and gooey)
Combine:
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
Melt in microwave for 2 minutes on high
Mix in 1 cup peanut butter until melted
Then mix in 9 cups rice krispies
Finally, add 1 cup chocolate chips and press into a 9"x13" pan
Let cool and cut into squares....just TRY to stop eating these!

[luvit]

 don't use these jumbo krispies... they tast like kix.

[lemonie]

Good science, good eating. I suppose it's a bit late to record bite-noises, and measure the average crunch-volumes?

L

[Jayefuu]

I can thoroughly recommend you try this combination...

200g marshmallows
200g toffee or fudge (have fun unwrapping all of these!)
100g butter

Then add enough rice krispies to make the mix the right consistency, it makes for a really chewy, creamy bar.

[Jayefuu]

PS great ible :D

[mousewrites]

A variation I've had that was really tasty was mixing 2 full size mars bars into the marshmallow mix. Makes these nuguty-chocolatey-nummy things. Of course, they'll kill you...