If ever there were a case of personality over looks, these rice crispy treats would be it. Seemingly ordinary, the visuals completely belie the fact that the bars are awash in flavor—sweet, salty, toasty, malty, nutty—far removed from any packaged version or childhood memory.
A few spoons of nonfat dry milk powder provide a boost of milk solids, creating an amped-up version of brown butter with the dial turned waaay up. (Read all about this trick and why it’s a go-to method here.)
A modest amount of sweetened condensed milk—a tip I learned from friend and cookbook author Jessie Sheehan, who in turn learned of it from Libby Willis of the now closed MeMe’s Diner in NYC—keeps the bars soft and impossibly ooey-gooey-chewy. I know what you’re thinking: I can skip the condensed milk…it’ll be fine. It will, in fact, not be fine. The treats will be dry and hard and deeply ordinary. Sweetened condensed milk has a very particular quality scientists call viscoelasticity. Its high concentration of milk proteins and sugars make it thick and stretchy (re: ooey-gooey-chewy) and essential to the final texture.
When made in an 8" square pan as the recipe indicates, the bars will be dramatic and tall as a small building. For more modest portions, consider shaping them in a 9" square, or even a 13x9" pan for ultrathin bars.
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What you’ll need
8" Baking Pan
$26 $24 At Amazon
Dutch Oven
$100 $94 At Amazon
Scale
$30 At Amazon
Silicone Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 16
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Line an 8x8" metal or glass baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 sides.
Step 2
Melt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Add 2 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk powder and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, until mixture turns dark nut brown (milk powder may clump; that’s okay), about 4 minutes.
Step 3
Add one 10-oz. bag mini marshmallows and cook, stirring vigorously, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Add ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt; stir until incorporated. Remove from heat.
Step 4
Fold 6 cups (160 g) puffed rice cereal into marshmallow mixture, scraping bottom of pot, until combined and cereal is coated. Scrape mixture into prepared pan, gently press into corners, and smooth top. (For best texture, try to avoid compacting mixture.) Sprinkle with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Cover loosely with foil and let sit at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Step 5
Uncover treats and lift out of pan using parchment overhang. Peel away parchment; cut treats into 16 bars with a serrated knife.
