Brown Butter Apple Pie Rice Krispie Treats

If you follow me on Facebook, then you probably caught a glimpse of these rice krispie treat favors I posted last week. Totally adorbs, right? They hold a special place in my heart, and not just because they were made for my baby nephew's welcoming party, but because they were the first rice krispie treats I've made with actual marshmallows.

You see, I've always made rice krispie treats with marshmallow creme because my religion restricts me from eating pork, and most gelatin comes from pork, and ALL marshmallows have gelatin. But my marshmallow creme failed me when I needed it the most and I ended up using these kosher marshmallows that my friend had literally just given me earlier that same day. Talk about a lifesaver!


It was a such a big difference using real marshmallows! The mixture was all stringy and gooey, something I never experienced when using marshmallow crème. And the treats themselves turned out  to be a near carbon copy of the ones I loved as a kid. At that point, I swore to never go back to marshmallow creme and with the extra Rice Krispies I had on hand, I knew I needed to share a blog worthy version of them.

And so, I came up with apple pie rice krispie treats, with BROWNED butter. Holy moly, if you've never smelled brown butter combined with marshmallows, you need to. I want to make it into a candle. It's shove-your-nose-into-the-saucepan good. And it elevates these rice krispie treats to a whole new level.


When you add in dried apples and apple pie spice, these become the ultimate Fall rice krispie treat. My nephew and his soccer team loved digging into them after their practice. I was just glad to get rid of them because Lord knows I would have eaten the entire pan by myself-- I'm an apple-cinnamonaholic!

Brown Butter Apple Pie Rice Krispie Treats

Yield: 20 treats, depending on how you cut them

Ingredients:

5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup dried apples, chopped
2 teaspoons apple pie spice
pinch of vanilla powder (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
5 tablespoons salted butter
8 oz. marshmallows

Directions:

Butter an 11x8 inch pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together Rice Krispies, chopped apples, and apple pie spice.

In a medium saucepan, cook butter over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until bubbly and small brown specks appear on the bottom of the pan. Watch closely and remove the butter from the heat once the brown specks appear. Immediately stir in marshmallows and vanilla; the residual heat should be enough to completely melt the marshmallows.

Pour melted marshmallow mixture over the Rice Krispies and swiftly fold together with a spatula until well-combined.

With wet hands, press the Rice Krispie mixture into the pan, just enough to compact it. You don't want to crush the cereal.

Allow to cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Before serving, trim off edges to make a 10x8 rectangle. Cut into squares and serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature.