Honey + Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Makes 1 – 9×13 pan

These are not your childhood Rice Krispie Treats. Made with a homemade marshmallow creme that includes honey instead of all corn syrup, and with browned butter instead of just plain butter, they are elevated to a whole new level. There is a generous amount of vanilla in them as well – I think you will enjoy them! And don’t be afraid of corn syrup; it is sugar and belongs in desserts. Its cousin, high-fructose corn syrup is different in that it is highly processed to convert roughly half of its natural glucose to fructose – and not that fructose is scary, but it enables food manufacturers to put it in foods that we least expect it – salsa, potato chips, and bread. Corn syrup on the other hand serves as a binding agent, prevents crystallization, and helps certain foods stay creamy and light. You can find organic corn syrup at natural food stores if you are afraid of GMOs- look for a brand called Wholesome Sweetener.

Ingredients

• 11 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• ¼ cup cool water
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup water for sugar syrup
• ½ cup corn syrup
• ½ cup strong honey
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 oz unsalted butter

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat oven to 175f. Generously great or spray with nonstick coating a 5-qt bowl. Place in oven to keep warm.
2. Melt butter in 2-qt saucepan over medium low heat. increasen to medium and simmer stirring, while the butter hisses and pops. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping up any brown bits that form in the bottom of the pan until the butter is yellow and perfectly silent. Pour into a glass measuring cup. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl mix gelatin, ¼ cup cool water and vanilla with a fork. Combine remaining ½ cup water, corn syrup, honey, sugar and salt in a 3-qt stainless steel pot over medium heat. Stir with a fork until bubbling, about 8 minutes, then increase heat to medium-high. Using a digital thermometer cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 250F, about 6 minutes.
4. Transfer thermometer to edge of a bowl for a stand mixer and pour the hot syrup in all at once, scraping the pot with a heat resistant rubber spatula. Cool to exactly 212F, about 8 minutes, then add the gelatin mixture. With whisk attachment, mix on low speed to combine then increase to medium-high and whip until syrup is think, snowy white, roughly tripled in volume and beginning to ball up around the whisk, about 5 minutes depending on the power of your stand mixer. Meanwhile, grease a 9×13 baking pan, or line it with parchment paper.
5. When the creme is thick, reduce speed to low and gradually add in the melted browned butter. Return the speed to medium-high to combine for about 20 more seconds. Scrape the creamy mixture over the warm cereal and fold together with a greased spatula. Transfer to the prepared pan and gently press into an even layer being carefully not to crush the cereal. Cover wth foil and let stand at room temperature until firm, about an hour.

Cut into as many pieces as you would like. Store leftovers tightly wrapped in plastic for up to 3 days, or longer in the fridge. Adapted from Bravetart, Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks