Browned Butter Rice Krispies Mummy Treats
Rice Krispies treats are the quintessential childhood treat. One of my earliest memories is when my four-year-old self proudly took Rice Krispies treats to kindergarten class when it was my turn for snacks. The story of these treats started back in the 1930s when Mildred Day of the Kellogg Co. Home Economics Department created Rice Krispies treats. However, hers were made with molasses and corn syrup instead of marshmallows. The gooey, sticky and buttery crispy treats recipe that we know today appeared on the cereal packages in 1940. Eighty-plus years later and it’s still hard to pass up a Rice Krispies treat. While the original recipe still appears on the box, there are definitely some updates that result in even more delicious treats. Think brown butter and mixing up the ratio of cereal to butter to marshmallows. Read on to choose your recipe and see how to make these Halloween mummy treats.
Browned Butter Mummy Rice Krispie Treats
These super-cute Broma Bakery mummies caught my eye on Instagram so I made her recipe for the first time. The base is browned butter, which is a must in my book. The vanilla definitely adds to the flavor, but next time I would use more sea salt. Be sure to use a 9x9 pan, which will be cut into 12 “mummy” rectangles.
The “mummy” part is 2 cups white chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon coconut oil melted in 15-second intervals in the microwave. Then you dip the little guys into the chocolate, position the googly eyes and then go back over the treats in a drizzle pattern to create the gauze effect. Here I found that I wished my chocolate was thinner and drizzled more easily. It probably thickened as it set, so adding a tiny more coconut oil would have helped my drizzling skills.
Choose the right recipe for you
While it’s not rocket science to make these treats, some are better than others. There are many recipes on the internet that claim to be the “best-ever” or “perfect” when it comes to making these crispy treats. You can thank me later, but I did the research and compiled a nifty little table to help you compare and choose for yourself. My current favorite recipes are the Broma Bakery and Smitten Kitchen ones in table below. Common denominator = Browned Butter!
Here are the links to the recipes above:
Broma Bakery (the mummies pictured)
Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats (Smitten Kitchen)
The Best Rice Krispies Treats (Life in the Lofthouse)
Perfect Rice Krispie Treats Recipe (Shugary Sweets)
Best-Ever Rice Krispie Treats (Brown-eyed Baker)
And, for fun: here’s a taste-off between Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond (her recipe is the closest to the original + sprinkles) and Kourtney Kardashian (who uses Dandies marshmallows). My sister swears by the Dandies all-natural marshmallows, but unfortunately, they don’t seem to melt the same way as the typical Kraft marshmallows.
Hints for optimal results
Choose your pan. Many recipes call for a 9x13 pan, but I prefer using an 8x8 or 9x9 to make the treats thicker. Then butter that pan up good. Don’t be shy.
Don’t press the treats down into the pan too hard. You want them to remain soft and gooey. Trust me. I learned this the hard way. Whoops.
Another hint: butter your hands or use parchment paper to pat the cereal mixture into the pan. It does become quite sticky.
Use top-quality butter. I like Kerrygold. TBH, 3 tablespoons in the original recipe is not enough butter. Also, I lean toward using unsalted butter and adding coarse sea salt. I like to be able to taste the salt with the sweetness.
Make sure your cereal and marshmallows are fresh, fresh, fresh.
Some recipes call for dividing the marshmallows. Meaning you melt half into the cereal mixture and then stir in the remaining marshmallows whole. Umm. Personally, I like them melted. But you decide.
Mix-ins: Of course you can add chocolate chips or other mix-ins. My mom used to pour chocolate chips on top of the warm Krispies treats and spread them into a frosting. Good, but I like the original pure way.
Once you make your treats, there are all kinds of creative things you can do with them. I remember the cover of a magazine from years ago (the 80s or early 90s I think) where Martha Stewart built a fun birthday cake consisting of stacked Rice Krispies treats on a beautiful cake stand with tall pastel skinny candles. I’ve always wanted to recreate that.
Bottom line
The eyes have it 👀 Be a good mummy and make these Halloween treats for your kids, your grandkids, the neighbor kids. Or if you’re like me, the two big kids in the house. Spooky … 👻
