Description
Salted caramel rice krispie treats are next level cereal treats! Made with homemade salted caramel, these no-bake bars are perfectly gooey with a nice balance of salty and sweet. Top with a layer of rich chocolate and flaky salt for the best rice krispie treats!
Ingredients
Salted Caramel
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (85 g) light corn syrup
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 g) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
Rice Krispie Treats
- 6 Tbsp (84 g) unsalted butter
- 16 oz (455 g) jet-puffed marshmallows
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp flaky salt
- salted caramel (from above)
- 5 cups (150 g) crisp rice cereal
Topping
- 6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Spray the sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray and line the pan with parchment paper.
- Make caramel: Without stirring, cook sugar and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbling (about 3 minutes). Swirl the pot as needed, but do not stir. Continue cooking until mixture is a light amber color (about 2 minutes more). Remove pan from the heat and add butter, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla (the mixture will bubble up rapidly). Return pan to the heat and whisk vigorously for 1 minute or until smooth. Pour into a glass bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Make rice krispie treats: Melt butter in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add marshmallows to the saucepan. Use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture over medium-low heat until gooey and marshmallows are completely melted. Stir in vanilla and salt until combined.
- Remove saucepan from the heat and fold in caramel. Add crisp rice cereal and fold until completely incorporated and mixture is gooey. Add rice krispie mixture to prepared pan and press into an even layer with a metal spatula.
- Melt chocolate: Place chopped chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until glossy and smooth.
- Pour melted chocolate over the rice krispie layer and smooth with an offset spatula. Let set for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with flaky salt, then move the pan to the refrigerator and chill for 20 t0 30 minutes, until chocolate is set. Lift the parchment to transfer bars to a cutting board (if necessary, loosen the edges with an offset spatula) and cut into squares with a sharp knife.
- Store in a single layer on a parchment-lined pan in the refrigerator. Bring treats to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Pan size: I pressed the marshmallow mixture into an 8×8-inch square pan. If you prefer thinner bars, use a 9×9-inch pan.
Shortcut caramel: If you don’t want to make the salted caramel from scratch, you can use soft caramel candies (such as Werther’s Soft Caramels) instead. You’ll need about 10 ounces (280 grams). Add the soft caramels to the marshmallow mixture and melt over medium-low heat until gooey and melted. Stir in vanilla and salt. Remove from the heat and fold in crisp rice cereal.
Brown sugar caramel: Alternatively, you can make a brown sugar marshmallow coating. Melt 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add 3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar and 6 Tbsp (90 g) heavy whipping cream. Heat over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon flaky salt. Stir in marshmallows until melted, then fold in crisp rice cereal.
Caramel adapted from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery. Brown sugar caramel adapted from Pinch of Yum.