flameDessertBaking & SweetsAmericanUnder 30 mins

Rice Krispies Treats with Mexican Vanilla and Maldon

Prep10 min

Cook10 min

Total20 min, plus cooling

Serves8x8 pan

Method

Steps

Butter an 8x8 pan, or line it with parchment and butter the parchment. Have everything measured and within reach. Once the marshmallows go in this moves fast.
Brown the butter. Melt it in a large pot over medium heat, then keep cooking, swirling the pan, until the foam subsides and the butter turns golden with toasty brown flecks and smells nutty, 3 to 5 minutes. This is the whole difference. Watch it closely at the end so it does not burn.
Reduce the heat to low. Add all but about 1 cup of the marshmallows and stir until fully melted and smooth.
Pull the pot off the heat. Stir in the kosher salt and Mexican vanilla, then fold in the reserved marshmallows and all of the cereal. Stop as soon as everything is coated. You want those half-melted marshmallow pockets left intact.
Scrape into the pan and press into an even layer with buttered hands or a sheet of buttered parchment. Press gently. Packing it down hard makes the treats dense.
While the top is still warm, shower it with Maldon flakes so they stick. Let cool at least 30 minutes, then cut into squares.

Good to know

Brown the butter, alwaysIt is the one step that takes these from a bake-sale afterthought to something people ask about. Nutty and a little caramelized against the sweet marshmallow.
Keep a cup of marshmallows backFolding them in off the heat is what gives you the gooey, molten pockets instead of a uniform slab.
Mexican vanilla earns its place hereIt leans warmer and more floral than standard extract, and there is nowhere for it to hide in a recipe this simple.
Maldon on top, not mixed inThe flakes stay crunchy and hit in bursts against the sweetness. Add them while the surface is warm so they anchor.
StorageBest the day they are made. Keep airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days. Do not refrigerate. They go hard.

Originally published at NYT Cooking. Reproduced for personal collection.