Rice Krispie Treats with Flaky Salt
Melted marshmallow and butter folded into rice cereal, pressed flat, and salted — no oven, done before the pot's even cool enough to wash.
- Serves
- 16
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Written
Method
-
Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat, swirling to coat the sides.
-
Add the marshmallows and stir constantly over low heat until completely melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes — pull it off the heat the moment it’s smooth, since scorched marshmallow turns bitter fast.
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Remove from the heat and fold in the rice cereal until every piece is coated and no dry cereal remains at the bottom of the pot.
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Turn into a buttered 9x13-inch pan and press level with a greased spatula or wax paper, using just enough pressure to fill the corners — packing it hard is what makes bars tough instead of tender.
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Sprinkle with flaky salt while still warm and let cool at room temperature until firm, about 30 minutes, before cutting into bars.
Notes
The whole recipe is really a five-minute window: melt the butter, melt the marshmallows, fold in the cereal, and get it into the pan before it starts to set up in the pot. Low heat the entire time is the only real technique here — marshmallow scorches fast once it browns, and a scorched batch tastes bitter instead of toasty no matter how much salt you add after.
Press gently. A hard-packed pan gives you a dense, chewy brick instead of the loose, barely-held-together texture that makes these good — a sheet of wax paper under your palm keeps the marshmallow from sticking to your hand while you flatten it. They keep at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days, though they’re never actually around that long.