To celebrate settling in, I bring you a recipe to make a proper homemaker proud: The Rice Crispy Treat. 1) I have never made Rice Crispy treats before today. 2) I needed a gluten-free treat for a work function. 3) I stumbled upon an updated recipe via traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com.
(Please Click Image for Source)
As stated by Wikipedia; "Rice Krispies Treats (also called Rice Krispies squares, bars or cakes) are a sweet dessert or snack made from Rice Krispies, melted butter or margarine, and melted marshmallows.[1] Sometimes marshmallows and/or cereal that is seasonal is used to make these treats holiday-specific. While they can be made at home, they can be purchased in stores, usually packaged under the Rice Krispies brand.
Rice Krispies Treats were invented in the 1920s[2] or 1930s[3] by Mildred Day and the staff at the Kellogg Company home economics department as a fund raiser for Camp Fire Girls.[2]"
In this instance, the history isn't nearly as important as what I've gleaned from the experience of making these treats.
The recipe put forward by tracey's adventures comes from Joanne Chang's cook book Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe and is as follows:
Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean (or substitute 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
2 10-oz bags marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
9 cups crispy rice cereal
Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Add the butter to a large saucepan set over low heat. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan with the butter. The butter will melt then begin to bubble and foam. Eventually it will start to turn brown and smell nutty - be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burned quickly. Once the butter is browned, add all of the marshmallows and the salt. Stir the mixture constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted.
Turn off the heat under the pan and add the cereal. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to coat the cereal evenly with the buttery, marshmallow liquid. Spread the mixture in an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Let cool for at least an hour before cutting and serving.
You can store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
-------------------
These are possibly the BEST Rice Krispy treats I have ever had. Period. I am very, very excited to share them with my coworkers!
LESSONS LEARNED:
1) Housewives of the 50's must have had very, very strong forearms. Making these treats requires a *copious* amount of stirring with increasing resistance. We doubled the batch, and the stirring required to melt the marshmallows evenly required quite a bit of stir-power with a wooden spoon. It's on par with whipping cream by hand, at this point in the game.
2) DO NOT dump cold vanilla extract directly into the marshmallow/butter mix. The vanilla extract will cause a small explosion. Please drizzle instead.
3) The stirring gets MUCH harder when you add an entire box of rice krispies. You wouldn't think snap, crackle and pop could be so... solid. Combining the cereal with the AWESOME marshmallow is comparable to mixing cement. That is already starting to set. I suggest having a friend to help you... preferably one with superior muscle mass to yourself.
4) Work very, very quickly. Those marshmallows set fast, yo!
5) If you intend to take these to a function, put them away IMMEDIATELY. They are delicious. DELICIOUS.
