Raspberry Chocolate Crispy Rice Cereal Treats

This small batch of Raspberry Chocolate Crispy Rice Cereal Treats is an upgrade of your classic with just a few extra steps. Toasted cereal, nutty brown butter, tart raspberries, sweet chocolate chips and gooey marshmallows. Absolutely irresistible!

Every year, I bake tons of treats for families, friends, neighbors & Bryan’s co-workers. Last year was an exception, because we just moved to Northern California. This year is even more strange. Although we’re back in LA, it’s not a good idea to be meeting up people during the pandemic, even just for a short time. I have decided to skip the holiday baking again.

Ok, no baking for people. How about something small just for ourselves? Yes, absolutely! This small batch crispy rice cereal treats is the BEST one I have ever eaten! It’s a grown-up version of the classic. You still get the basic gooey marshmallows & rice cereal, but with more layers of flavors, nutty brown butter, tart raspberries and sweet chocolate chips.

This recipe is very easy, but requires a bit more steps than the classic. It’s all about building flavors little by little. Start with toasting the cereal in a large pot for a few minutes. Instead of using regular melted butter, switch it up with brown butter. Brown butter is literally browning the butter until the liquid is amber and there’re brown bits at the bottom. Although it’s very hard to taste the brown butter in the treats at the end, the brown butter added another layer of flavors to the end result.

Once the brown butter is ready, add the marshmallows. Cook until melted and smooth. Stir in the cereal and mix for a few times. Remove from heat. Stir in the raspberries and chocolate chip. Quickly transfer to a baking pan and pat down to fit the pan. Sprinkle with more crushed raspberries and chocolate chips on top. Let sit at room temperature and give time for the chocolate and marshmallow to set. When ready, cut them into squares and serve.

I love that these crispy rice cereal treats are just sweet enough with plenty of raspberry and chocolate flavors. It’s little chewy with little crunchy. Great to snack or dessert. They make perfect edible gifts too. I will totally add these to my next year holiday baking. Bryan really loves these and wish there are more. I think I will have to make it again soon!

Print Pin

Raspberry Chocolate Crispy Rice Cereal Treats

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, easy dessert, marshmallow treat, no bake, raspberry chocolate, rice krispie recipe, rice krispie treat

Servings 9 squares (3-inch each)

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• 4 cups crispy rice cereal (4 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3½ cups mini marshmallows
• ¾ cup freeze-dried raspberry (1.2 ounces)
• ¾ cup mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• Prepare a 9×9 (or 8×8) square baking pan. Line with a parchment paper, leaving some overhang on 2 sides. Set aside.
• Transfer the freeze-dried raspberry into a small Ziploc bag. Crush them with a rolling pin. Take out 2 teaspoons crushed feezed-dried raspberry and put in a small bowl. Keep the rest in the Ziploc bag.
• In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the cereal until they started to smell toasted, about 3 – 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer to a large bowl to set aside. Keep the large pot on the stove (no heat).
• In a light-colored small pot over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Once the butter has melted, it will start to bubble and foam, stirring occasionally. Soon milk solids (white spots) will appear at the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring. The butter and the milk solids will start to turn brown. It has a nutty aroma. Keep a close eye on the milk solids until they are just dark brown, but not black. The butter should be amber in color. This is brown butter.
• Carefully transfer the butter to the large pot that was used. Turn on the heat to medium-low. Stir in the marshmallows. Cook until melted and smooth, stirring continuously. Stir in the salt.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the toasted cereal and stir gently for a few times. Remove from heat, working quickly to stir in crushed freeze-dried raspberry from the Ziploc bag and chocolate chips.
• Transfer mixture to the prepared pan. Using a rubber spatula, gently spread mixture to fit the pan and gently press the mixture down into the pan. Do not press too hard.
• Sprinkle the reserved freeze-dried raspberry and some chocolate chips over the top. Press down gently with the spatula, so the topping sticks to the treat. Set aside to cool for at least 1 hour or until the chocolate chips have set.
• Use the parchment paper overhangs to lift the entire treat out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into 9 big squares. Serve.

Notes

1. Mini marshmallows melt faster. If you can’t find mini ones, cut the regular ones into smaller pieces.
2. Freeze-dried raspberry can be a bit pricey. The one at Trader Joe’s is cheapest that I have seen, and that is the one I used.
3. The chocolate chips are expected to melt when added to the hot marshmallows & cereal. It’s perfectly ok, but work quickly to minimize the spread of the melted chocolate.
4. For storage, keep the treats in an airtight container in between wax papers for up to 4 days. But best on the first couple days. 

(Adapted from Alton Brown)