whether you’re a kid or an adult, everyone appreciates sweet, sticky and chewy rice krispie squares. They’re easy to make and require minimal ingredients to create the perfect lunch or afternoon snack (or actually a snack for any time of the day), as a dessert for a kid’s birthday or part of a dessert bar at a sophisticated bridal or baby shower. All in all, it’s a versatile treat that can be for an event ranging from informal to a little more dressed up.
To start the base of the rice krispie making, I prefer to use butter, although I know some may use margarine. Since butter flavours and melts the marshmallows, you want to use a higher quality ingredient that will give these treats that je ne sais quoi flavour.
Secondly, you can’t be stingy on the marshmallows. In order to make the rice krispies stick together, be liberal with them. As most baking recipes goes, you need to measure out your ingredients precisely to get the cake to rise right or to avoid cookies from spreading into a pool of goo. With rice krispies, you can pretty much eyeball how much butter, marshmallows and cereal to add to the mix. If you’re someone who likes them to me more on the chewy side, add more marshmallows and less cereal. For those who like them a bit harder, hold the marshmallows and be generous with the cereal. With practice, you’ll be able to gauge what ratio to add in to get your perfect rice krispie squares.
Lastly, flavouring. Traditionally, recipes call for vanilla extract to elevate the flavour of these squares. One day, I was testing out making the squares with other flavourings, and the one I stuck with is coconut extract. It gives rice krispie squares and added flavour that permeates much more than vanilla extract, which is a little too subtle for my liking in these squares. It’s the extract that I have continued to use and my family and friends equally enjoy it.
They’re easy to make, a crowd pleaser and can be whipped up all year round. During the holidays, you can buy the red and green coloured rice cereal and shape them into Christmas trees and candy canes, and during Easter, you can shape them into eggs and decorate them with pastel icing. This recipe is kid-friendly and they’re as quick to make as they are to eat!
what you’ll need
- ¼ cup butter
- 4 cups marshmallows
- 2 tsp coconut extract
- 6 cups rice krispie cereal
what you’ll do
- In a 13×9 casserole, butter or spray with cooking spray the bottom and sides. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and mix with a silicone spatula until marshmallows are fully melted. Add coconut extract and stir. Remove from heat.
- Cup by cup, add rice krispie cereal until well coated with marshmallow mixture. Pour into the casserole and event spread the cereal. You can also wet your fingers and spread the mixture in the casserole by hand. Let it solidify for at least 30 minutes.
- Pull a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the casserole dish. Reverse large rice krispie block onto the parchment paper. With a knife, cut into large or small squares. The squares can be kept in an air tight container for up to two days.
