Rice Krispies Treats With Chocolate and Pretzels

By Genevieve Ko

Rice Krispies Treats With Chocolate and Pretzels
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
15 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(2,428)
Notes
Read community notes

Marshmallow treats can skew saccharine, but this slightly more sophisticated version embraces the salty as much as it does the sugary. Sweet marshmallows and chocolate are balanced by plenty of salt: in the butter, on the pretzels and in the flaky sea salt finish. Butter-flavored pretzels (“butter snaps”) have a delicate crunch and a creamy note that work well in this recipe, but any small, thin pretzels are also good. You'll want to use chopped chocolate here instead of chips: They melt faster, so you end up with smeared chocolate bits instead of distinctive chunks.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 36 treats
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 6tablespoons salted butter (¾ stick)
  • 1(10-ounce) bag marshmallows
  • 3cups Rice Krispies, or other crisp rice cereal
  • 3cups butter-flavored or regular mini-pretzels, broken into ½- to 1-inch pieces
  • 3ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

296 calories; 27 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 116 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on all sides, then coat with nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Step 2

    Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir with a sturdy silicone spatula until smooth and melted, about 3 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Remove from the heat, add the cereal and pretzels, and stir until evenly coated. Immediately scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Using the spatula, press the mixture to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Working quickly (you want the cereal mixture to still be quite warm so the chocolate will melt a bit and adhere to the the surface), sprinkle the chopped chocolate on top. Press the mixture with the chocolate into a flat, even layer in the pan. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

  4. Step 4

    Cool to room temperature in the pan on a rack. Lift out of the pan using the foil and cut into squares. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,428 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Wendy

An 8 oz package of Pepperidge Farm pretzel goldfish is roughly 3 cups, and no pretzel crushing is needed (or extra salt sprinkles). It saves a couple of minutes and the kids love the little fishies.

Mike

I made this with some modifications (some suggested below): -I added 1/2 cup of peanut butter to the marshmallow mixture; -I added 3/4 cup chopped salted peanuts to the cereal mixture; -in lieu of the chopped chocolate, I mixed 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup butterscotch chips; I pressed half of the cereal mixture into a pan, sprinkled 2/3 of the chip mixture, pressed the remaining cereal mixture, then melted the remaining chip mixture and drizzled it over the top. So delicious.

Nellie Armstrong

Try browning the butter. I never like rice krispie treats til I tried them with browned butter. Raises treats to a new level.

Cathi

Ok...I am not usually a fan of modification. I mean...the idea is that you are making someone elses recipe so my thought is that you should always make it the way it is presented and then later..the next time, you might add something but in this case I DID do the fish pretzels(not really a modifcation) and I just knew that 1/2 cup of peanut butter would make this amazing and it was.

M. Callahan

I am one of 8 children and my mother was making Rice Krispy treats for us in the 1960's using chocolate chips. Her fix for the melting problem was to keep the chips in the freezer. Works like a charm. I make these with a salted caramel base that I stir the marshmallows into until melted. Fold in the frozen chips, press into the pan, and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt.

ZFMT

I like to think of myself as a fairly sophisticated baker and yet these are the treats I can’t help making more of every time we run out! They’re so good. I don’t love the fake butter flavor either, so using regular snaps. Flakey salt is essential. Also, recipe doesn’t specify mini marshmallows but they melt faster and also come in a 10 oz bag.

Ron

To keep that just-made chewiness (even if you add peanut butter to the marshmallow mixture), reduce the butter by 2 Tb and add 1/4 cup light corn syrup. They will stay fresh for a week - if you can keep them around that long.

Melody

I'm not a fan of Rice Krispie treats, but I was looking for a treat that I could carry in a backpack up a trail for a birthday sweet at the top of Oak Mountain at Kings Chair. The hike was challenging, the champagne was cold when we toasted at the summit, and this was the perfect, portable, celebratory snack! The pretzels and chocolate changed the taste and I'm about to make them again for an after birthday run celebration tomorrow morning at 5:30. We love to combine fitness and food!

Kim Bowen

We can't get enough of these! Suggest using parchment instead of foil - I find parchment releases better.

DDee

Per Julia Moskin, I browned the butter before adding the marshmallows. I added more marshmallows just before spreading in the pan to have chewy bits in the treat. The pretzels were a brilliant addition. Chocolate took it up another notch. Adults loved them as much as the kids. Delicious and addictive.

Dev

I guess I should have measured 3 cups of pretzels first, then crushed them. The recipe is written that way, but I didn't pay enough attention. I crushed them, then measured. I ended up with dry treats, hardly enough marshmallow. I will make these again with that in mind. I also browned the butter before adding marshmallows, that was delicious.

Cjk

Made these for my coworkers. Everyone LOVED them. They asked if the secret ingredient was crack. Needless to say they did not disappoint. 35/35 would recommend.

Mike

Update: They're really great this way while they're still warm, but the peanut butter makes them brittle the next day (still delicious, though). Next time I'll increase the amount of marshmallows to keep them a bit more on the gooey side.

Calisson

Brown the butter!

SB

An 8 oz package of Pepperidge Farm pretzel goldfish is roughly 3 cups, and no pretzel crushing is needed (or extra salt sprinkles). Add 1/2 cup peanut butter - crunchy would be best. Mix in mini chocolate chips - try 4 oz. No need to use only on the top. They don't really melt

Shelly

I was really looking forward to these as a special treat. Followed the tips to make it so: browned butter, extra marshmallow, peanut butter, crushed peanuts, pretzel goldfish, and my favorite dark chocolate bar. Flaky sea salt. I was expecting fantastic !!! But they were really just meh. Disappointing.

Jessica

Loved this recipe! My 12 year old was thrilled with it, my husband thought they are “very adult” tasting. Delicious and perfect for this time we are living in a house without an oven.

Kathy

I made this dish using as GF and dairy free. Used Glutino GF & dairy-free pretzels, Guittard semisweet dairy-free chocolate chips, plant butter (I used Violife,but I think any brand will do) and regular Rice Krispie cereal. The only potential GF in the cereal is malt flavor which is such a tiny amount gluten (I looked it up) that didn’t cause problems for us and we are celiac. Next time I’ll add more pretzels- cause I love them. Got rave reviews from folks. Those with and without allergies :)

MH

Delicious, but I found the chocolate doesn’t really add to the experience. Next time I’ll skip the chocolate chunks. The use of pretzels in a Rice Krispie treat, however, is truly revelatory. Never going back to regular Rice Krispies.

George

Made these today. They were easy to make and taste fantastic.

Llebles

If you find homemade Marshmallow Crispy Treats " skewing saccharine" you are doing it wrong. It's a perfect balance of salt/fat/sugar. Thats why the original recipe has stood the test of time. The prepackaged kind are overly sweet and chemical tasting. The Pepperidge Farms fish in the comments sound like a way better choice than crushing fake butter flavored pretzels. Too much fake butter flavor and too much inconsistent sized pretzel pieces. But thanks for the inspiration.

Shelia

Suggestion was to use Pepperidge Farm Mini Goñdfish Pretzels , brown the butter, also add 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter.. Sounds YUMMY!

Joe

I should have made the recipe as written first - my mistake. Instead, I took some comments and used the Goldfish pretzels uncrushed (BIG MISTAKE) and the peanut butter (Skippy smooth). The PNB for flavor was not as much a mistake, but the treats were unexpectedly dry. . . was that because the pretzels were too big? Would more melted butter have been beneficial? When melting chocolate, I use a bar, either Lindt or Guittards, for a smoother and shinier chocolate. I'll try again.

Deb

No changes: these are PERFECT.

Barb

Thanks for this fun variation on an already great recipe! I’ve made Rice Krispie treats many times and didn’t trust my process to be warm enough to melt the chocolate. So instead mixed in mini m&ms after I stirred in the Rice Krispies - yum! (My tips for success for even basic treats / use a bigger bag of marshmallows and a little extra butter)

BrooklynOhio

My favorite trick is to use a large bowl & microwave the butter & marshmallows for 2-3 minutes. Stir melted mixture using a buttered spatula. Then fold the rice crispy into the marshmallow mixture. Pour mixture into a buttered cake pan & use the butter wrappers, butter side down to help smooth the top of the crispy treats if you like. That last part works best if you make a straight up plain crispy with no extras. So fast & easy!

Jay

I consider myself a Rice Krispie treat girly — this is absolutely delicious. The saltiness, the sweetness, the crunchiness, the everything. I didn’t get my treats in the pan fast enough for the chocolate to melt, so I popped it in the oven at 200 for two minutes or so, then spread the chocolate around to coat the whole top. So, so, so good

Donna

For those of you who have gone through life never having made RKT’s, just know you gotta have your pan lined with foil and sprayed with PAM ready to put the melted mix in. I was scrambling and Couldn’t add the chocolate chips because they wouldn’t have melted. BUT did add peanut butter and goldfish, I doubled this which made it bulkier to remove from pan. All in all though, exceptionally YUM!!

dimmerswitch

If you need to consider making this gluten free, Snyder's makes a GF mini pretzel that works well. Also Rice Krispies are not GF since there is malt in the mix. But you can find similar cereals that are GF made by Nature's Path, Erewon, Barbara's (brown rice to boot) and a few others. Most major grocers carry one or two of them.

Maria

Great recipe, followed the recommendation to use pretzel goldfish and unsalted butter.

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