Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

Regular Rice Krispie treats are classic and made with marshmallows, butter, and Rice Krispies.  Caramel Rice Krispie treats on the other hand, take it up a notch with a rich caramel flavor that makes them extra tasty.  But guess what?  They are just as easy.  And, If you are anything like me and can’t get regular rice Krispie treats to turn out (ok, no judging), try this recipe with an easy to follow video to master this popular treat.  

Rice Krispies are already a favorite at parties and one of the first things gone from the dessert table.  But, the first time I tried these caramel Rice Krispie treats was at a women’s conference and a friend brought them to share.  I had to snatch one before they all were eaten because they are THAT good.  

This recipe is inspired by Our Best Bites Caramel rice krispies.  I have been a fan of Our best bites for years and this recipe is no exception.  She uses heavy whipping cream in her recipe and since I don’t always have heavy whipping cream on hand, I wanted to try to use milk instead.  After a few tweaks, I am happy to say, both recipes are phenomenal and I can’t wait for you to try this twist on the good ole classic.

Ingredients for caramel Rice Krispie treats

Now lets talk about the differences.  

The ingredients of the regular rice krispie treats are simple.  Rice Krispies, butter, marshmallows.  

The ingredients of the caramel rice krispie treats are Rice Krispies, butter, marshmallows AND brown sugar, milk, corn syrup and salt.

How to make Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

So, how do we make these little beauties?  Let’s start at the top.  First.  Get all your ingredients weighed and ready to go.  

I highly recommend… actually, I insist you use a kitchen scale in any of your baking or cooking endeavors.  You can thank me later…Anyways…

I am going to start with my rice krispies.  Then I weigh my marshmallows. 

Now weigh your brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and milk.

Make the caramel marshmallow mixture

Once you get your ingredients weighed and ready to go, melt your butter over medium heat.  When I say medium heat… I mean right in the middle.  So not the highest setting or the lowest setting but right in the middle.  You may want to keep a close eye on this or stir often to make sure it doesn’t scorch. 

Once the butter is melted, add the brown sugar, salt, corn syrup and milk.   Stir together to break up and dissolve the brown sugar.  At first the mixture will start to bubble on the outside and then boil towards the middle. 

Keep stirring often to prevent the caramel from burning.  Using a pot or sauce pan that has a thick base can prevent you from scorching the caramel mixture. I like to use a heavy duty pot or saucepan made of aluminum and stainless steel with a thick base that distributes heat evenly.  You don’t have to have the nicest equipment to make great things… but if you have a cheaper pan… you may have to stir more often to keep the caramel mixture evenly heating.  

Once your brown sugar mixture is thick and syrupy, turn off the heat. You can also take the temperature for an accurate reading.  I test mine on a digital thermometer and it reads about 220.  But before you go temping your syrup and having it fail… Read this post about using a food thermometer to make sure you are temping your temperatures correctly.  You see, when it boiling points actually depend on your elevation an barometric pressure.  Don’t get scared off… I promise, it is easy and will change your world when it comes to candies, syrups, jams, sauces etc.

Add the marshmallows and stir until the marshmallows dissolve and melt.  The heat from the caramel syrup should melt the marshmallows.  If it doesn’t melt easily an quickly… I will turn the heat on the stove back on a medium low temperature and stir like crazy to melt the marshmallows.  Only leave the heat on for a short time and make sure to turn the heat off before the marshmallows look completely melted.

At this point, you want to move fairly quickly while the marshmallow caramel mixture is still hot.  It makes it easier to work with.  

Add Marshmallow mixture to the Rice Krispies or vice versa

Add the marshmallows to the Rice Krispies or vice versa.  I like to use something sturdy to mix this.  My favorite is a nylon spoon for mixing this together.  Try not to crush all the rice krispies and get all the way to the bottom of the pan and in the edges of the pan so that you mix everything evenly.  

Once you have everything mixed, prepare your pan that these will go into.  My kids like a thinner, big rice krispie treat so I use a 13X18 Sheet pan.  But you can do them in whatever size pan you want depending on the thickness you want.  

Spray your sheet pan with non stick cooking spray.  Now I use disposable gloves but you can also use clean hands.  Spray your hands with non stick cooking spray.  I spray on the top and bottom of my hands to prevent from sticking.  It still gets to be a sticky mess but nothing near what it would be like without the non stick spray.

Spread out in pan

Spread out and press into pan.  If you are sticking a ton, you can give your hands another spritz of oil from the non stick spray to help with the stickiness.  Give them a nice press but you don’t need to press them so much that you are going to have super dense caramel rice krispie treats.  

Now…The hardest part is the waiting!  These will get easier to cut the longer you wait but my family can’t wait overnight so waiting until they are cool will get the job done as well.  

You can also put them in the fridge or freezer to speed up the cooling process.  

Print