Rice Krispies treats used to throw me off. When my sister was in college, her campus cafe sold a variety of krispie treats, including ones made with Lucky Charms. She’d bring me one from time to time, because Lucky Charms. The thing about them was that they tasted…. stale. Like, the cereal didn’t taste fresh and it was always a little harder than usual. From there, she moved onto Starbucks’ crispy squares, which were good, until they started individually wrapping them. My favorite thing about those ones was that they had mini marshmallows in the treat itself. I love extra the extra sugar, with that emphasis of what was really in the treat (actually, that’s still questionable but whatever).
So, I accepted her request for homemade treats. Except I wasn’t about to make plain old Rice Krispies treats. NO. That’s way too basic! I had to change things up a bit and make them interesting. Enter bakery emulsions. I’m sure a few of you might’ve seen or heard about emulsions, but for those that don’t know, let me tell you. I saw these at Michael’s, on one of my random trips there, and I wondered about how they work. On a whim, I bought the Butter Vanilla flavor, with the intent of making these treats and making them cake batter. I’m currently looking to make a cake batter anything without using box mix. I’ll keep y’all posted on that. The emulsion is this super thick with a strong flavor; almost like if vanilla extract had a cough syrup consistency. I hate describing it like that but there’s no other way to put it! The directions claim the flavor doesn’t bake out, which is something I have yet to test, and that its flavor is strong when using in non baked goods.
I didn’t get the outcome I was expecting. First of all, I was planning on making a ginormous batch of these. Like, I saw the original recipe and was like, “I’m gonna need more than that.” I went to the supermarket for supplies and was confronted by many different sized boxes of Rice Krispies cereal. I grabbed the biggest one and paused for a second. HOW MUCH DID I NEED?! Thankfully, the recipe was on the box. Unthankfully, the amount of cereal (in cups) was not on the box. I stood there, looking at the serving size on the side of the box, and did the math all in my head. Stressful, as I’m not the greatest person with numbers. Well, maybe except with recipes. Anyway, I did the math in my head and confirmed that the biggest box was enough. When I got home, I did the math on “paper” and verified my original number. I even showed my work!
An 18oz box of Rice Krispies has about 15 servings, which will give you about 18 3/4 cups by volume of cereal. Plenty to make a giant batch, and have cereal leftover. With my mind at ease about that, I moved forward. Since these were alleged cake batter krispies, I needed sprinkles. LOTS AND LOTS OF SPRINKLES. I had a small tub, plus two more small bottles. I didn’t use them all, though. And then I thought about the Starbucks treats and how they have mini mallows in them, so I added those too.
Okay, so my idea didn’t work out as planned. The emulsion didn’t come out tasting cake batter-y. Instead, it kind of enhanced the already present vanilla and butter flavors. Not a total loss but not what I was aiming for. Then the add ins. I was completely not expecting the sprinkles to melt once stirred in, same with the extra mini mallows. Everything turned into a giant and sticky conglomerate. Although, honestly, I was expecting that.
I thought they looked ugly. Like, I didn’t even want to photograph them. Upset at the fact that I didn’t get what I originally planned, I hoped they’d taste good. At least I was right about that! They were amazing! Like, incomparable to the packaged stuff. They were crunchy, chewy, and soft ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Like magic or something! The sprinkles, although melted, were totally present. Not all the mini mallows melted, as I found a few stragglers in a couple pieces. They were so good, I “quality controlled” at least four before I even photographed them. Like, INSANE.
Now, I guess I’m not really put off by them anymore. In fact, it may be one of those recipes I’ll possibly repeat.
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for pans
- 2 10oz packages of regular sized marshmallows
- 5 cups mini marshmallows, divided
- 2 tsps LorAnn Bakery Emulsion in Buttery Vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups of sprinkles (or jimmies)
- 12 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
- Generously butter two 9×13″ pans and set aside.
- In a large pot, melt the unsalted butter. When melted, add the packages of regular sized marshmallows, plus 2 cups of mini marshmallows. While marshmallows are melting, add the Bakery Emulsion and stir. Continue stirring until completely melted.
- Once melted, stir in the Rice Krispies cereal, sprinkles, and the rest of the mini marshmallows. Stir until combined and completely mixed together.
- Evenly distribute the cereal mass into both of the prepped pans. Using wax paper, press the mix down into the pans evenly. Allow the treats to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Recipe adapted from the Original Treats recipe found on the Rice Krispies site
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