Rice Krispies Treats With Chocolate and Pretzels

By Genevieve Ko

Updated February 10, 2019

  • Several Rice Krispies treats topped with chocolate chunks and pretzel bits sit on a white marble surface.
    Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(2,844)
Comments
Read comments

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.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:12 to 36 treats

  • Nonstick cooking spray

  • 6 tablespoons salted butter (¾ stick)

  • 1 (10-ounce) bag marshmallows

  • 3 cups Rice Krispies, or other crisp rice cereal

  • 3 cups butter-flavored or regular mini-pretzels, broken into ½- to 1-inch pieces

  • 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

14 grams carbs; 69 milligrams cholesterol; 296 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 116 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 9 grams sugar

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.

Powered by

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.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,844 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

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.

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.

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.

Mary

Household favorite. They disappeared before dinner first time I made them. Just made a batch for the kids who mow our lawn and may need to hide them so they’re ready when they get here. Easy, crunchy, sweet and salty as written but I’m going to try caramel chips next time.

Annie R.

These have a magnificent flavor. The brown butter suggestion is brilliant. Based on a previous comment, I substituted 1/4 c light corn syrup for 2 tbsp of the butter to try to keep them soft. That didn’t work. They were almost too hard to eat on day 1, and on day 2 they are threatening my dental work. When I make these again, I will not reduce the butter. Not sure if the corn syrup helps or not.

Pascale

I made these this past weekend. Delicious BUT.... not enough marshmallow! The bag was 12 oz but I used 10 oz as listed on recipe. USE THE FULL 12 OZ!! I used goldfish pretzels- everyone loved that. I used chocolate chunks but as the krispy mix was cool by the time I added the chocolate, I set it in the warm oven for 3-5 minutes. I should have browned the butter, but became impatient. I will make again, with my changes!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.