Cocoa Krispies Treats
Updated September 15, 2025
- Ready In
- 50 min
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Ingredients
½ cup/113 grams salted butter, plus more for greasing
½ cup/56 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 teaspoon fine salt
1 (12-ounce/340-gram) bag marshmallows
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups/180 grams Rice Krispies, or other crisp rice cereal
Nutritional analysis per serving (9 servings)
52 grams carbs; 27 milligrams cholesterol; 307 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 180 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 22 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.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Step 2
In a large pot, melt the ½ cup butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with a rubber spatula, until the milk solids on the bottom of the pan turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cocoa powder and salt until incorporated.
- Step 3
Add the marshmallows and stir until they are about 80 percent melted. Some lumps are OK. Remove the pot from the heat, add the vanilla and cereal and stir the mixture until all the cereal is coated.
- Step 4
Transfer to the prepared pan. Use the spatula to gently spread the mixture out evenly but avoid packing it down. Let cool completely.
- Step 5
Remove from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 even squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Private Notes
Comments
I struggled for about 10 minutes trying to understand why your mum would serve you cardboard cereal box bottoms! ;-)
My mum used to exalt this recipe by taking the bottom of the boxes of raisin bran, cheerios, wheaties and everything else we 60s kids grew up with and marshmallowing them together...but she didn't stop there. She'd spread some peanut butter on the top, let it cool, and melt a bunch of dark chocolate chips to spread over that. The result was a chewy, sweet peanut-buttery chocolate cereal-y delight that never lasted more than a day.
or you could just make regular rice krispie treats with cocoa krispies!
Love the NYT comments section, where for a simple recipe of Cocoa Rice Krispie Treats has 143 comments in 5 months, with 88 of those "helpful". As I recover from some trauma, this has become the level of "social media" I can still enjoy. So THANKS to all ya'll! :) I ended up here after going down the RK treats rabbit hole from Eric Kim's seseme ones. I probably just "saved" 5 RK treat recipes on my way here. May need to make them all and have a party!
Having made this recipe I’m not sure why it calls for using salted butter as well as an additional two teaspoons of kosher salt. The result tastes like something that a person who never actually enjoyed eating rice crispy treats would make in an attempt to create a more “adult” version. If I wanted an adult dessert or treat, I wouldn’t make cocoa rice crispy treats. Sometimes you don’t need to make a recipe more adult or complex. When you’re making something like this, comfort, familiarity, and nostalgia are the point. Sometimes you just want to enjoy something without making it complicated.
Definitely too salty. I’d cut it in half. Otherwise they are a fun alternative to the usual version!