Easter is always such a wonderful time of the year in general. The holiday itself represents so many things, overall, a new beginning. If there were ever a time to start fresh, now would be the it. Spring has sprung, the weather is perfect (for now…in Texas), and if you are a Texan, you know these perfect temps won’t last too long until the heat sets in. Of course, I am one of those Texans that LOVE the heat. I grew up outdoors, on the lake, fishing, camping…you name it. So for me, heat means fun on the water, outdoor BBQs, catching some sun…ahhh…..sorry, got a little side tracked there. Back to the present, and Easter and spring! Easter brings back so many fond memories of being around family, traditions, egg hunts, pictures in the bluebonnets and much more. (me in the bluebonnets circa 1985 or so)- As I said, I was wanting to do some sort of Easter post, or two. I am hoping there will be one more with cupcakes to follow. Lately, I have been seeing a lot of the Browned Butter Rice Crispy treat recipes popping up. And since Rice Krispies are one of the easiest treats to whip up, I thought this would be a good place to get creative. I strolled through Krogers, with mini shopping basket weighing down my arm…because I ended up with much more than I intended as always. I went down the Easter aisle searching for ideas for my Easter treat. My eyes set on the Peeps, as they so often do this time of year. Then it dawned on me…I’ll turn my Rice Crispy Treats into nests for these guys! This is great, because you can let your imagination run wild, throw some chocolate eggs, or jelly beans in there, some coconut…whatever you want to make your Peep happy.
Now, before I get too far into this Easter spin, let me talk a minute about the recipe in general. Browned butter sounds delicious enough of an adjustment to the classic treat. But I decided to throw a couple extra layers of flavor in as well. Don’t worry, nothing too crazy or difficult, just a couple small things that will make your tastebuds happy. I added some Vanilla beans and some salt to give it some salty sweet goodness. These are a great recipe to add to your personal cookbook for every day use. I will include the regular, in a baking dish recipe, and I will also tell you how to make your Peep nests.
One more QUICK comment before I get started, I have recently discovered THIS vanilla bean paste from Williams Sonoma. Forget the days of splitting and scraping the seeds out of that pod. All you do with this is scoop and go! It is wonderful!!! And actually…as I was searching the website for that link, I came across actual ground Vanilla Beans, which I promptly ordered. I will keep you updated on which one I prefer in baking.
To get started on this recipe, go ahead and pre-measure everything you will need and set it aside. This is actually always wise when baking, but particularly necessary in this recipe.
Place one stick of butter in a large pot on the stove over medium-low heat. While the butter is melting, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Vanilla Bean paste, or Vanilla extract.
The browning of the butter is the most difficult part of this process. It takes a while to get there, and you will probably get impatient. However, you must keep a close eye on it, because you must remove it from the heat as soon as it browns. Otherwise, you might end up with caramelized butter and it will not mix well with the rest of the ingredients.
The butter will first begin to foam. Make sure you are stirring it on a fairly regular basis, so that you can scrape anything that is sticking to the pot. The butter will eventually start to smell nutty and then begin to brown. Once it starts to brown, take it off the heat.
Add in 10 ounces (about 5 1/2 cups) of marshmallows and 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons of salt (depending on how much salt kick you want). Stir with butter until marshmallows have completely melted. You might have to place it back on low heat, if the heat from the butter is not enough to melt the marshmallows.
Once they are good and melted and everything is all mixed together, add 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Stir until all of the Rice Krispies are good and covered in the marshmallow mixture.
At this point you can either scrape the treats into an 8X8 greased baking dish and smooth down with a spoon that is well greased OR you can move on for the nests.
For the nests- take a heaping spoonful (make sure it is with your large wooden spoon) and scrape with a spoon onto a greased piece of wax paper. Continue until all of the mixture is out on the wax paper in the spoonfuls. Make sure your hands are good and greased continuously for this next part. Using your hands create rounded out nest shapes. I first formed a ball, then flattened it out and brought up the sides to look like a nest.
Once all of your nests are created, add your peeps and/or other nest toppings. OR….
Cut into squares and serve
Printable Recipe – Krispies
Browned Butter Salted Krispies
Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter |
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
10 Ounces Mini Marshmallows (5 ½ cups)
1 ½-2 Teaspoons salt
1 Package of Peeps (optional)
Other Nest toppings
Directions:
Pre-measure all of your ingredients and set them aside.
Place one stick of butter in a large pot on the stove over medium-low heat. While the butter is melting, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Vanilla Bean paste, or Vanilla extract.
The butter will first begin to foam. Make sure you are stirring it on a fairly regular basis, so that you can scrape anything that is sticking to the pot. Start keeping a close eye on it at this point. The butter will eventually start to smell nutty and then begin to brown.
Once it starts to brown, take it off the heat.
Add in 10 ounces (about 5 1/2 cups) of mini marshmallows and 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons of salt (depending on how much salt kick you want). Stir with butter until marshmallows have completely melted. You might have to place it back on low heat, if the heat from the butter is not enough to melt the marshmallows.
Once they are good and melted and everything is all mixed together, add 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Stir until all of the Rice Krispies are good and covered in the marshmallow mixture.
At this point you can either scrape the treats into an 8X8 greased baking dish and smooth down with a spoon that is well greased OR you can move on for the nests.
For the nests:
Take a heaping spoonful (make sure it is with your large wooden spoon) and scrape with a spoon onto a greased piece of wax paper. Continue until all of the mixture is out on the wax paper in the spoonfuls. Make sure your hands are good and greased continuously for this next part. Using your hands create rounded out nest shapes. I first formed a ball, then flattened it out and brought up the sides to look like a nest.
Once all of your nests are created, add your peeps and/or other nest toppings. Enjoy!
[…] these Browned Butter Chocolate Chunk ones to the top of my list. While I’ve dabbled in browned butter before, I’m really a little late to the party. It really takes things to a whole new nutty level! […]