Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats for All, Chocolate Optional

Sweet, crispy, chewy, and gooey, peanut butter Rice Krispie treats need no introduction! And this nutty version is as simple to make as the original. The recipe is designed to work with both natural and processed peanut butter. But for a better treat, opt for peanut butter without any added sugar or oil. As always here, there are tips on substitutions for paleo, vegan, and the GAPS diet. Top the squares with melted chocolate or mix in dark chocolate chips. Or both!

Jump to:

• The Story
• Equipment Tips
• The Ingredients
• The Method
• Cutting
• Storage
• Dietary Accommodations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Edible Epilogue
• 📖 Recipe
• More Easy Dessert Recipes
• 💬 Reviews

The Story

Rice Krispies are not healthy. Period. Kellog's even paid out big bucks for advertising such a false notion. More than once, if you can believe it. But when it comes to dessert, who cares about fiber and nutrients? Moderation friends, so you can enjoy what gives you that fuzzy feeling.

The bottom line is that the puffed rice cereal of snap, crackle, and pop fame makes for an addicting and simple dessert. Especially when stirred into a mixture of melted butter and marshmallows. The idea for the gooey, crunchy marshmallow square is thanks to Iowan Mildred Day, and a colleague of hers, Malitta Jensen. The two worked at Kellogg's as recipe testers from the late 1920s to the early 1930s.

Historical accounts say Day worked in the Home Economics Department. Creating an incredibly delicious, approachable, now mainstream recipe that sells even more Rice Krispies. I find the irony uncanny. And tip my chef hat to Day for being decades ahead of her time.

Information is scarce on who first added peanut butter to the marshmallow squares. My best guess is another clever recipe tester. But one who worked at a peanut butter brand.

Equipment Tips

For ease of mixing these sinfully addicting treats, I find the bigger the pot the better. Aside from that, a large, flexible spatula and landing pan are all you need. More of Mildred Day's brilliance (although it's not likely she had specialty tools in 1930).

• large pot
• flexible spatula or wooden spoon
• 9" x 13" rectangular pan or dish with sides (or a couple of smaller cake pans or casserole dishes)

To cook an average-sized batch of marshmallow treats, I reach for my dutch oven. The ceramic coating also makes cleaning up a bit easier. But any large pot will do, of course.

If you don't own a rectangular baking pan, 8" or 9" cake pans get the job done. Square, circle - almost any flat-bottomed dish will work. You'll simply end up with thicker treats and perhaps a few quirky shapes. And there's nothing wrong with that!

The Ingredients

Ingredients for peanut butter puffed rice treats are the usual suspects, plus peanut butter. I prefer using natural peanut butter, as it cuts down on the sugar a little. And I don't notice any negative effects on the flavor and texture. If anything, natural peanut butter brings more peanut buttery yum since it lacks added preservatives, hydrogenated oils, and sugar.

• puffed (crisped) rice cereal, any brand
• marshmallows, mini recommended (or vegan, honey-based marshmallow fluff)
• butter, salted or unsalted
• peanut butter, natural or unsweetened recommended
• vanilla extract
• salt
• cooking spray or butter, for the baking pan
• semi-sweet or dark chocolate, for melting, optional

The Method

Any kind of Rice Krispie treat you can dream up is quick and easy to make. The Edible Times Husband can do it. And he knows less about cooking than my youngest offspring.

So here's one tip, and one tip only: Keep the heat low. You don't want to scald the delicate marshmallows. Or cause any separation in the peanut butter.

The Steps

First and foremost, wash your hands, and gather your equipment and ingredients. Mise en place! French for everything in place. Yes, even for a ridiculously elementary recipe such as this.

If you like finding the occasional intact mini marshmallow in your treats, set aside one additional cup for mixing in at the end. To be clear, don't take away from the amount in the recipe, but measure an extra cup and set it aside.

1. Grease the baking pan(s), and if you have it, line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. It makes removal of the finished treats easier.
2. Measure out all of your ingredients. I like to grease the cup I use to measure the peanut butter with spray oil, as it releases more easily.
3. In a very large pot over low heat, melt the butter with a pinch of salt over medium heat and allow it to brown (but not burn). You can skip the browning, but brown butter adds a nice nuttiness.
4. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the marshmallows to the pot. Melt over low heat, stirring frequently.
5. Add the peanut butter, and stir until it is incorporated and the gooey mixture is smooth.
6. Off the heat, add the vanilla extract and stir to incorporate.
7. Add the Rice Krispies or your favorite gluten-free crisped rice cereal in several additions, mixing each time until the grains are coated in the marshmallow mixture. If you measured out extra marshmallows, mix them in along with the cereal. Likewise, if adding chocolate chips, mix them in as you add the last of the cereal.
8. Scrape the mixture into your baking pan(s), and gently smooth and press the top flat. Cool completely, at room temperature. Fight the urge to cool the treats quicker in the refrigerator, as this will toughen the texture.
9. Once completely cooled, use a knife to cut the treats into signature squares. Or flip the entire block out onto a cutting board, and use cookie cutters to create shapes.
10. If topping the treats with chocolate, melt semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) in the microwave or over a double-boiler. Then pour the melted chocolate over the top of the treats. Spread it smooth with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Let the chocolate cool completely before cutting into squares of shapes.

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Cutting

The shape of your treats is personal preference, of course. Squares are classic. But using a cookie cutter for festive or seasonal shapes can be a fun project for kiddos. It helps to spray the insides of any cookie cutters you use with spray oil to easily release the sticky treats. If your treats are destined for a bake sale, or you're simply persnickety about exactness, a measuring tape or ruler comes in handy.

If you pressed the mixture into a 9" x 13" pan, the unmolded block of treats will be about 8" x 12". You can then use your measuring tool to cut like-size squares based on what size or quantity you're after. To easily unmold the whole kit and caboodle, flip the pan over onto a cutting board lined with parchment paper. Then lift the pan off, and cut to your liking. I find cutting into the treats from the bottom with a large knife preserves the beauty of the tops.

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Storage

Store peanut butter Rice Krispie treats at room temperature in an air-tight container. Or freeze for a few months (yeah, right). If you chose to top your Rice Krispie treats with chocolate, take care not to stack them in the storage container without lining the top of each row with baking paper. Or the chocolate from one bar is likely to smudge up its upstairs neighbor. Not that this would be a huge problem.

Dietary Accommodations

No need to give up the taste of childhood memories on a healing or nutrient-dense diet!

Paleo or GAPS Diet. Grain-free cereals, when pulsed briefly in a food processor, can replace the puffed rice cereal. Then in place of marshmallows, whip up a triple batch of homemade marshmallow fluff using honey (I've actually done this). Mix in the vanilla extract, peanut butter, and cereal while the fluff is still warm and proceed as usual. If you don't have a food processor, you can crush the cereal by placing it in a plastic storage baggie and smacking it with a rolling pin or a pan. Truly, friends, if there's a will, there's a way.

Vegan. Swap in your favorite brands of vegan butter and mini marshmallows. For my dairy-free kiddo, I love the Earth Balance and Violife brands. But of course, any plant-based butter works. You can also replace the butter with coconut oil. It adds a little beneficial fat in the form of medium-chain triglycerides, to an otherwise nutrient-void party.

And vegan marshmallows are not as hard to find as they used to be. My favorite brand is Dandies. And I also find marshmallows without animal gelatin at Trader Joe's.

Peanut Allergy. To replace the peanut butter, try cashew butter, sunflower seed butter, and almond butter. In that order. If the peanut-allergic partaker can eat cashews, they offer the next best, creamiest replacement. Sunflower seed butter can be a secret weapon in peanut nut-free baking since the texture is creamy and the flavor is unassuming. Almond butter works in a pinch, but will surely bring its own signature flavor and a grainier texture.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Edible Epilogue

Finally, please don't be fooled by recipes with "Best-Ever Rice Krispie Treats!" or "Perfect Rice Krispie Treats!" titles. We're talking marshmallows and crispy rice cereal. Not much can go wrong. Outside eating the entire batch of chocolate-laced, peanut butter squares in the course of 24 hours.

Seriously, be careful. Stranger things have happened.

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