Salted brown butter crispy treats!

One of the things I like to do at the weekends, if I can make the time, is to be a bit creative in the kitchen.  As you all know, sweet things are not really my forte but now and then I do indulge.  So this last weekend, along with the gardening and gym my lovely daughter and I had a go at making these Rice Krispy treats.  Now this isn't a new idea, however, the addition of salt and allowing the butter to brown, transforms these bites into something else, giving a salty, nutty flavour that is pretty near heaven (especially if you like the sweet/salt thing as I do - I can't get enough of Nigella's Salted Caramel Sauce).




So here's what you do:


Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

2. As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

3. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I used a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I'd sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicone spatula works almost as well.

4. Let cool, (we put ours in the fridge because we were impatient!) cut into squares and get ready to make some new best friends!

Packaged up with greaseproof paper and twine