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(2,880)
Comments
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,880 user ratings
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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.

Emily

I made these for a school picnic and thought they were good. And then i made them four more times in the next month and decided i was wrong initially — they’re actually great. Undoubtedly addictive, too.

BabsD

Used full stick salted butter and browned before adding marshmallows. Added vanilla extract. Used thin pretzel sticks and broke up with a spoon during mixing. Also added Mimi marshmallows with the pretzels - they softened but kept their integrity resulting in little pockets of marshmallow throughout. Dark chocolate chips on top and Icelandic flaky sea salt

ESO

Unfortunately this recipe turned into a disaster when the non stick spray did not properly non stick. Beware fellow cooks, the stickiness is as elevated as this dish sounds.

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