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These Super Chewy Rice Krispies Cookies Are the Delicious Mashup I Didn’t Know I Needed

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Credit: Maggie Hennessy

For decades, the simple Rice Krispies treat has delivered sweet, gooey crunch with a side of nostalgia on bake sale, classroom, and rec room tables all across America. Sure, we’ll take the occasional fancified version with brown butter , chocolate chips, or even a swirl of tahini, but few things surpass that simple marriage of butter, marshmallows, and crispy rice cereal.

Despite being something of a Rice Krispies treat purist, I was charmed instantly by this TikTok recipe from food blogger Truly Juli that turns the classic treat into cookies (gasp!). She combines rice cereal crunch with a basic cookie batter, which she portions and chills before baking. Here’s what happened when I tried them.

@trulyjuli

Rice krispy treats are underrated and deserve more respect #sweettooth #dessertsoftiktok #ricekrispys

♬ Kiss Me More (feat. SZA) – Doja Cat

How to Make Rice Krispy Treat Cookies

This is a two-step baking operation, first on lower heat with the Rice Krispy crunch. Combine crispy rice cereal in a medium bowl with milk powder, sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter, toss to coat, then spread the mixture on a parchment-lined sheet and bake at 275°F for 16-20 minutes. It should look toasted and smell buttery. This mixture will keep on the counter, tightly covered, for up to a week — great for making ahead.

Prepare the cookie batter by creaming together softened butter with brown and white sugars in a stand mixer. Add the egg and vanilla, mix, then tip in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and mix on low until just combined. Gently fold in the rice cereal crunch you made earlier and mini marshmallows until combined.

Credit: Maggie Hennessy

Portion out the dough on parchment-lined baking sheets, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to a week (which, honestly, felt like a bizarre directive until I realized how many steps and dishes these cookies require). This recipe claims to make a dozen cookies, but I ended up with almost two dozen. Next time, I would probably store half the chilled dough balls in a ziptop bag in the fridge and bake them off in a few days so I can enjoy fresh cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375°F, spread out the chilled dough balls on the baking sheets, and bake them for 14 minutes until golden brown. Start checking them every minute or so once you hit the 10-minute mark because they’re prone to burning. Cool them completely on racks.

Get the recipe : Rice Krispy Treat Cookies at Truly Juli

Credit: Maggie Hennessy

My Honest Review of Rice Krispy Treat Cookies

I love the idea of creating a heftier take on nostalgic marshmallowy squares. These cookies are super chewy and edged with a lovely molten crust of sugar. Their intense sweetness gets toasty depth from the browned melted butter and milk powder.

However, as a self-described non-baker, I found them to be far more labor-intensive than good-old Rice Krispies treats — whose brilliance also lies in their simplicity of execution. I most likely will stick to the OG when I’m craving that throwback dessert, though now I’m considering pre-toasting the cereal or swirling in browned butter for that glorious toasty flavor. Still, I do think these cookies are a super tasty and fun alternative to the classic for a special occasion .

Credit: Maggie Hennessy

2 Tips for Making Rice Krispy Treat Cookies

1. Break up the stages to make this cookie a little less involved and dish-heavy. You can make the rice cereal crunch up to a week ahead of time (even longer, if you refrigerate or freeze it). You can also keep the portioned, chilled dough balls in the fridge for several days and bake them off as desired.
2. Keep an eye on these cookies as they bake! As Truly Juli suggests, these sugary morsels have a sneaky tendency to burn, so start checking them every minute or so around the 10-minute mark.

Maggie Hennessy

Contributor

Maggie Hennessy is a freelance food & drink journalist and certified chef. The former Time Out Chicago restaurant critic, Hennessy's work has appeared in such publications as Bon Appetit, Salon, Plate, Food52 and Eater.

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Source : food