Red White and Blue Rice Krispie Treats
Soft and chewy red white and blue rice krispie treats made with real freeze dried strawberries and blueberries and a brown butter base. No food coloring, no bake, and ready in about twenty minutes.
Servings: 15 treats
Calories: 210kcal
Equipment
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Silicone spatula
- 9 by 13 inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 100 g butter 7 tablespoons
- 320 g mini marshmallows about 6.5 cups
- 1 pinch salt
- 227 g sprouted brown rice crisps 8 cups
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries broken into small pieces
- 1 cup freeze dried blueberries left whole
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberries crushed to a powder
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried blueberries crushed to a powder
- 100 g mini marshmallows for folding in raw (about 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries crushed, for topping (optional)
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried blueberries crushed, for topping (optional)
- 60 g white chocolate for drizzling (about 1/3 cup) (optional)
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries pulverized, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan and set it aside.
- Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, swirling often, until it foams and the milk solids at the bottom turn golden and smell nutty. Watch closely at the end so it does not burn.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the 320 g marshmallows and the salt. Stir until completely melted, smooth, and glossy, then pull the pot from the heat the moment it is smooth.
- Add the rice crisps and fold until they start to become coated.
- Fold in the 1 cup broken strawberries and the 1 cup whole blueberries, then add the 2 tablespoons crushed strawberries and 2 tablespoons crushed blueberries and fold again so the color runs all the way through.
- Fold in the reserved 100 g marshmallows so they stay mostly whole and create soft pockets.
- Transfer to the prepared pan and press into an even layer with buttered hands or a sheet of parchment. For more color on top, sprinkle on the optional crushed fruit and press it in.
- Let set at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes, then cut into bars.
- For a finished look, drizzle the cut bars with melted white chocolate and dust the wet drizzle with pulverized dried strawberries. Let the drizzle set before serving.
Notes
Storage:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Lay parchment between stacked layers so they do not stick. Avoid the refrigerator, which firms and dries them out. These are best the day they are made, while the fruit is still crisp.
Make Ahead:
These are best fresh but can be made a day ahead and stored airtight at room temperature. Know that the fruit softens slightly over time.
Freeze Dried Fruit:
I used Good and Gather freeze dried strawberry slices and freeze dried blueberries from Target, which each come in a 2 ounce (56 g) resealable bag. Freeze dried fruit is very light and its weight per cup varies by brand and by whether the pieces are whole or broken, so measure the fruit by volume for the most reliable result. But you can alwasy add more!
No Brown Butter Option:
If you skip browning the butter, reduce it to about 85 g (6 tablespoons). Browning cooks moisture out of the butter, so butter that is not browned holds onto its water and the full amount would make the mixture too wet.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Vegan:
Sprouted brown rice crisps are naturally gluten free, unlike standard crisped rice cereal, which usually contains barley malt. For dairy free, use a plant based butter. For fully vegan, use plant based butter and vegan marshmallows. If drizzling, choose a dairy free or vegan white chocolate.
Dried Fruit:
Freeze dried fruit is best here. You can use dried fruit like Craisins or dried berries, but they are chewy and usually sweetened, so they sit as distinct bites and can overpower the cereal and brown butter rather than melting into each bite the way freeze dried fruit does.
Decorating Variations:
In place of the white chocolate drizzle, try red, white, and blue sprinkles, drizzles of melted pink and blue candy melts, or your own colored white chocolate using crushed strawberry for pink and a tiny bit of blue spirulina powder for blue. A little spirulina goes a long way and can turn murky if overdone or warmed.
Tips:
Use fresh marshmallows for the smoothest melt. Keep the heat low and pull the pot the moment the marshmallows are smooth, since overcooking drives out moisture and makes the treats hard. Press gently rather than packing them down to keep them soft and chewy.
