Rice Krispies Treats, your favorite nostalgic after school snack, just got a little upgrade thanks to the addition of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter
So I just sat in front of my computer for a good 20 minutes thinking “what can I possibly write about Rice Krispies Treats that hasn’t already been said?” I mean, is there anyone out there who hasn’t had a Rice Krispie treat? I’m not exactly breaking the mold here.
But my job is to bring you easy meals and delicious treats, and this is both easy and delicious, and it’s a little bit of a twist on the old classic, so I kept just sitting here, trying to figure out what to write.
And as it often does when I’m sitting here trying to decide what to write, my mind began to wander to years past when we weren’t all stuck at home quarantining, and we could plan and go on vacations. (My mind goes off on these side tangents several times a day – I’ve learned to live with it.) And it occurred to me that a Rice Krispie treat is basically the culinary version of a “staycation”.
There’s a comfort in taking that week off of work and just doing nothing. Maybe you clean out a closet or two. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you take the kids to the zoo. Or maybe you just stay in and make a tried and true, a classic, an (almost) never-fail dessert that everyone loves, that causes a surge of endorphins and nostalgia.
You don’t need a lot to make a classic Rice Krispie treat. Shouldn’t it be Rice Crispy Treat? The Kellogg’s website says Krispie, and I assume they know what they’re talking about. Butter, marshmallows, and Rice Krispies are the only real requirements, but I zhuzh’d these up a bit by adding some Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter into the mix, and boy howdy is that a match made in confectioners heaven!
In my quest to figure out what to write this blog post about, I did some looking around at other blog posts featuring RKT’s and according to the comments on those posts, there are definitely questions to be had about making these, so I guess this IS a post that needed writing after all.
To Make Rice Krispie Treats
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I always use at least a cup more marshmallows than the recipe actually calls for. No one likes a dry Rice Krispie Treat.
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Use fresh marshmallows. They just aren’t as good if you’re using marshmallows that are all stuck together in the bag. I made two pans in two days while recipe testing. Once with older, stuck together marshmallows, and once with fresh ones, and the difference was astounding.
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I recommend mini marshmallows for these. The larger ones will work too, but I think the mini’s melt better.
How to Make Cookie Butter Rice Krispie’s Treats
Line a 9x13 dish with parchment paper, and spray the paper lightly with cooking spray. Melt the butter in a large pan. Once the butter is melted, add the cookie butter, and melt that into the butter – this should only take a minute or two.
Add the marshmallows, and stir until completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the Rice Krispies. Once the cereal is fully coated in the marshmallow mixture, gently scoop the treats into the prepared pan, and then spread out using a piece of wax paper. If you don’t have wax paper, spray a little non stick cooking spray on your hands, and do it by hand.
You don’t want to press the mixture too firmly into the pan, as that can cause them to get too compacted, and makes them more difficult to eat. Once they’re in the pan, use a microwave to melt 2 tablespoons of cookie butter in a bowl, and then use a spoon to drizzle the melted cookie butter over the treats. Cool completely, and cut into squares.
Adjusting Proportions
I make these according to how I personally like Rice Krispie’s Treats which is fairly thin, but if you prefer a thicker bar, you can either use a 9x9 dish to cool them, or you can up the ingredients. If you wanted to up the amount of ingredients, I would go from 5 to 8 cups of marshmallows, and from 6 to 9 cups of cereal.

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Sara Rauckhorst
1 Min
5 Min
6 Min
Cookie Butter Rice Krispies Treats
Rice Krispies Treats, your favorite nostalgic after school snack, just got a little upgrade thanks to the addition of Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, plus 2 tablespoons (divided)
- 5 cups mini marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispie's
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, and spray with non-stick spray.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium low heat.
- Once the butter is melted add the ¼ of cookie butter, and melt that into the butter.
- Once the cookie butter is melted, add the marshmallows, and allow them to full melt as well.
- Remove the pot from the heat once the marshmallows are fully melted and add the cereal, then stir to mix it all together.
- Spoon the treat mixture into the prepared pan, and then gently press down with wax paper until it fills the pan. Don't press too hard - it will make the treats hard to eat if they're too compact.
- In a small bowl, microwave the cookie butter for 30-45 seconds, or until liquid-y. Drizzle over the treats. Cool completely, and cut into squares.
I've been adding peanut butter in my Rice Krispies squares for 20 years.
Ooh, I need to try that soon!
I make mine in the microwave in a large mixing bowl sprayed with non-stick spray. I don't like having that messy pan to clean up.
Such a good idea! Cleaning the pot always takes FOREVER!
I have made thin RKTs in 2 pans and then put a melted chocolate layer between them. The kids loved them.
That sounds amazing!!!