Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew Rice Krispies Treats

Have you ever sipped a Starbucks salted caramel cream cold brew while nibbling on a marshmallow dream bar from the coffee chain’s selection of snacks? I’d recommend it—but even if you’ve had them only separately, I bet you can imagine how ridiculously delicious combining the two into a salted caramel cream cold brew Rice Krispies treat would be!

Our recipe for the mashup dessert features melted butter and marshmallows stirred with rice cereal—like a classic Rice Krispies treat—sandwiching a filling loaded with caramel, coffee and vanilla flavors. The filling comes together using the same technique as Dalgona coffee to create a creamy, rich espresso foam. Because they’re very sweet, they can be sliced into small squares so that there’s plenty for everyone or enough for the household to snack on for an entire week.

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew Rice Krispies Treats

• Marshmallows: You’ll need 10 ounces of marshmallows (about 40 large marshmallows). Be sure they’re fresh and very soft.
• Crisped rice cereal: It’s worth having a box of this cereal stashed in your pantry to make this and other Rice Krispies recipes anytime.
• Butter: Melt butter with the marshmallows before stirring in the cereal. Since we use salted caramel, it’s best to stick with unsalted butter here.
• Salted caramel sauce: To bring the drink’s delectable caramel flavor to the treats, use a store-bought or homemade salted caramel sauce.
• Instant espresso: We whip instant espresso with hot water to create a coffee cream for the filling. Find it in the coffee aisle at the store.
• Marshmallow creme: These treats have even more marshmallow goodness than a regular Rice Krispies treat! Marshmallow creme adds body and sweetness to the Dalgona coffee filling.
• Vanilla extract: To re-create the flavor of the vanilla sweet cream in the Starbucks drink, add a generous amount of pure vanilla extract.
• Vanilla wafer cookies: The crumbled cookies add a little extra texture to the Krispie treats as well as extra vanilla flavor.
• Granulated sugar: An equal amount of granulated sugar blended with instant espresso creates a creamy, stable foam.

Directions

Step 1: Make the coffee filling

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Grease an 11×7-inch baking dish and set aside.

Then, pour the instant espresso, sugar and 2 tablespoons of boiling water into a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip the ingredients into a thick, foamy, light brown cream, three to four minutes. Mix the marshmallow creme into this coffee foam until it’s smooth. Set aside.

Editor’s Tip: Prepare the pan with cooking spray or use saved butter wrappers for this task.

Step 2: Make the cereal mixture

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Melt the butter in a large pot set over medium-low heat. Add the marshmallows and vanilla extract. Stir the marshmallows constantly just until they’re melted and the mixture is smooth, two to three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir the Rice Krispies into the marshmallow mixture until all the cereal is well-coated.

Editor’s Tip: If large marshmallows aren’t available, use 5-1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows.

Step 3: Create the base layer

Spoon half the marshmallow-cereal mixture into the greased baking dish. Press it down firmly with buttered hands into an even layer.

Step 4: Add the filling

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Drizzle 3/4 cup caramel sauce evenly over the cereal layer.

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Then, spread the coffee-marshmallow fluff mixture over the caramel. Sprinkle 3/4 of the crushed vanilla wafers over the fluff.

Editor’s Tip: Use about 12 crushed vanilla wafers in this step.

Step 5: Finish the treats

Spoon the rest of the marshmallow-cereal mixture into the pan and press it into an even layer over the filling. Press the cereal mixture down very firmly with buttered fingers. Drizzle the rest of the caramel sauce over the top. Finally, coarsely crush the rest of the vanilla wafer cookies and sprinkle them over the caramel.

Step 6: Cool and serve

Let the mixture rest in the pan until it’s cooled completely. Slice into 12 bars and enjoy.

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew Rice Krispies Treat Variations

• Top with espresso beans: Instead of crushed vanilla cookies on top, use coarsely crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans to add crunch and even more coffee flavor.
• Make a chocolaty version: Use Cocoa Krispies instead of regular Rice Krispies to make a mocha version of these treats.

How to Store Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew Rice Krispies Treats

To keep the salted caramel cream cold brew Rice Krispies treats soft and fresh, cover the pan tightly with storage wrap or transfer the sliced treats to an airtight food storage container. Store the treats at room temperature away from heat and sunlight.

How long do salted caramel cold brew Rice Krispies treats last?

The Rice Krispies treats will last for up to a week when properly stored. It’s important to keep them tightly covered so that they don’t dry out and become tough or hardened.

Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew Rice Krispies Treat Tips

Sarah Tramonte for Taste of Home

Why are my Rice Krispies treats hard?

One reason Rice Krispies treats may turn hard after they’re finished is that the marshmallow mixture was cooked too long or with too much heat on the stove. This can force moisture out and leave less moisture in the Krispies treats. Keep the pan of marshmallows and butter on a medium-low burner just until the marshmallows are all melted or nearly melted. Then remove the pan from the heat immediately.

The other reason Rice Krispies treats turn hard is because they’re not properly covered. If left exposed to air, the treats will dry out, leaving the cereal stale and the bars too hard to eat. Cover the pan very tightly with food wrap or move the treats into an airtight container.

How do you cut clean slices of Rice Krispies treats?

With all that marshmallow, it’s no surprise that Rice Krispies treats are really sticky—and slicing them can be a messy affair! These filled Rice Krispies treats are even stickier thanks to the coffee and caramel filling. For the best results, use a large, sharp chef’s knife to make the cuts (it’s one of four must-have kitchen knives for your kitchen). If the knife comes away with a lot of marshmallow and filling stuck to it, clean and dry the knife between cuts by running the knife under warm water and drying it between each slice.