Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Rice Krispie Treats used to be one of my favorite desserts.  They’re so easy to make and they’re delicious.

These are the perfect snack for adults AND kids.  They’re like the sophisticated version of regular Rice Krispie Treats, but they’re still fun and easy to make.

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Smitten Kitchen 
Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

Ingredients:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Directions:

1. Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
3. As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
4. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well. Drizzle with chocolate, if you’d like.
5. Let cool, cut into squares.

The Best Cinnamon Rolls

I’m always looking for the most ethical way to make the food I love.  Minimalist Baker has been the best resource for doing so.  She posts the most amazing recipes and most of them are vegan/vegetarian.  I highly recommend her blog!

A couple of weeks ago my nieces came to visit and I wanted to make something vegan that non-vegan/vegetarians would love. I knew Minimalist Baker wouldn’t let me down, so I searched for a cinnamon roll recipe (because who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls?!) and got to baking. I won’t lie, my expectation for these was low, but I trucked on anyway and they came out of the oven so fluffy and aromatic.  They were SO GOOD and only took about 1 1/2 hours to make from start to finish.

MAKE THESE, seriously!

The Best Cinnamon Rolls
This recipe is from: The Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

• 1 packet instant (or rapid rise) yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened plain almond milk (if you use dairy products, you can substitute milk)
• 1/2 cup (112 g) Earth balance (vegan butter), divided (if you use dairy products, you can substitute butter)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups (408 g) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp (63 g) organic cane sugar, divided

Directions

1. In a large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp Earth Balance until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to 110 degrees F (43 C), or the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
2. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle on yeast. Let activate for 10 minutes, then add 1 Tbsp sugar and the salt and stir.
3. Next add in flour 1/2 cup (68 g) at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so until it forms a loose ball. Rinse your mixing bowl out, coat it with your choice of oil, and add your dough ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size (see photo).
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 Tbsp melted Earth Balance and top with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 – 1 Tbsp cinnamon (to taste).
5. Starting at one end, tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. Then with a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 1.5 – 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8×8-inch square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp Earth Balance (melted) and cover with plastic wrap. Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
6. Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes and then serve immediately.
7. Optional: Frost with a simple mixture of 1 cup (112 g) organic powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) almond milk.