Caramel Corn Rice Krispy Treats

So my husband has been on this diet the past few weeks. One of those kind where the meals are all planned out for you in nice individual servings, yada yada. He's lost weight on it and I'm really happy for him and everything... my only problem is that there's no one to eat rice krispy treats with me. Traitor. I mean I can't throw these things away, there are starving people in this world! When consulting the scale I’m pretty sure my marshmallow intake has gone up about 200%. These hips don’t lie people. Not only that but my holiday baking has been at an all time low. Ahhh... eating healthy. It's so hard. And I'm not even the one doing it.


This has nothing to do with my recipe today, I just feel the need to gripe to someone. Lucky you.

Ok--moving on to the recipe for the day: Caramel Corn Rice Krispies. Honestly I'm not much of a caramel corn fan. I like the flavor of them, I just don't like the texture they usually have. The popcorn always gets that soggy/stale feeling. But since the popcorn ball always makes its debut during the holidays. And since I am a total sucker for seasonal dishes, it has to be done.

SoooOOOooOO here comes the Caramel Corn Rice Krispy Treat! You get all that buttery, sugary, caramelly goodness in the rice krispies, with the hint of saltiness coming from the caramel sauce... the perfect caramel corn without the soggy stale texture! Yea! Win-win!

And as a side note, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're making some holiday flavored rice krispy treats for everyone. Or at least for yourself. Priorities people.

Caramel Corn Rice Krispy Treats

3 Tbsp butter
6 cups mini marshmallows
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp butter extract
6 cups rice krispies

Salted Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Pour the rice krispies in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are mostly all melted (this will take a few minutes--low and slow is key for perfect texture) then stir in the caramel and butter extracts.

Once fully melted, take them off heat and pour over the rice krispies. Stir lightly to combine. Dump everything into a greased 9x9 pan. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then with greased hands go in and flatten the top. Allow them to cool about 20 minutes, then drizzle the top with the salted caramel sauce. Enjoy! (I actually shaped mine into popcorn balls before drizzling with caramel, I couldn't resist. Not necessary though...)

Salted Caramel Sauce (this makes about 2 cups)

2 cups sugar

12 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream, room temperature

1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)

Add the sugar to a large saucepan and heat over medium-high, whisking as it begins to melt. You can stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted. Cook until the sugar has reached a deep golden color or until it reaches 350 degrees F.

Add the butter all at once and whisk into the caramel until it's melted. Remove from the heat and slowly add the cream, whisking until it's been incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Whisk in the fleur de sel. 

Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then pour into a glass jar and let cool to room temperature. Keep in the fridge and warm the sauce up before using.