Brown Butter Churro Crispy Treats are absolutely positively not something that you should make at midnight, keep within a 9-inch radius of your person at your desk then next morning, then carry on a road trip with the honorable intention of bringing them home to “share with family.” Just don’t. The situation will end in sticky, buttery, cinnamony marshmallow shame.
Consequently, the situation will also end in sticky, buttery, cinnamony marshmallow bliss, which is why I’m demanding that you risk your dignity and make these brown butter churro crispy treats immediately.
Years ago, I managed to convince myself that I don’t care for marshmallow crispy treats, a prognosis I blame on the psychological backlash of four high school years spent eating cafeteria food. My daily lunch consisted of a rotation between jumbo lemon poppy seed muffins and the biggest, softest gooiest marshmallow crispy treats you’ve ever met, always with a side of fries. Fries, bakery muffins, and marshmallow treats: my daily bread.
College followed with its thinner, drier, and decidedly less satisfying marshmallow crispy treats, along with a casual awareness of basic nutrition. My fry and rice crispy-treat diet made room for soup and salad (along with the all-you-can-eat frozen yogurt bar.)
Any marshmallow crispy treat I tried paled in comparison to my high school memories of what a crispy treat should be, so I stopped eating them entirely.
All this marshmallow crispy treat history is to say: I’m not precisely sure why I became completely and obsessively captivated by the idea of making marshmallow crispy treats at midnight last Monday night. All I knew is that I needed marshmallow crispy treats, I needed them rightthissecond, and nothing was standing between me and a pan of sticky, crunchy marshmallow goodness.
Secrets to The Best Brown Butter Churro Crispy Treats
Cinnamon is one of my favorite flavors, and churros had been on my brain, because what else would I think about in the shower, where 98% of all my deep thinking occurs? (Reference: Mini Quiches with Caramelized Pears.) The other 2% of my inspiration strikes at midnight, so at 11:40 p.m. when I should have been sleeping, I had just enough brain-juice to connect my churro desires to my immediate need for marshmallow crispy treats.
- Use Cinnamon Chex. Brown butter churro crispy treats boast a walloping tablespoon of cinnamon, rich dark brown sugar, vanilla, and (just to be excessive thorough) Cinnamon Chex cereal in place of the classic crispy rice. I love the extra boost of churro-appropriate cinnamon-sugar that the Chex provides. The larger, airier cereal squares also give the bars a lighter, chewier texture than classic rice crispy treats.
Speaking of light…since it’s not every night I make an entire pan of marshmallow crispy treats for myself at an inappropriate hour, I wanted these churro crispy treats to be special and, dare I say, grown up. My crispy treat history began in high school, but I’ve grown into a mostly mature young woman, capable of handling important adult tasks—like browning butter.
- Brown the Butter. Browning the butter does tack a few, well-spent minutes onto the cook time, but the richness and intensity it brings to this recipe is more than worth this small effort.
- Use Salt. My final adult move: salt. I’ve long been a sucker for salty-sweet treats, and a generous pinch of kosher salt keeps the churro sweetness in balance. It also makes these salted brown butter churro crispy treats fabulously impossible to stop eating, particularly at midnight.
More Addictively Delicious Treats
- Champagne Marshmallow Treats
- Pecan Pie Bars
- S’mores Treats
- Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Peppermint
- Healthy Rice Krispie Treats
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- 8×8-inch Baking Pan. The perfect pan for making these treats.
- Dutch Oven. A great tool for melting and mixing the ingredients.
- Measuring Spoons. These are easy to use and store.
Salted brown butter churro crispy treats are my high school diet, turned grown-up midnight snack. I think I’ll cut myself an extra-large square to enjoy with a glass of wine. I am an adult after all.
Brown Butter Churro Crispy Treats
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 10 ounces miniature marshmallows
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups cinnamon rice squares Cinnamon Chex
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That’s so funny – my college had the BEST rice krispie type treats! haha I ate wayyyy too many in my days there : ) Love this spin … and with cinnamon and brown butter, I mean c’mon! So good!
Erin, I can’t even imagine how good these taste! This is one of those amazing ideas of yours!
Oh no… why did I click on this?! Now I’m going to have to rush right home and make this ridiculously beautiful slice. Then I shall eat it and remember my childhood days of reckless, sugary abandon…! xx
Reckless sugary abandon <--- AMEN. Those were the days were they not?!
I think I’d eat the whole pan!
SHUT. UP. Holy crap. Sweet baby Jesus, I have never been so disappointed in my lack of marshmallows in my home rightthissecond before.
So, my family and I just got home last night from Disney World. We went over spring break, but we’d also spent 2 weeks there this summer. I ate a rice krispie treat every day over the summer. Every day.
This trip, I didn’t have one. Not one. So do you what I bought as my souvenir? A giant rice krispie treat in the shape of Mickey’s head. It is the size of my head. I’m not kidding. And it is about 3 inches thick. It will take me a few days to get through it, for sure. At midnight with wine is a great idea!
Wish you lived closer … I’d happily share my 74328 pound treat! :)
My littlest just asked me what churros were. I did my best to explain them. But I’m not sure that ‘amazing-cinnamony-sugary-coated-awesomeness’ gave quite the mental picture for her to understand!
LOL Gretchen. What a great story about the Mickey rice krispie! I think you should eat every bit of it. You deserve it! Hope you guys had a great trip.
Oh my goodness, the KMC lunch! I miss being able to eat fries and a cinnamon roll/rice krispy treat with basically every meal and never once feeling guilty! These look tasty; excited to try them!
Erin, your inspiration flows like a waterfall! Can’t wait to try. I’m thinking this would make an awesome chex mix, too – following your recipe except not melting the marshmallows, just stirring the burnt butter mixture with the chex, cooling slightly and adding the marshmallows. Using pastel colored marshies might look nice on an Easter table! Have a lovely holiday!
Laurie, I LOVE that idea! I might even try baking the buttered chex mix in the oven for a little bit, then letting it cool before stirring with the marshmallows. Sounds addictive. Thanks for the fun suggestion!
These are just like too good to be true! They look amazing! Anything with brown butter and then add in cinnamon?!? Heaven.
Mmmm…love sweet and salty. Definitely going to give this a try!
Thanks Debra! I hope you love them!
My daughter made these for her friend’s birthday. We were looking for a recipe that is gluten free since she has Celiac’s disease. They are so delicious that we could not stop snacking on them as we mixed it together and then pressed it into the pan. Such a fun twist on Rice Krispie Treats. Thanks for the great recipe!
They are SO hard not to snack on, Gilliane! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.