COOKING NOTES FOR PUMPKIN SPICE RICE KRISPIES TREATS
USING MORE CEREAL
This pumpkin spice rice krispies treats recipe is loosely adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s salted brown butter crispy treats. I made a batch of them a while ago and accidentally doubled the amount of Rice Krispies (I used an entire 12-ounce box instead of 6 ounces). I was so worried that I would have to throw out the batch, but I quickly discovered that I actually preferred the treats with more cereal. As many of you know, I like desserts that are not too sweet. By using more cereal in the batch, the treats weren’t as coated in gooey melted marshmallows and had a nice light crunch. They reminded me a lot of the ginger cereal treats that Mama Lin used to make when I was younger.
PUMPKIN SPICE BLEND
The star of these rice krispies treats are the spices, so I like to use good spices when making these treats. Of course, use whatever spices you can access easily, but here are some of my favorite brands for each spice I used:
Cinnamon & Ginger: My favorite ground cinnamon and ginger comes from a spice shop in Marysville, California, called Local Spicery. Their baker’s blend cinnamon is sweet and very fragrant, while their ground ginger is bright and spicy.
Nutmeg & Cardamom: I love using Diaspora Co.’s Anamalai nutmeg and Baraka cardamom. They sell their whole nutmeg with the outer pods still intact to keep the nutmeg fresh. When I’m ready to use it, I gently hit the pod with my kitchen mallet and it breaks very easily. Their incredibly popular Baraka cardamom is the most fragrant cardamom I have ever used! Cloves: For convenience, I generally use Morton & Bassett’s ground cloves, which you can find in many grocery stores. Diaspora Co. also sells lovely whole Kandyan cloves.
Substitution: If gathering up all these separate spices is too much hassle, feel free to substitute the spices with 2 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite pumpkin spice blend!
BROWNING BUTTER
In Deb’s crispy treats recipe on Smitten Kitchen, she browns the butter first to add a layer of rich malty flavor to the treats. I loved her use of browned butter, so I’ve done the same in this recipe too. To brown butter, melt a stick of butter in a pot. Once it has completely melted, keep heating the butter for a few more minutes, until the milk solids at the bottom and sides of the saucepan start turning golden. Reduce the heat slightly and continue stirring constantly to prevent the butter from burning. Once the milk solids start turning into the color of milk chocolate, turn off the heat. Be very careful because the butter can go from brown to burnt very quickly. If you want to err on the side of caution, you can turn off the heat when a lot of the milk solids look golden. Leave the butter in the pot and let the residual heat brown the butter further, at a slower pace.
DO NOT ADD PUMPKIN PUREE
I suspected that adding pumpkin purée into the rice krispies treats wouldn’t work, but I had to try a batch to satisfy my curiosity. In one of my test batches, I added 1/4 cup of pumpkin purée. The purée added no noticeable flavor and caused the treats to turn soggy in an hour.
USING BLACK SESAME SEEDS
The black sesame seeds serve two functions: they add visual appeal and a nutty, slightly bitter flavor that balances nicely against the sweetness of the marshmallows. You can use white sesame seeds or leave out the black sesame seeds if you don’t have any on hand.
HOW TO STORE PUMPKIN SPICE RICE KRISPIES TREATS
The texture of the treats are the best the day they are made. If you are making them a day ahead for a party, transfer them to an airtight container. If you want to store the treats in the same pan that you used to shape them, wipe off the oil inside the pan before transferring the treats into them. Wrap the entire pan tightly (I use 2 layers of aluminum foil). The treats will keep for up to 3 days. By the third day, you can tell the cereal is about to go stale.
