Homemade Rice Krispies Treats Become Infinitely Better With One Extra Step

Homemade Rice Krispies treats are a snack many of us have known how to make as far back as kindergarten, possibly because these no-bake desserts may have been one of the few recipes the teacher could make in a classroom microwave. Now that we're old enough to turn on the oven all by ourselves, though, there are numerous ways to make the bars even better. One of our favorite ways to tweak the ingredients can be summed up in just three words: They're tastier toasted.

Which ingredients can you toast? Well, the most important step involves toasting the cereal itself. Pour the Rice Krispies (or generic puffed rice cereal of your choice) into a baking pan, then cook it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for just three to five minutes until it smells ... well, toasty. But don't step away from the oven as the cereal is baking, as it's just one short step from toasted to burnt.

If you want a double dose of toasty fun, you can cook the marshmallows, as well. Turn the oven to broil, put the marshmallows on the pan (after removing the cereal), and bake them until they're golden brown and slightly melty. At this point, take the cereal, marshmallows, and other ingredients and proceed to make the bars as you normally would. While the toasting affects the flavor (pushing it further in the direction of deliciousness, of course), it shouldn't change the way the cereal or marshmallows function in the recipe.

Toasty treats are a delight, but you don't need to stop there. Once you've pre-cooked the Rice Krispies and maybe the marshmallows, you could stir in a few mix-ins such as sprinkles, chocolate chips, M&Ms, craisins, or pecans. According to one of our writers, dry-roasted peanuts are the only addition that really matters, but we all have our favorites. In fact, others of us are quite partial to savory additions (bacon; it's always bacon), while there's a faction that favors making the treats sweeter and softer with the addition of condensed milk.

Yet another way you may be able to make your toasted Rice Krispies treats even better involves cooking them twice. Well, once, actually, since aside from the pre-toasting and butter and marshmallow melting, Rice Krispies treats aren't really cooked at all. If you dip them in pancake batter and deep fry them in oil, though, your Rice Krispies treats will seem like something you'd pay good money to eat on a stick at the state fair.