The Completely Unexpected Way To Make Rice Krispie Treats With A Savory Twist

Rice Krispie treats might be the world's most customizable snack. Starting with the simple mixture of Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal, butter, and marshmallows, home cooks have incorporated peanut butter, dulce de leche, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and myriad other ingredients into their recipes to add richness and complexity to the sweetness. But even many experimental chefs have kept Rice Krispie treats firmly in the sugary breakfast cereal category — until now.

Justin Sullivan at Serious Eats swapped the classic recipe's butter for a revelatory savory twist by using schmaltz. Schmaltz is a rendered fat similar to lard, except that it's made from chicken or goose fat. You can find it in a well-stocked grocery store or a kosher market, request it from your butcher, or make it yourself at home. This golden-hued fat gets a gold star for its use in many classic Jewish recipes like matzo ball soup and latkes. With these flavors in mind, Sullivan creates a warming, savory base for his Rice Krispie treats with schmaltz, diced onions, and onion soup mix. If you make your schmaltz at home, you can also mix in your chicken skins for more crispiness.

According to Sullivan, as the onions cook down they become an excellent ingredient for bridging between the savory schmaltz and the sweet marshmallows, giving the treats a salty-sweet caramel flavor. His final trick is to toast the crispy rice cereal ahead of time to bring out its nuttiness and create a firmer texture that holds up against all the mix-ins.

Once you sample a schmaltzy Rice Krispie treat, you may never want to go back to the shockingly sweet original. And besides, setting aside the added sugar, Rice Krispies are just puffed rice, and rice goes with absolutely everything.

To add your own spin to this savory twist on a classic sweet treat, try swapping the butter or Justin Sullivan's recommended schmaltz for ghee, a type clarified butter that brings even more toasted nuttiness to recipes, like this tub from Carrington Farms. If you have it on hand or want to make it at home, an everything bagel seasoning that's heavy on the dried onion will lend similar flavors to the onion soup mix. Instead of butter, schmaltz, or ghee try tahini, a ground sesame paste (not to be confused with tzatziki), which adds a similar flavor as other nut butter but with a seedy, savory quality. Or, instead of tahini, try miso paste, like this option from Miko, for an even more powerful umami punch. Finish the recipe with a sprinkle of furikake for a Japanese spin on the classic treat. Or, give the treats a dusting of sesame seeds as they set for a delicious, crunchy, nutty snack.