Awesome Salted Caramel Treats

Updated:  May 2021

A friend of ours brought these Awesome Salted Caramel Treats to a 4th of July get-together and they were the hit of the day! 

I've never made Rice Krispies treats before and this is an amazing version to start with.  They're gooey, salty, sweet, carmel-y and really amazing. 

Melting the caramels and marshmallows takes a little patience. The hardest part of making these Awesome Salted Caramel treats, though, is unwrapping all of those caramels.

If you have a little one (i.e., kid) hanging around the house, put them to work unwrapping caramels and tell them how much fun it is. Maybe they'll go paint the picket fence, too.

I highly recommend using buttered non-stick aluminum foil for this mixture.  After cooling, it will take a lot less effort to peel off the aluminum foil.

Since these treats are rather rich, cut these beauties into small bars.  They're satisfying and delicious and they'll definitely satisfy that craving for sweets.

Trust me when I say you'll love that chewy caramel topping sprinkled with salt in combination with the familiar Rice Krispies treats on the bottom.  They're not just treats for kids - they're definitely treats for you too!

Decadently amazing!

If you love these bars, check out these great recipes:

• Chewy Granola Bars
• Toffee Chocolate Bars
• Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheerio's Bars
• Chocolate Streusel Bars

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Salted Caramel Treats

Yield: 24 squares

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Inactive Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Crunchy, gooey, sweet and salty. Cut them small - trust me - they're rich, but oh so worth it. 

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Ingredients

• 1 bag (14 oz) caramels (about 50) unwrapped
• 1 can (14-ounce) sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ C unsalted butter
• 1 bag (10 ½ oz) miniature marshmallows
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 8 cups Rice Krispies

Instructions

1. Prepare caramel:  Stir caramels and condensed milk into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir constantly until melted and smooth (5-6 minutes).  Remove from heat.
2. Line a 13x9" baking pan with nonstick foil, extending foil 2 inches beyond the edges.  For easier removal, I also butter the foil. 
3. In a 6-quart pot, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir with a rubber spatula until almost melted.  Stir constantly.  Stir in vanilla, 1 teaspoon of the sea salt and 1 cup of the caramel mixture.  Continue to stir until mixture is blended and smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cereal until it's evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.
4. Carefully (will be very warm) press mixture into pan in an even layer and cool for a few minutes.
5. Spread the remaining caramel mixture over the cooled cereal.  Sprinkle the top with ½ teaspoon of sea salt - evenly distributed.  Let set in pan.
6. Remove from pan and peel off foil.  Cut into 24 squares.  Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

A 12 oz box of Rice Krispies was about right for 8 cups - there was a little leftover.

I used a double-boiler for the caramel mixture.

Don't think the caramels come in 14 oz bags anymore; you may have to buy 2 bags (more to snack on, right?)

I used salted butter, but with all the added salt you may want to stick to unsalted.

The original recipe called for 2 teaspoon of sea salt sprinkled on top - I thought that was excessive and cut it down to ½ tsp.

You can buy sea salt anywhere - I got mine at Whole Foods.  Be sure and use the big flakes and absolutely not table salt .

I got more than 24 squares from this because they're so rich I cut them small.

When storing, put  wax paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together and becoming one big caramel krispie blob.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 square
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 59Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 148mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g

Nutritional values are approximate.