Almond

Brown Butter Rice Krispie Balls w Smoked Almonds & Cap'n Crunch Ganache

by:
April  4, 2013
4.3
3 Ratings
Brown Butter Rice Krispie Balls w Smoked Almonds & Cap'n Crunch Ganache
  • Makes About 45 balls
Author Notes

I was never a fan of Rice Krispie Treats.. too sweet too sticky, I like crunch, I like salt ...a few years ago I had to bring something to a bake sale, and really I wasn't all that jazzed about baking anything (it was too hot) so poked around and found a recipe fro brown butter rice krispies treats, which sounded better than regular and also quite easy to make. Of course once I got into it I had to fiddle and add something extra , I had some smoked almonds so in they went. YUM! (Side note just so happend that that day Chef Micheal Symon was filming in my neighborhood and I gave him one and he took my hand blessed me and I have never washed that hand again...just kidding I did wash my hand).
Fast forward to a month or so ago and a "Ballz" Party, where every one was invited to bring ball shape food, and I immediately said AHA...and why not up the ante, I had some leftover dark chocolate ganache in the fridge so in it went...a surprise center. I stuck in on a lollipop stick covered in in Disco Dust though my ballz were much lauded I sadly was beat out by a S'mores Ball.
And now it's today and I wanted to up the cereal ante so I've borrow a page from Momofuko and included a Cap'n Crunch Cereal Milk Chocolate Ganache center and a Dark Chocolate Drizzle.

You could also make these into Bars with the ganache in the Ganache in the center but they are so much more fun as balls. —Aliwaks

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Brown Butter Rice Krispie Balls w Smoked Almond
  • 1 cup Cap'n Crunch Ganache
  • 1 cup Cap'n Crunch, very finely chrushed.
  • 1 Stick Unsalted Butter
  • 1 bag marshmallows (if you are using fancy ones you'll need about 40)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla paste or Seeds from 1 Vanilla Bean
  • 2 teaspoons Smoked Salt
  • 5 cups Rice Krispies
  • 1 cup Chopped Smoked Almonds
  • 4 ounces Melted Super Dark Chocolate
  • Cap'n Crunch Cereal Milk Ganache
  • 2 cups Cap'n Crunch (reg or peanut butter)
  • 3/4 cup Heavy Cream or Light Cream orr 1/2 & 1/2
  • 10 ounces Dark Chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Directions
  1. Brown Butter Rice Krispie Balls w Smoked Almond
  2. Roll Ganache into @ 45 balls (1 teaspoon-ish each) and roll each one in Cap' Crunch Dust, place on plate/cookie sheet & refrigerate...this will make things so much easier down the line
  3. Pre-Heat oven to 375 Pour rice krispies on to a cookie sheet and toast @ 15 minutes until they are fragrantly toasty, and a few shades darker than they were before
  4. Place Butter in Saucepan over extremely low heat and melt slowly till it starts to smell nutty and turn brown, depending on your pot this can take anywhere from 15 minutes (calaphon saucepan) to 25 (regular saucepan). Stir, shake pan occasionally. Don't let it burn!
  5. Remove butter from heat & stir in vanilla
  6. Place Marshmallows on a lined cookie sheet and toast in over until they get brown and toasty as well (
  7. Scrape Marshmallows into to a large Sauce pan over very low heat, add buttter/vanilla & salt stir well to combine
  8. Add Rice krispies & Almonds Continue stirring until it becomes a large sticky smoky salty mass remove from heat and spread out in cookie sheet or transfer to bowl
  9. Take about a Tablespoon of Krispietreat roll in to a ball, make and indentation with your thumb and jam the ganache ball in there, close up the ball, using more krispie treat if required....repeat ...alot
  10. Drizzle melted balls with melted Dark Chocolate, let cool & enjoy
  11. IF you do not feel like making the ganache , Nutella is a fabulous substitute
  1. Cap'n Crunch Cereal Milk Ganache
  2. You can make this a few days ahead of the Rice Krispie treats and store in fridge
  3. Preheat oven to 375, Place cereal on a cookie sheet and toast in oven until fragrant (@ 5-10 minutes)
  4. Place cereal in a bowl, pour cold cream over and let sit @ 20 -30 minutes
  5. Strain cream into sauce pan, mushing all the cereal bits with a ladle to get all the liquid out
  6. Heat cream slowly over low until it comes to simmer
  7. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate, stir with rubber spatula until chocolate has melted & cream have combined, stir in butter
  8. Pour into shallow dish and cool until maleable
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3 Reviews

LeBec F.
LeBec F. April 26, 2013
This is DEF. a cool idea. I can't tell you how great it is ("Wow, you mean, I'm not the ONLY one?")to read of a simpatico sweets sister: salt, smoke, and the overriding depth of flavor brought by browning the butter,toasting the cereals and nuts and using very dark chocolate.) I think when I make this, I will use lyle's golden syrup or rice syrup instead of the marshmallows (as I did in this recipe):
http://food52.com/recipes/16714-maple-almond-butter-krisped-rice-treats

The assembly of them sounds wicked messy (unless oiling your hands could prevent the crispie mass from sticking to them? And FREEZING the ganache before and after forming the 'marbles' would also do away with the chocolaty palms syndrome.)
Another assembly option might be to make a layer of the crispie goo in the bottom of a roasting pan, spread a layer of the ganache, top w/ layer of goo. Chill; cut into diamonds like baklava. What do you think of that? You're the recipe creator; maybe I haven't considered something....

I just LOVE it that you have thought outside the box so many times throughout this recipe. What an inspiration you are.

p.s. now I have to go sample some Cap'n Crunch. I've never tasted it and have no idea what it is like!!
 
aargersi
aargersi April 10, 2013
You used Disco Dust and you LOST? Heathens. You win in my book. Now go wash your hand(s) :-)
 
cookinginvictoria
cookinginvictoria April 4, 2013
Wow -- I love the idea of an updated rice krispie treat, and your version sounds delicious. Brown butter makes everything taste better, and I can just imagine what your chocolate and Cap'n Crunch ganache must taste like. Wonderful headnote too!