How to fix stale rice krispie treats

Q: Can you eat stale rice krispies?

Consuming cereals after the Best if Used By date does not pose a food safety risk. If you eat a cereal after this date, it simply may not taste as good. Many cereals are like canned foods, which generally stay safe to eat but may lose their texture and color as the months and years pass.

We’ve had this almost full bag of marshmallows just sitting around forever. I haven’t checked yet, but undoubtedly the marshmallows are stale by now.

Table of Contents Show

Why do my rice krispies treats taste stale?
Is there a way to soften hard Rice Krispie Treats?
What can I do with stale rice krispies?
Can you eat stale rice krispies?

Yesterday I nabbed a box of crispy rice cereal out of the community kitchen (we are allowed to take food from there, it wasn’t like I was stealing it from someone), and I thought “Hey – surely you can use stale marshmallows with rice krispie treats since you’re just melting them down anyway?”

Ever cautious, I googled to make sure ahead of time this was possible, and it turns out, no, don’t use stale marshmallows for rice krispie treats. Apparently one of several things can happen: the stale marshmallows won’t melt so you can’t even make the treats at all; the marshmallows will melt but will turn into a even worse mess than fresh marshmallows; or everything will seem to be going right, but the finished product will be rock-hard and impossible to eat.

So far, not encouraging.

But I did find this website that has several uses for stale marshmallows, as well as some solutions for how to reconstitute marshmallows. And another website that also involved someone making rice krispie treats with stale marshmallows.

The one with the hole in it is my favorite.

I decided to use the “put marshmallows in microwave with cup of water for 10 seconds” method, putting a plateful of marshmallows in at a time before putting them in a pan to cook as per the rice krispie treat recipe [take a shot every time I say “marshmallow” or “rice krispie treats” in this post]

So that ended up not working. I put the whole bag in the microwave at once (I mean, on a plate, I didn’t put the actual plastic bag in). Perhaps that was a mistake, or I needed more water, or something, because it only softened up about three marshmallows even after I kept microwaving the thing.

So I gave up and just dumped a handful of marshmallows into the pan at once, adding water, and continuing to add marshmallows and water to the mixture.

Also I let the butter simmer for too long and it kind of burned. I’ve never made Rice Krispie Treats myself before, but I feel like the melted butter isn’t supposed to turn brown.

Finally the marshmallows mostly melted, so I took it off the stove and added the cereal. Now, since i wasn’t sure how many marshmallows I had, I wasn’t sure how much cereal I should put in. So I filled up a four-cup measuring cup and just poured a little in at a time until the mixture started getting a bit too loose.

It ended up not even filling up an 8×8 pan (it’s supposed to fill up a 13×9). But that’s good, at least if it turns out tasting awful there won’t be a huge amount of wasted food.

This looks more like a big granola bar than Rice Krispie Treats.

About two hours after setting the stuff in the fridge, I’ve eaten it, and… eh. It’s still pretty gooey, but not rock-hard, which is great. It doesn’t taste wonderful, and the crispy rice bits are a bit too soft.

I’d be interested to see how this would turn out if I had enough marshmallows instead of the 3/4 to 1/2 of a bag I had. Probably this doesn’t taste the best because 1) the amount of butter I used was for using a whole bag of marshmallows and 6 cups of cereal rather than a half bag and 3 cups, and 2) I burned the butter. Possibly the knockoff brand of cereal didn’t help matters either.

So in conclusion, if you have a lot of stale marshmallows around, I would suggest making s’mores or putting them in hot chocolate first. If you want to make rice krispie treats, use a large bowl of water and a handful of marshmallows in the microwave at one time, or else add a bit of water for every handful of marshmallows you put into the pan to melt, AND DON’T BURN THE BUTTER. Dairy products are very volatile when it comes to cooking on the stove. One instant they can be fine, the next they’re a charred, disgusting mess.

I also think perhaps making Rice Krispie Treats/Generic Brand Crispy Rice Cereal Treats using reconstituted marshmallows is not a great idea for anyone who is not familiar with making regular Treats with fresh marshmallows.

References/links of note:

The recipe I sort of used

Someone else who made treats with stale marshmallows

Uses for stale marshmallows and how to reconstitute stale ones

Extra tip: Freezing marshmallows apparently keeps them from getting stale with no drawbacks other than that you have cold marshmallows when you pull them out.

Fun facts: Marshmallows were probably originally a medicinal substance used to treat sore throats – or at least, the root of the marshmallow plant was used in such a way.

Egyptians were reportedly the first to use marshmallow plants as a sweet treat, mixing sap from the plant with nuts and honey.

The marshmallow, or Marsh Mallow, plant.

Why do my rice krispies treats taste stale?

We recommend pouring the marshmallows over the cereal instead of adding them to the pan. If the cereal is poured into the hot pan, the crisp rice may become soft if it gets too hot. Your treats may taste stale immediately after they are made because the cereal will be soft.

Is there a way to soften hard Rice Krispie Treats?

How to soften hard Rice Krispie Treats. If you are just eating them, then you can pop a treat in the microwave for 5 -10 seconds to soften it slightly before eating.

What can I do with stale rice krispies?

Have no fear: you can also revive your cereal. Just like reviving potato chips, all you need to do is put your cereal in an oven preheated to 375°F, and in 5–10 minutes you'll have crispy, crunchy, delicious cereal.

Can you eat stale rice krispies?

Consuming cereals after the 'Best if Used By' date does not pose a food safety risk. "If you eat a cereal after this date, it simply may not taste as good." Many cereals are like canned foods, which generally stay safe to eat but may lose their texture and color as the months and years pass.

fix stale rice krispie treats