I’m blaming this one on Zoe. I’d been seeing mentions of Joanne Chang’s Brown Butter-Crispy Rice Treats on Twitter and blogs but have resisted. Mostly because I think they’re a little lowbrow unless you make them with homemade marshmallows (store-bought marshmallows are gross once you’ve had homemade). Plus, my rice allergy means I can have a little taste, but that’s it. Now I’ll come off my high horse and admit that I loved these as a kid, and I still love them. There’s just something nostalgic about the texture and taste. And when you add brown butter and vanilla bean to the mix, these are elevated to outstanding.

Zoe recently mentioned these again on Twitter, and posted an adapted recipe on her blog – that did it, I couldn’t get them out of my head. It was perfect timing, too – I needed something to bring to my neighborhood National Night Out gathering. The recipe can be found here.

• Brown Butter-Crispy Rice Treats Flour (Flour, p. 133)