I know technically it’s not fall yet but honestly, it feels like fall in SF, and I’m just over summer recipes. So I am skipping to fall. Fall is literally MY FAVORITE season. From the colors to the crisp cold air to the flavors of cinnamon and apple, it’s just so magical. I have literally been coming up with fall recipes for months. Now I have over a dozen just sitting there in my notes waiting to be posted. I wanted to keep it simple with the first one. This is a recipe for chai spiced rice krispie treats. It has all the flavors of a warm and comforting chai combined with my favorite childhood treat: rice krispie treats!
What is chai?
Chai is the Hindi word for tea. Originating from India, chai is a combination of black tea with warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and others. The modern version of chai came about in the 19th century when the British set up tea plantations in India. Back then, chai consisted of tea, milk, spices, and sweetener. It didn’t gain much popularity however because tea was too expensive for the Indian population. Later in the early 1900s, the British started to promote tea drinking in India, so people started mixing spices and sugar with a smaller amount of tea to keep the costs down. The spices covered for the fact that there was less tea in the chai.
Nowadays, chai is super popular in Western culture. You can’t go into most coffee shops without seeing a chai latte. The spice mixture that is used in chai has also been incorporated into desserts like in my chai spiced cinnamon rolls. That’s essentially what I did with this recipe – took the tea and spice mixture and added it to rice krispie treats. A typical chai spice mixture is different depending on who you ask but the spices most commonly seen in chai are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, and cloves.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and star anise – Like I mentioned, there are so many different combinations of spices you can use for chai, but I chose these because they are the most common ones. I also love each of these spices individually. Other spices you can include are peppercorns, nutmeg, and fennel. Mix and match the spices as you like! For this recipe, make sure to use the powdered form of these spices, so you can smoothly incorporate them into the marshmallows.
- Earl grey tea – You can use any kind of black tea for this recipe. I chose earl grey tea because that’s what I had on hand.
- Rice Krispie cereal – This is the core ingredient in rice krispie treats (of course). Regular rice krispie cereal has gluten in it, so if you want to make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free rice krispie cereal. Yes the same company makes a gluten free version!
- Unsalted butter – This ingredient adds a nuttiness to this recipe.
- Marshmallows – Marshmallows provide the glue that helps the rice krispie cereal stick together. It doesn’t matter if you use big marshmallows or small marshmallows.
Making these chai spiced rice krispie treats
First prepare your baking dish. Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside. Next create your chai spice mixture. Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, star anise, and earl grey tea to a spice grinder or food processor. Pulse until the spices are broken down to powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, add the rice krispie cereal and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add in the chai spice mixture and marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows melt and a brown mixture forms. Pour the chai spiced marshmallow mixture over the rice krispie cereal. Mix until the cereal is well coated. Spoon the rice krispie treats into your prepared baking dish. Use a spatula to spread the rice krispie treats evenly. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Did you make these chai spiced rice krispie treats?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Chai Spiced Rice Krispie Treats
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground star anise
- 1 tbsp earl grey tea powdered
- 6 cups Rice Krispie cereal
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 10 oz marshmallows
Instructions
- Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- First make the chai spice mix. Add cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, star anise, and earl grey tea to a spice grinder or food processor. Pulse to break down the spices into powder. Set aside.
- Next add the rice krispie cereal to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Melt butter over medium heat. Add in the chai spice mixture and marshmallows. Mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Pour the chai spiced marshmallow mixture over the Rice Krispie cereal from step 3. Mix until the cereal is well coated.
- Spoon rice krispie treats into the prepared 9×9 baking dish and press down with a spatula so the rice krispie treats are distributed evenly.
- Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
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by Becca Du