Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment paper is overhanging so you can easily remove the rice krispie treats later.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the milk powder. Allow the butter to brown, until small brown flakes appear at the bottom. Stir the entire time.
½ stick unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons milk powder
Add the marshmallows, sweetened condensed milk, melted peanut butter, salt and vanilla and stir until melted - about 3 minutes. Make sure to do this over low heat so it doesn't burn.
¼ cup sweetened condensed milk, 10 ounces marshmallows, ½ cup peanut butter, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Turn the heat off and pour the cereal into the saucepan. Use a rubber spatula to stir together, evenly covering the cereal.
4 ½ cups rice krispies
Pour the cereal into your prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to gently press down and make the top even.
Melt the chocolate and 2 teaspoon of coconut oil together in a microwave. Microwave in short bursts, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth. Pour over the rice krispie treats and use an offset spatula to cover the cereal evenly.
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips, 2 teaspoons coconut oil
Add pretzels to the top of the chocolate. You can either just do it haphazardly like I've done for more of an 'undone' look, or you can put 16 pretzels so each rice krispie square has 1 pretzel.
¾ cup pretzels
Place in the fridge for one hour, or at room temperature for at least 2 hours, then cut into 16 squares.
Notes
Pretzels: this is optional, but I love them for that salty sweet taste. You can use flaky sea salt, sprinkles or chopped mini peanut butter cups instead if you prefer. Marshmallows: you can use regular sized marshmallows or mini marshmallows. Looking for a recipe with marshmallow fluff? Check out this recipe of rice krispie treats with marshmallow fluff! Peanut Butter: I'm using creamy peanut butter here, like Jif. If using salted peanut butter, omit the salt in the recipe. Salt: If you don't have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt.Storage: slice the treats into 16 bars and keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing these as it will alter the texture. This post was originally published in July 2021 but has been updated with new step by step photos and recipe. My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven't tested the recipe with this method.