The cereal came first. Who turned it into America’s famous marshmallow treat is where the story gets complicated.
Rice Krispies cereal hit grocery shelves in 1928. The famous marshmallow squares followed later. But the better story isn’t cereal versus dessert. It’s who turned a breakfast staple into an American classic – because that credit is surprisingly hard to pin down.
Who really invented Rice Krispies Treats?
Rice Krispies had already been on American shelves for more than a decade when the marshmallow treat took shape. WK Kellogg dates the cereal to 1928; “Snap! Crackle! Pop!” appeared in print advertising in 1929, and the mascots followed in 1933.
The treat’s origin is less tidy. Iowa State University says sources credit home economists Mildred Day and Malitta Jensen with creating the Rice Krispies Treat as we know it. Kellogg’s own records, quoted in a detailed historical investigation, instead credit the company’s Home Economics Department with inventing the marshmallow version in 1939.
Then there’s 1932.
Kellogg confirmed an earlier recipe called Rice Krispie Bars. Mildred Day was on staff when it was developed, but those bars contained no marshmallows. The company says the first marshmallow recipe appeared on a Rice Krispies package in 1940. Early newspaper versions also differed from today’s stripped-down formula, using vanilla and richer proportions of butter and marshmallow to cereal.
That leaves us with a wonderfully sticky answer. Rice Krispies unquestionably came first. The now-familiar treat belongs to Kellogg’s home-economics kitchens, but assigning a single inventor is harder. Day and Jensen remain widely credited; Kellogg’s records are more cautious.
Which somehow feels appropriate. One of America’s simplest desserts has an origin story with more layers than the recipe itself.
Featured Country: United States
This week’s recipe trio leans into a very American kind of kitchen fame: simple sweets that become household fixtures. Rice Krispies Treats, chocolate chip cookies and strawberry-rhubarb pie aren’t connected by technique, but by repetition — recipes made at home often enough to become memory. Familiar, practical and not remotely interested in culinary ceremony. Explore US Cuisine
Start Cooking: American Dessert Classics
Rice Krispies Treats
The no-bake cereal square that turned a breakfast staple into bake-sale royalty with butter, marshmallows and plenty of crunch.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ruth Wakefield’s Massachusetts classic pairs crisp edges, soft centers and chocolate with an origin story as famous as the cookie.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb meet beneath a flaky double crust in a sweet spring and summer American home-baking favorite.
Food Trivia: Snap! Crackle! Pop!
Rice Krispies had a personality long before they had marshmallows. WK Kellogg says the cereal reached shelves in 1928, and “Snap! Crackle! Pop!” appeared in a print ad in 1929, then on the cereal box in 1932. Illustrator Vernon Grant created Snap, Crackle and Pop in 1933. The marshmallow treat recognized by Kellogg followed in 1939.
So the famous trio had already spent several years selling breakfast before anyone gave them a second job as unofficial ambassadors for sticky fingers and bake-sale tables. And, yes, it’s true, the Rolling Stones really did do a TV commercial soundtrack for a Rice Krispies ad in 1963.
Stars, Stripes and Snacks: The American Food Quiz
Burgers, barbecue, regional specialties and snack-food legends all get a turn in this American food quiz. Some answers are as familiar as apple pie; others wander well beyond the diner menu. Test your knowledge of the dishes, traditions and peculiarities that help make American food much more interesting than its stereotypes.
Take the American food quiz or explore all CountryCuisines quizzes.
Favorite Find: USA Pan Cake Pan
A 9-by-13-inch pan is a kitchen essential behind cereal squares, brownies, sheet cakes and casseroles. USA Pan’s rectangular cake pan is made from aluminized steel with a nonstick coating and straight sides that make neat portions easier. It’s useful far beyond this Week’s recipe, which is more than can be said for plenty of kitchen gadgets. Not a sponsor – just solid bakeware worth knowing. USA Pan Rectangular Cake Pan
Share The Menu
Know someone who grew up making these, eating them straight from the pan or debating whether they’re Treats or Squares? Send them The Menu. Better yet, ask who they think invented them. Nothing wakes up a familiar childhood snack quite like discovering its history is considerably messier than the recipe.
Next Week
Hola! Next week, we head into Mexico City after dark, where the street food gets bolder, stranger and far more interesting than tacos alone.
