Christmas Rice Krispie Treats are cut into fun festive shapes and topped with a colorful candy melt coating. Perfect for holiday parties!
Simple Rice Krispies are a classic Dessert that you can pull together even if you aren’t in the mood for baking. This holiday version makes them perfect for a Christmas party or potluck! You could also make these with my Chocolate Rice Krispies or Fruity Pebbles Treats recipes!
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Christmas Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
The holidays are full of delicious baked goods, particularly cookies. While there’s nothing wrong with a traditional holiday cookie, it can be fun to mix things up with a slightly less standard option. These easy Rice Krispie Treats are easy, shareable, delicious, sure to get everyone in the holiday spirit, and a little outside the box.
To give simple Rice Krispie Treats a holiday feel, all you have to do is use cookie cutters to shape them, then add a Christmas-colored candy coating. The finished Christmas Rice Krispie Treat recipe is the perfect addition to your dessert table at your next holiday party. The no-bake treat is also great for a cookie exchange or a fun holiday treat.
Ingredients
- Butter: You’ll need 3 tablespoons unsalted butter for this recipe. The melted butter softens the marshmallow and makes it a smoother consistency so that it can coat the cereal. Butter also adds a richness to balance the sweetness.
- Marshmallows: Use 10 ounces of marshmallows for this recipe. You can use large or miniature marshmallows, but larger marshmallows tend to stay soft longer and melt more easily than mini marshmallows.
- Rice Krispies Cereal: Mix 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal into the marshmallow mix to make this recipe. The cereal has a simple flavor that lets the marshmallow shine, and its light but crisp texture is perfect for these classic treats.
- Candy Melts: To make this into the perfect holiday treat, add a candy melt coating to the outside. I divide the red, green, and white melting disks so I have some for dipping the tops of the treats and some to pipe for decorating.
How to Make
- Rice Krispies Mixture
Add butter to a large Dutch oven over medium heat to melt it. Then add the marshmallows, and mix them into the butter until the marshmallow mixture is completely melted. Mix in the rice Krispies cereal, using a wooden spoon to stir until completely coated.
- Chill
Press the cereal and marshmallow mixture into a 9×13-inch pan. Then let the Rice Krispies cool completely cutting into Christmas cookie cutters.
- Cut Shapes
After the refrigerator time, use Christmas cookie cutters to cut the Rice Krispies into star, candy cane, Santa and tree cookie cutter shapes. You can use other favorite shapes you have on hand.
- Candy Melts
Add green, white, and red candy melts to separate microwave-safe bowls. Then microwave each at 50-percent power until just melted. Dip the shapes into the candy melts, matching the colors to the shapes (Santas in red, trees in green, etc.) Then place them on wax or parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
- Decorating:
Add Christmas-colored sprinkles onto the star festive shapes while they’re still wet. Then add the leftover white candy melts to a piping bag and use it to pipe eyes and smiles onto the Santas and stripes onto the candy canes. You can use the leftover red to pipe ornaments onto the trees. Then let the candy melt dry before serving the Christmas Rice Krispies Treats.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 ounces marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 6 ounces candy melts , green
- 6 ounces candy melts , white
- 6 ounces candy melts , red
- 1/4 cup Christmas themed sprinkles
Instructions
- In a dutch oven melt the butter on medium heat then add in the marshmallows and mix until completely melted.
- Mix in the Rice Krispies Treats until completely coated.
- Press the mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and let cool completely.
- Using Christmas cookie cutters like a tree, star, candy cane or santa, cut out your favorite shapes.
- Add each color of the candy melts to a separate bowl and microwave each on 50-percent power until just melted.
- Dip the shapes into the candy melts and let dry on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Dip the trees into the green candy melts, star into the white and candy canes and santas into the red.
- While the stars are still wet add any Christmas colored sprinkles you'd like to the stars.
- Add the leftover white color to a small piping bag and pipe on eyes and little smiles onto your santas and stripes onto your candy canes.
- Using leftover red, add it to a piping bag and draw ornaments onto your trees.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: A Fun Party Treat!
These treats make a great party activity! I like to make the treats and cut them into shapes ahead of time, but then I let the kids (and kids at heart) do the decorating. It’s also a fantastic way to use up leftover sprinkles or decorating candies from other desserts. If you are having a good-size gathering, I suggest having two of every color both in the dipping bowls and piping bags. This way no one has to wait long for a turn at making their own festive treats!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Rice Krispie Treats have the best texture when you serve them the day you make them. However, if you prep them in advance, they’ll stay good for 1-2 days. Follow the same instructions to prep the rice krispie recipe. Then after letting the candy coating dry, place the Christmas Rice Krispies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment paper between the layers so that they don’t get stuck together. Keep them at room temperature so that the marshmallows stay soft and gooey.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Store: Leftover Rice Krispie Treats keep best stored at room temperature. You can cover a plate of them in plastic wrap or put them in a ziplock bag or another airtight container with wax paper to stop the pieces from sticking together. Kept sealed at room temperature, they’ll keep well for 2 days. You could also refrigerate them for up to 3 days, though the texture will become slightly harder after chilling.
- Freeze: You could also freeze Rice Krispies for up to 6 weeks. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put them in a large freezer bag. When ready to thaw, let the freezer bag sit at room temperature until the treats are soft.
Frequent Questions
While mixing and shaping Rice Krispies, it’s easy for the gooey marshmallow mix to stick to your hands. To avoid this mess, you can coat your hands with a light layer of olive oil. The marshmallow mixture will slide off your oiled hands, so you won’t end up with the dessert stuck to you.
When it comes to chewy and gooey rice Krispies, the fresher you can serve them is always better. However, they’ll keep well in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Of course! You can use any of your Christmas cookie cutters to shape the rice Krispie treats however you like. If you’re making this recipe for another occasion, you can use cookie cutters from other seasons and just top the treats in different colored candy melts to match the shapes.
If you have too much cereal and not enough marshmallow mixture to hold it together, the Rice Krispies will fall apart. If you run into this problem, you can melt additional marshmallows and butter in a separate bowl and add it to the mix to even out the cereal and marshmallow ratio.
Although this may work in a pinch, it’s not recommended. Marshmallow fluff has extra sugar that will make the rice Krispies very, very sweet. It also doesn’t have the same fluffy texture and won’t hold the cereal together as well. For the best results, use regular marshmallows to make Christmas Rice Krispies.
Variations
- Chocolate Krispie Treats: to make these delicious treats with delicious chocolate flavor, you can swap out the regular rice cereal for cocoa rice crispy cereal. Or, use a mix of chocolate and regular cereal for a milder chocolaty flavor in the cereal mixture.
- White Chocolate Coating: Although the candy melts used in this recipe mimic the texture and flavor of white chocolate, they are not actually white chocolate. If you prefer using real white chocolate to coat this holiday treat, you can divide the white chocolate chips or white chocolate melting discs into 3 separate bowls and melt them in 30-second increments until melted into a smooth consistency. Then add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to a second bowl to get the colors that you want.
- Mix-ins: You can make these Christmas Rice Krispie Treats with fun mix-ins added to the cereal and marshmallow mixture. After melting the marshmallows, you can add whole mini marshmallows to the rice crispy mix for varied texture and more marshmallow goodness. Some other tasty mix-ins to try are holiday M&M’s, sprinkles, chocolate candy bar pieces, or candy cane bits. The base rice Krispie bar recipe is so simple that you can easily add fun toppings and mix-ins as you like.
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