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Holiday Rice Cereal Treats
The holiday season is upon us. I love to cook and bake, but easy recipes are the way to go for me during this busy time of year . There are so many different events happening and it goes by so fast. I personally just love to stop and enjoy it. Easy, but flavorful desserts are a must for surviving the holidays.
This week’s recipe is four holiday classic flavors packed into super easy, no-bake treats. My favorite thing is that they are still so customizable, meaning you can add your own additions. The no-bake dessert recipes I have for you this week are rice crispy treat bars with a holiday twist. The classic holiday flavors I chose to share with you are Hot Cocoa, Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread, and Cranberry Maple Pecan.
These could easily be made and put together for a fun gift idea for teachers, friends and family. All you need is some cute festive tins from the dollar store. You could even cut the treats into fun holiday shapes using cookie cutters. You would want to press your treats thinner to achieve this, using a cookie sheet pan instead of the 13×9 pan. Another fun idea is to dip them in candy melts or melted chocolate chips with coconut oil for a shiny chocolate dipped look.
I hope you make one of these fun treats and share your photos with me on social media! My personal favorite is the Peppermint Mocha treats. There will be more easy holiday dessert recipes coming up each week. Be sure to check back every Friday evening for the latest recipe. You can also find the Key Lime Pie Rice Treat recipe here.
Some of my Favorite Products used:
Hot Cocoa Rice Crispy Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Salted butter
- 18 oz Mini marshmallows 10 oz for melting, 8 oz for garnish
- 5 cup Chocolate Rice Krispies cereal
- 5 tbsp Your favorite hot chocolate mix , I will link my favorite in the supplies list (above)
Instructions
- Prepare a 13"x9"c. pan with baking spray or parchment paper.
- In a large pot, melt your butter over low heat.
- Add in the 10 oz of marshmallows and the hot chocolate powder mix. Stir until well combined and the marshmallows are melted completely.
- Remove from heat and add in the rice cereal. Stir until coated. Fold in the additional 8 oz of marshmallows. (save some if you want to add additional on top to decorate)
- Press evenly into your prepared pan. Press any additionally toppings you want to add into the top of the treats.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until stiff.
- Slice & serve or move to an airtight container for storage.
Cranberry Maple Pecan Rice Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Salted butter
- 10 oz Mini Marshmallows
- 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 1 cup Craisins
- 1 cup White chocolate chips , you can use any chocolate chip here
- 2 cups Maple candied pecans
Instructions
- Prepare a 13"x9" pan with baking spray or parchment paper.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat.
- Add in the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
- Remove from heat and add in the rice cereal, craisins, white chocolate chips and pecans. Mix until combined.
- Press into your prepared pan with a spatula. Add any additional toppings and press into the treats.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until stiff.
- Slice and serve or move to an airtight container for storage.
For the maple candied pecans – please see the process to make those within my Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe here. Instructions also listed below:
Maple Candied Pecans
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups Pecans , chopped or whole, depending on the look you want. I did whole.
- 1/2 cup Pure maple syrup
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
Make Candied Pecans:
- Add your pecans and maple syrup to a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the maple syrup starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low.
- Simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring often.
- Once you notice the liquid is mostly gone, stir continuously until the pecans start to clump together then remove them.
- Transfer them into a single layer onto parchment paper using a rubber spatula. You can use the spatula to break up the clumps into single pecans. Sprinkle salt on top of the pecans while they are still hot.
- Let cool, roughly about 5-10 minutes
Peppermint Mocha Rice Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Salted butter
- 10 oz Mini marshmallows
- 5 cups Chocolate Rice Krispies cereal
- 3-4 tbsp Espresso powder , more if you want more coffee flavor
- ½ – ¾ cup Mini chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp Crushed candy canes , a little goes a long way here
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt butter over low heat.
- Prepare a 13"x9" pan with baking spray or parchment paper.
- Add in your marshmallows and espresso powder and stir until marshmallows are melted.
- Remove from heat.
- Add in cereal and mix thoroughly. Add in the chocolate chips and crushed peppermint candy canes. Mix again until well combined.
- Press into your prepared pan. Press any additional toppings in to the top. I added some additional chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.
- Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until stiff.
- Serve or place in air tight container to store.
Notes
Gingerbread Rice Crispy Bars with Brown Butter Icing
Ingredients
Rice Treats
- 3 tbsp Salted butter
- 10 oz Mini marshmallows
- 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
- ¾ tbsp Ground ginger
- ½ tsp Ground cloves
- ½ tsp Ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- ⅓-½ cup Molasses
- ¾ tsp Vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing
- 1 stick Salted butter
- 1 ½ – 2 cups Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 pinch Cinnamon
- 1 pinch Sea salt
Instructions
To make the Rice Crispy Bars
- In a 13"x9" pan, prep with baking spray or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine all gingerbread spices and mix then set aside.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat.
- Add marshmallows and stir until partially melted.
- Add in the gingerbread spices and molasses into the marshmallows. Mix well.
- Remove from heat once all of the marshmallows have melted.
- Add in the cereal and stir well to coat all of the cereal.
- Press evenly into your prepare pan with a spatula.
- Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until firm.
To make the Brown Butter Icing
- In a clean pot (large or small would work fine). Melt the butter over medium heat.
- Cook the butter until it's a light brown color and has a toasted, nutty smell. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
- If your icing is really thick, add in a tsp of warm water at a time. You are looking for a spreadable consistency.
- Remove your rice bars from the fridge and take them out of the pan. Cut them into smaller bars or sticks or really what ever shape you want.
- Spread your icing over the treat. I personally just iced one edge, but you can use as much icing as you would like.
- Set on a piece of parchment paper and move back into the refrigerator to harden. About 10-15 minutes.
- Serve or put into an airtight container to store in the fridge for freshness.