Description
Celebrate the festive season with these delightful Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats. Made with classic marshmallow and butter base, infused with vanilla and tinted green with gel food coloring, these treats are shaped like Christmas trees using pretzel sticks and decorated with white chocolate and colorful sprinkles for a perfect holiday snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16 ounces marshmallows (1 bag)
- 3 drops green gel food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 ½ cups Rice Krispies cereal
Decorations
- 12 pretzel sticks
- Christmas sprinkles (quantity as desired)
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Prepare the marshmallow mixture: In a large saucepan, melt the unsalted butter over low heat. Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir continuously until they are completely melted and smooth.
- Add colors and flavor: Remove the mixture from heat and quickly stir in the green gel food coloring drops and vanilla extract until the color and flavor are evenly distributed.
- Combine with cereal: Pour the Rice Krispies cereal into the marshmallow mixture and gently fold until all the cereal is evenly coated and combined, ensuring the mixture is well mixed but not crushed.
- Shape the treats: Lightly grease your hands and shape the mixture into small triangular tree shapes or use a mold for more uniform shapes. Insert a pretzel stick into the base of each treat to serve as the tree trunk.
- Decorate the trees: Drizzle melted white chocolate over the shaped treats and immediately add Christmas sprinkles to the chocolate before it sets to decorate your Christmas-themed rice krispie trees.
- Allow to set: Place the decorated treats on parchment paper and let them cool at room temperature until the white chocolate hardens and the treats are firm enough to handle.
Notes
- Use greased hands or a buttered spatula to prevent the mixture from sticking when shaping.
- You can add a few drops of different colored gel food coloring to decorate the trees more festively.
- Melt white chocolate gently using a double boiler or microwave in short bursts to avoid burning.
- Store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- For extra festive fun, consider adding mini M&Ms or edible glitter as additional decorations.
