A classic holiday treat – these buttery, chewy Christmas Rice Krispie Treats are made into Christmas trees and topped with festive sprinkles.
Do you love Krispie treats? We sure do – mostly because they are so easy to make and incredibly delicious. They were one of my mom’s favorites – so of course, we make them all the time.
A friend came over and like every time I have a friend over, we always end up in the kitchen. We wanted to create something quick and easy – with few dishes, that we didn’t have to wait forever before we could enjoy.
These super adorable Christmas Rice Krispie Treats were the perfect recipe. I know you will love them as much as we do.
I think you’ll love this recipe because not only are they quick to make – but you can make a ton of them in very little time. This makes it easy to have these as the treat you bring to a holiday party or a classroom party for the kids.
The little ones love to help with these. You can add some squeeze bags of frosting to let them decorate them like you would a cookie with candies and frosting.
You can also leave the colored sprinkles off and maybe dip them in melted chocolate before decorating too. The possibilities are endless.
Rice Krispie Christmas
Here are some commonly asked questions
How to store rice krispie treats
These treats are best at room temperature. So once you add the pretzel, you need to wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap or place them in individual zip-top bags. I don’t like to place them all together in one large bag because they tend to stick together.
I don’t recommend refrigeration because the pretzels will absorb the cool, moist air and become soggy – which is no good.
You can also cover them in the pan and store them before cutting. (then just make your cuts and add the pretzels right before serving.
If you use a metal baking pan – just a bit of foil or press-n-seal on the top works just fine. But I like this baking dish with the lid for ease.
Rice Krispies Treats Christmas Trees
Ingredients for Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
- mini marshmallows
- salted butter
- Green food coloring
- rice krispie cereal
- Sprinkles of your choice
- pretzel sticks
Can these be made with different sized marshmallows?
Yes – you can make this recipe with any size of marshmallows – just be sure to check this marshmallow conversion table below to make sure you are keeping that ratio just perfect when making these treats.
How to Make Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan. Set aside.
- Melt the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan.
- Remove from heat and stir several drops of green food coloring until you achieve the shade of green you’d like. (Keep in mind that the shade will look slightly lighter after adding in the rice krispie cereal).
- Stir in the rice krispie cereal until evenly coated.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Add an even layer of sprinkles across the top of the rice krispies.
- Allow to fully cool before slicing your Christmas trees. You will first make one even cut lengthwise to form two rectangles, followed by cutting out 6 even triangles from each rectangle (with 4 leftover uneven pieces from the edges total, see photo for example).
- Carefully place a pretzel stick into the bottom of each tree and they’re ready to serve, enjoy!
Can you freeze krispie treats?
While I’m not a fan of freezing treats in general, I have plenty of friends that swear that these will do just fine in the freezer. If you plan to do this – I recommend doing it prior to adding the pretzels – for the same reason I mentioned above. The cool air makes them soggy.
I also recommend making sure you have color-fast sprinkles. The nonpareils used here tend to bleed when stored in a moist environment. This will not look pretty when you are ready to serve.
I recommend wrapping each bar individually in plastic wrap. Then place them all in an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let sit at room temperature to thaw before serving again.
Easy Christmas Treats
recipe tips & tricks
For the best possible results – follow these tips so you can make THE BEST KRISPIE TREAT CHRISTMAS TREES EVER!
- ALWAYS USE FRESH MARSHMALLOWS! Trust me on this – don’t take that old bag of sticky marshmallows from the back of the pantry. Stale marshmallows mean stale krispie treats. If you want them soft and chewy – always use the freshest marshmallows.
- USE REAL BUTTER – please don’t try to make this recipe with margarine. It just won’t turn out the same.
- Don’t pack the treats too tighly in the pan – this will make them too dense. You want them to be just tight enough so they don’t fall apart but not crushed.
- Don’t over cook the marshmallows – this will make them too firm once they cool.
- Keep the treats in an airtight container once cooled. Try to keep the container as close to the size of the treats as possible. A container that is too large will allow for too much air to be in the container with the treats and make them dry out faster.
- Dampen your hands with water before pressing the mixture into the pan – this will help to keep the marshmallow from sticking to your hands.
- Try making them gluten-free by swapping out the ingredients with gluten-free options.
No Bake Christmas Desserts
Love this recipe? Check out some other recipes to make with cereal…
- Best Rice Krispie Treat Recipe
- Sweet & Salty Snack Mix
- Party Snack Mix
- Peppermint Crunch Bites
- Homemade Crunch Bars
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Popcorn
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Snack Mix
- Captain Crunch Bourbon Balls
- Easter Krispie Pops
Green Rice Krispie Treats
Can these be cut into different shapes or made with different colors?
That is the best part about this recipe – it is so easy to make it into something different. You can change up the color of the food coloring – then just use cookie cutters to cut them into any shape you can imagine. So fun and easy enough to let the kids help out too.
Christmas Tree Krispie Treats
Marshmallow Conversion Chart
- 1 jumbo marshmallow = 4 standard-size marshmallows = 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
- 1 cup mini-marshmallows = 8 standard-size marshmallows = 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
- 7 ounces of marshmallow creme = 1.5 cups marshmallow fluff
- 10 ounce bag of mini-marshmallows = 6 cups = 40 standard-size marshmallows
- 1 standard-size marshmallow = 14 mini-marshmallows
- 8 standard-size marshmallows = 1 cup
- 16 ounce bag of mini-marshmallows = 8.5 cups
- 16 ounce bag of standard-size marshmallows = 63 marshmallows
If you love this Easy Christmas treat recipe, you’re going to love these other cute treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Christmas Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 10 oz mini marshmallows
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- Green food coloring
- 6 cups rice krispie cereal
- Sprinkles of your choice
- 14 pretzel sticks
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan. Set aside.
- Melt the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan.
- Remove from heat and stir several drops of green food coloring until you achieve the shade of green you’d like. (Keep in mind that the shade will look slightly lighter after adding in the rice krispie cereal).
- Stir in the rice krispie cereal until evenly coated.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Add an even layer of sprinkles across the top of the rice krispies.
- Allow to fully cool before slicing your Christmas trees. You will first make one even cut lengthwise to form two rectangles, followed by cutting out 6 even triangles from each rectangle (with 4 leftover uneven pieces from the edges total, see photo for example).
- Carefully place a pretzel stick into the bottom of each tree and they’re ready to serve, enjoy!
Notes
- You can get creative with your trees and add icing for garland, stars, play with other food dye colors, or use cut-up plain rice Krispies as “tree stands”.
- Try swapping straws for the pretzel sticks.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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