Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats Recipe

27 Cereal bars
30 min

Celebrate this Christmas with all your favorite childhood treats! These green Rice Krispie Christmas trees are a festive take on a traditional dessert. Decorated for the season, this deliciously sweet, no bake cereal bar is sure to delight visiting friends and family. Discover this easy way to dress up this popular holiday treat while also keeping some of that old-school flair in your kitchen.

Christmas Tree Rice Krispies Treats

When it comes to holiday sweets, cookies get all the glory. But there’s no reason you can’t make some cute Christmas desserts without turning on your oven! On top of being simple to make, these no bake Christmas tree Rice Krispies treats are also easy to decorate. That makes them perfect for making with kids during the holiday season.


Keep reading to discover how to create these seasonal goodies for your upcoming holiday party. These no bake Rice Krispies bars are shaped and decorated just like Christmas trees. Made with real butter, cereal and ooey gooey marshmallows, these hand sized desserts will without a doubt delight kids, friends and family with their scrumptiously sweet flavor.

Holiday Rice Krispie Treat Ingredients

You can make a batch of no bake cereal treats for your holiday celebration with just a handful of simple ingredients. To make and decorate your Christmas tree treats, you’ll need:


  • Rice Krispies cereal: You can’t make this iconic holiday treat without the cereal! I used the original version of this crisped rice cereal to make these tasty no bake desserts. However, you can get creative with your treat variations by using one of their other flavors, if available.
  • Mini marshmallows: Marshmallows make this recipe ooey gooey delicious! Not only does ingredient add sweetness to these fun Christmas tree cereal bars, but they also help to hold the ingredients together. You’ll definitely want to use the freshest marshmallows possible for this recipe. As older marshmallows tend to dry out, they don’t melt properly and will negatively affect the texture of these holiday desserts.
  • Butter gets mixed with the marshmallows and cereal to help hold everything together and give this recipe extra flavor. It also ensures that they treats don’t stick to the pan as easily.
  • Non-Stick cooking spray: Spray the pan with cooking spray to assist with the removal process of these goodies from the pan. Alternately, you can also grease the pan with butter.
  • Green candy melts: As white chocolate can be difficult to color and work with, I used green candy melts to coat the Christmas tree shaped cereal treat bars. This color, of course, resembles the color of evergreen trees and conifers typically used to decorate your home for the holidays.
  • Sprinkles: Candy sprinkles are an easy way to decorate this holiday dessert. You can use regular, colored sprinkles or candy colored balls to look like ornaments. Or try a fun Christmas sprinkles mixed for just such an occasion like this Santa’s Workshop blend or Merry and Bright Sprinkle Mix!

Kitchen Tools and Equipment

Knowing what tools and equipment you’ll be using in your kitchen will help you prep properly beforehand. Here are the additional supplies necessary to make these easy Rice Krispie Christmas trees:


  • Knife: You’ll use a sharp knife to cut the Rice Krispies treats into triangle shapes. Once covered with green candy melts, they will resemble Christmas trees. Or, for more realistic looking trees, you can also use a Christmas tree cookie cutter.
  • Stock pot: A large, stainless steel stock pot or similar is used to melt and mix the ingredients to make these holiday cereal bars.
  • Baking pan: I used a non-stick 9″x13″ baking dish to make these Christmas Rice Krispies treats. You’ll spread out the melted ingredients into the pan to cool and solidify prior to cutting into tree shaped cereal bars. In addition, if you choose a pan with a lid, you can also use it to store your holiday goodies.
  • Spatula: A silicone spatula or a large spoon is necessary to mix the melted butter, cereal and marshmallows together to form Christmas goody bars.
  • Medium bowl: Use a heat safe bowl or measuring cup to heat and melt the green candy wafers in the microwave. Alternately, you can also use a double boiler or chocolate melting pot for this task.
  • Parchment paper: Lining the pan with parchment paper prior to making these Rice Krispie Christmas trees will make clean up a snap! You also won’t have to worry about trying to scrub dried marshmallows out of the bottom of the pan.

How to Make Rice Krispie Christmas Trees

These adorable Christmas tree treats couldn’t be easier to make! And thanks to a simple cutting method, there’s no need to use cookie cutters to create the Christmas tree shapes. That means you can reduce the waste that comes along with making cute holiday shaped treats and have more adorable snacks to serve your Christmas guests.


1. The first step to making these fun treats is to prepare the Rice Krispies bars. First, place your butter in a large stock pot and cook it over medium-low heat. Continue warming the butter until it’s fully melted.


2. Once the butter is melted, add the marshmallows to the pot. Continue heating the ingredients in the pot until the marshmallows are melted.


TIP: Make sure to stir the ingredients continuously to keep the marshmallows from burning on the bottom of the pan.


TIP: For extra gooey goodie bars, you can increase the amount of marshmallows used. Simply add additional cereal to compensate at a 1:1 ratio to the marshmallows.

3. When the marshmallows are melted, remove the pot from the heat source and add your rice cereal. Carefully stir the cereal into the melted marshmallows. Use a wooden spoon to pull the marshmallows up from the bottom of the pan over the top of the cereal. Continue in this manner until all the cereal is coated in marshmallows.


TIP: For extra flavor, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of real vanilla extract. Or toss in a handful of mini chocolate chips!

4. Now that your cereal is ready to be made into bars, line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Then place the paper in the pan. Make sure to let the edges of the paper hang over the sides of the pan to make it easier to remove your bars when they’re finished cooling. Then, lightly spray a coat of nonstick cooking spray around the pan and paper.


5. Once your pan is ready, spread the cereal mixture in the pan, making sure it’s placed evenly across the entire pan. Use your hands to press the bars into the pan until they’re firm and even. After that, let them sit at room temperature for at least one hour to cool and harden.

6. After the treats have had time to cool, pull them out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper and transfer them to a large cutting board.


7. To cut them into tree shapes, start by cutting the larger rectangle into three long, thin rectangles. Then, cut each long rectangle into triangles, alternating diagonal cuts along the entire length of the piece. Repeat this process with the remaining two pieces.

8. Now that your Christmas tree shapes are cut, all that’s left to do is decorate! Start by melting the green chocolate candy melts according to the instructions on the back of the package.


9. Then, spread or pipe the melted chocolate over the top of each triangle. You can use the back of a spoon or a spatula for this step. Or fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off to drizzle the candy melts to coat.


10. Once coated with the green candy, immediately decorate the melted chocolate with sprinkles. I like to place a star sprinkle on top just like I would if I were using real Christmas tree decorations!


After that, let the chocolate cool and harden before enjoying your Rice Krispie Christmas tree treats.

Christmas Rice Krispies Treats FAQ

If you still have questions about how to make these cereal bars, you can find answers to common questions on how to make Christmas Rice Krispies treats here.

Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
Recipe details
  • 27  Cereal bars
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 15 Minutes Total time: 30 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 - 12 ounce package Rice Krispies Cereal
  • ¼ cup salted butter
  • 2 - 10 ounce packages mini marshmallows
  • 2 cups green candy melts
  • Sprinkles, to suit for decorating
Instructions

Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat on the stovetop.
Once the butter is melted, add the marshmallows. Stir continuously until the marshmallows have all melted.
Now remove the pot from heat. Mix in the cereal. Stir until all the cereal is coated in the marshmallow mixture.
Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper is hanging over the edges of the pan. Then spray with non-stick cooking spray or lightly grease with butter.
Press the cereal bar mixture into the pan. You want it to be solid and firm. Then, allow the Rice Krispies bars to cool completely.
Remove the treats from the pan by pulling up on the edges of the parchment paper. Transfer the cereal bars to a flat surface.
Use a large, sharp knife to cut the rectangle into three equal strips. Then, cut each strip into triangles to form the Christmas tree shapes.
Melt the green candy wafers according to the package instructions. After they have melting, spread or pipe the melted candy coating over the top of each triangle.
Immediately add the decorations to the Christmas tree Rice Krispies. Gently press sprinkles into the melted chocolate, then add a candy start to the top of each tree.
Rebecca D. Dillon
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