How to Make Rice Krispies Treats

How do decorator’s make all of those crazy, gravity defying cake pieces that bring about ‘ooh’s and awh’s”?  They use Rice Krispies treats!  Or cereal treats as Cake Boss likes to say.

Using Rice Krispies treats as decorated cake accents is sometimes easier than using actual cake.  The pieces are lighter, but sturdier, so they can be molded, shaped and positioned at difficult angles.  Pieces of the Rice Krispies treats are solid (due to the marshmallow component) and can act as solid bases that supports can be inserted into.

Some people use pre-made cereal bars, but making your own from scratch is super simple and worth the extra work . . . especially if you’re just going to enjoy them as a low fat snack.

Ingredients for Rice Krispies Treats

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz/250g, about 40) regular marshmallows or 5 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal or no-name rice cereal
I also add some vanilla extract to mine, which is optional.

You will also need a buttered (greased) 9×13 baking pan.

The first step is to melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the marshmallows and continue to stir until the marshmallows have melted.  Add the vanilla at this point if you are using it.  Once the mixture is melted, remove it from the heat, and add the rice cereal.  Mix it until all of the rice cereal is coated.  Transfer to the buttered pan, and allow to cool.

*If you are using the rice cereal to make certain shapes for cakes, you may want to place them into the desired shaped container (e.g. a bowl if you want it round etc).  Once it is hard it is a little bit more difficult to manipulate, but much easier to carve.