Decorate green Rice Krispie Treat wreaths with red mini M&M berries and a red modeling chocolate bow. These festive treats are easy to make and will look great on your Christmas dessert table.
If you want to make some really festive-looking treats that are quick and easy to create and decorate, this recipe is for you.
You'll start by coloring our very Best Rice Krispie Treat Recipe using green food coloring.
Then, you'll shape and decorate your bright green Rice Krispie Treat wreaths using red candies like mini M&M's and red modeling chocolate or fondant bows.
In about 45 minutes, you'll have 15 wreaths to serve for dessert, to sell at a bake sale, or to stuff into stockings.
Let's make green rice crispy treat wreaths.
You'll need:
butter - For the very best flavor, we recommend you use European-style salted butter. This butter has more butterfat (more flavor) than American-style butter and will make your treats taste rich and buttery.
marshmallows - We recommend you use Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows or Campfire Stay-Puft Marshmallows.
- Many store brands of marshmallows are stickier and will make sticker treats. If you use store-brand marshmallows, you may want to add an additional 1 cup of cereal to this recipe.
- Check out our Marshmallow Conversion Chart if you don't have access to 16-ounce bags. You can find the number of marshmallows needed for our recipes.
green food coloring - You can use liquid or gel food coloring.
crispy rice cereal - Kellogg's Rice Krispies Cereal will give your treats a great flavor and crisp texture. It's our recommended brand of cereal but other crisp rice cereals will work as well.
mini red M&M candies - These tiny candies will make perfect berries for your wreaths, but you could also use red sugar pearls or red cinnamon candies.
optional edible "glue" - You may need to use something to attach the candies to your wreaths. Use red or green candy melts, clear piping gel, or corn syrup.
red modeling chocolate or fondant - You can make red bows to decorate your wreaths using 2-ingredient modeling chocolate (a.k.a. candy clay) or fondant. Get the modeling chocolate recipe on my Hungry Happenings website.
step 1 - melt the butter and marshmallows
- Begin melting 6 tablespoons of salted butter in a large saucepan set over LOW heat.
- Then, stir in 16 ounces of marshmallows.
- Allow them to melt for about 5 minutes, then stir.
- Heat a few more minutes, stirring often, until 75% have melted.
- Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir until the marshmallows completely melt.
TIP:
- By allowing the residual heat of the melted marshmallows to melt the remaining marshmallows, you ensure your marshmallows will not get too hot.
- When marshmallows are heated too much, the sugars begin to crystalize, essentially turning the marshmallows into hard candy. Over-heated marshmallows create hard Rice Krispie treats.
step 2 - color marshmallows green
- As soon as your marshmallows are melted, stir in some green food coloring until well mixed.
- If you use liquid green food coloring, use 1 teaspoon.
- If you look at the images above, you can see how I started by mixing ¼ teaspoon of green coloring into the marshmallow mixture. Then, I added another ¼ teaspoon, and another, and another. I finally got the desired color of green, once I had added 1 full teaspoon of green coloring.
- If you use gel icing coloring, start by adding a few drops of coloring, then add more until you get a nice green color.
NOTE: Make the marshmallows darker than you want the final treats to be. As you stir in the cereal, the color will dull a bit.
step 3 - mix green marshmallows with cereal
- Grease a large bowl with butter (or baking spray). This will keep the marshmallows from sticking too much!
- Fill the bowl with 7 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal.
- Pour the green marshmallows over the cereal.
- Stir until well blended and most of the cereal looks green.
- Let the cereal cool for about 5 minutes, just until it's easy to handle.
step 4 - shape and decorate the wreaths
- Scoop out 15 handfuls of green Rice Krispie treat mixture and roll them into balls.
- Then use your finger or the handle of a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to create a hole in the middle of the balls.
- Gently flatten out the rings and shape them into wreaths.
- Attach three clusters of 3 mini red M&M candies on each wreath.
- If they won't stick to the cereal, you can attach them using candy melts, clear piping gel (which is what I used), or corn syrup.
- They will stick more solidly if you use candy melts, so if you plan to bring them to a party, package them to sell at a bake sale, or give them as a gift, you might want to use melted candy melts.
- If you are just making them for dessert, piping gel or even corn syrup will work fine.
- Then, attach a modeling chocolate or fondant bow to the top of the wreath.
Modeling Chocolate Bows
You can hand-shape bows out of modeling chocolate or fondant or you can shape them using a mold as I did.
To use a mold, lightly dust it with corn starch, then press a small piece of modeling chocolate or fondant into the mold, scrape off any excess (using a thin metal spatula or knife), then press it out of the mold.
You can find the mold that I used from AliExpress here - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32274952289.html
I'll link to other silicone bow molds below.
You can find items you need to make these wreath Rice Krispie Treats from Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the links below at NO extra cost to you.
If you have any trouble making your treats, be sure to check out our How To Make Cereal Treats FAQ page for commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.
Rice Krispie Treat Wreaths
Equipment
- large saucepan
- large mixing bowl
- optional, silicone bow mold
Ingredients
- 7 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 16 ounces marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon liquid green food coloring
- 135 mini red M&M's
- 15 red modeling chocolate bows
Instructions
- Grease a large mixing bowl with butter, then pour in the Rice Krispies Cereal, and set aside.
- Cut the butter into slices and place them in a large saucepan.
- Set the pan over LOW heat and allow the butter to begin melting.
- Add the marshmallows and toss to coat.
- Stir the marshmallows occasionally until about 75% have melted. This should take 7-10 minutes.
- Remove the partially melted marshmallows from the stove and stir until melted and smooth.
- Alternatively, you can melt the marshmallows in the microwave on high power for 1 minute, then let the bowl rest in the microwave for a minute or two. Remove the bowl, and stir until melted. Heat for additional 15-second increments, stirring after each, if needed.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon of liquid green food coloring or mix in several drops of green gel coloring.
- Pour the marshmallows over the cereal and toss to coat.
- Let the cereal treat mixture cool for about 5 minutes until it's easy to handle.
- Scoop out 15 hand fulls of the cereal treat mixture and roll them into balls.
- Shape them into wreaths by creating a hole in the center and flattening the treats slightly.
- Attach three sets of 3 red mini M&M's around the wreath. If needed use melted candy melts, clear piping gel, or corn syrup to get them to stick.
- Then, attach one modeling chocolate or fondant bow to each wreath.
Notes
More Christmas Rice Krispie Treat Recipe ideas...
Rice Krispie Treat Christmas Trees
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