4tablespoonssalted butter(use European-style butter for best flavor)
10ounces(284 grams) mini marshmallows
1cup(6 ounces or 170 grams) bright white candy melts
Red Rice Krispie Treat Layer
4cups(4 ounces or 113 grams) Rice Krispies Cereal
3tablespoonssalted butter butter
4cups(7.2 ounces or 204 grams) peppermint mini marshmallows
½cup(3 ounces or 85 grams) red candy melts
7mini candy canes or 2 ½ large candy canes
optionalred food coloring (to make the red brighter)
Instructions
Grease your mixing bowls, silicone spatulas, and baking tray with butter (preferable) or baking spray.
White Rice Krispie Treat Layer
Fill one of the mixing bowls with 6 cups of cereal.
Slice the butter and begin melting it in a medium-large saucepan set over LOW heat.
Stir in the mini marshmallows and bright white candy melts.
Heat, stirring often, until about 75% of the marshmallows and candy wafers have melted. Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir until completely melted. This will ensure your treats are perfectly chewy, not hard.
Pour this mixture over the bowl of cereal and stir until well combined.
Spread this mixture into the well-greased 13-inch by 18-inch pan and flatten it into an even layer. Don't compress the layer too much, crushing the cereal, or your treats will be hard and flat.
Red Rice Krispie Treat Layer
Pour 4 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal into a greased mixing bowl. Crush 7 mini candy canes into fine crumbs and stir into the cereal.
Heat 3 tablespoons of salted butter over LOW heat.
Add the mini peppermint marshmallows and red candy melts, stirring often until 75% have melted. Then, remove the pan from the heat and stir until melted. If desired, stir in a few drops of red food coloring to brighten the color.
Pour this mixture over the cereal and stir until well combined.
Spread the red mixture over the white layer in the pan. Flatten it into an even layer.
Immediately, remove the large treat from the pan. Loosen the treats around the edges using a thin spatula or knife and then slide the treat out onto a large cutter board. If you don't have a large cutting board, cut the large treat in half while in the pan and then slide half out onto the cutting board.
Cut off about ½ inch on all four sides of the treat to remove the jagged edges.
If you haven't already, cut the large treat in half and then cut those two treats into ¾-inch wide by 12 ½-inch long strips. You'll have a little excess after you cut the strips that you can enjoy as a snack. Then, stack 9 of the strips together. You'll end up with two large red and white striped treats. Refer to the step-by-step images in the blog post for a detailed description of this step. https://howtomakecerealtreats.com/candy-cane-rice-krispie-treats/
Now, cut those red and white striped treats into ¾-inch strips so you have 9 layers of red and white in each strip.
Shape each of those strips into candy canes. As you curve the top edge of the candy cane, compress the treat so the layers hold together.
Set the treats on parchment paper or wax paper and allow them to cool and firm up so that they hold their shape for about an hour.
Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Storage
Store your candy cane rice crispy treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze in zip-top bags or an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Tips
Do not overfill your cups when measuring the cereal or your treats may be too dry to hold together in layers. Scrape all the marshmallows out of your pans to ensure your cereal treat layers stick together. Be sure to check out my step-by-step tutorial to see how to cut and shaped the red and white striped candy canes.
Substitutions
If you can't find peppermint marshmallows, use plain marshmallows and stir in ¼ teaspoon of peppermint extract.