Easy Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats (with Video!)

Christmas tree Rice Krispie treats are SO simple to make and kids adore the fun shape and color. If you’re scrambling for a last minute holiday treat, these are it!

Last minute Christmas parties or school events… they happen to all of us. I’m not going to lie; this food blogger often defaults to Rice Krispie treats. They’re SO easy to make (ridiculously easy), they’re okay for my nut-free kids, and they’re relatively neat.

Meaning when my toddlers eat them, I won’t have to change their clothes. Or their teacher won’t have to spend 10 minutes cleaning up the table. And chairs. And floor.

I’ve seen a couple versions of Rice Krispie treat Christmas trees, but they’ve all been cone-shaped. These are way easier to make, and I’d argue they are just as cute. It’s as easy as dying them green, cutting them into triangles, and sticking a pretzel stick in them.

The hardest part is getting the pretzel stick to not break.

Seriously, that’s the hardest part. I think you can handle this. Also – gentle but firm pressure is the key to the pretzel sticks. Plus if you break any, you have two options: a shorter tree trunk or a delicious pretzel snack.

I’d say this is a win-win situation, wouldn’t you?

If you can’t quite imagine how to cut the pan of rice krispie treats, I made this little graphic to help! You end up with a couple of half trees to use for quality control and taste testing. It’s still way easier (and way less waste) than cutting them with a cookie cutter.

Note: Yield will depend on how skinny you cut your trees. You should be able to cut 16-20 trees from one pan.

My kids adored these – they were absolutely obsessed. The cookies did turn the kids’ mouths green, but that’s part of the fun! They also turned other things green but maybe we won’t talk about that? Okay, good.

If you’ve got a few extra minutes on your hands and you really want to impress the other parents at the school Christmas party, give sandwich cookie snowmen a try. Another quick and easy holiday treat is cookies and cream fudge. Holiday Oreos give it a fun and festive color.

If you’re looking for more of a chocolate fix, these Santa hat brownies are pretty close to the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Okay – these reindeer cupcakes definitely are putting up some strong competition for cutest holiday treat. Let’s just eat both and call it a tie, okay?

Now there’s no excuse for not being that mom that brings darling treats into school. Well, besides kids, sleep, and general life craziness. Those are all fantastic excuses. But you can definitely handle these adorable Rice Krispie treat Christmas trees.

You can do it!

PS: This gel food coloring is the type I like to use.

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Easy Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats (with Video!)

Yield: 20 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Christmas tree Rice Krispie treats are SO simple to make and kids adore the fun shape and color. If you’re scrambling for a last minute holiday treat, these are it!

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pkg. (10 oz.) marshmallows ( about 40 regular sized, or 4 cups mini marshmallows)
• green food coloring
• 6 cups Rice Krispies toasted rice cereal
• sprinkles
• 20 small pretzel sticks

Instructions

1. Grease or spray a 9x13-inch pan and set aside.
2. In a large pan, melt butter and marshmallows over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once it almost smooth and melted, add green food coloring little by little until you achieve desired tree color. Once completely smooth and perfectly green, remove from heat and immediately stir in Rice Krispies. Continue to stir until all the cereal is coated.
3. Press evenly into prepared pan (I always spray my hand with nonstick cooking spray to do this, but you can also use a piece of wax paper). Immediately sprinkle with sprinkles. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.
4. Make a cut down the middle of the pan (the long way). Then, cut each of those rows into triangles (you should have 4 scraps leftover, one at each side of each row).
5. Insert pretzel stick into bottom of triangles to form trunk.

Notes

• Normally, I advise pressing Rice Krispie treats into the pan very lightly. However, with these trees, press them in a little more firmly so they hold together well and keep their shape.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 Christmas tree
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 403mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g

RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.

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