Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats. What’s not to love here? These are one of my all-time favorite holiday treats because they’re kind of fancy, yet so super easy to make and everyone loves them.
Ingredients Needed
- mini marshmallows
- butter – no substitutions!
- Rice Krispie-style cereal
- peppermint extract
- semi-sweet dark, or peppermint chocolate chips
- white chocolate chips
- vegetable oil
- candy canes – you’ll want to crush these, and then separate the “dust” from the “bigger chunks”.
How to Make Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats
- Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly butter the bottom and sides.
- Crush candy canes in a plastic bag; separate larger pieces from the peppermint “dust.”
- Melt butter in a large bowl, add marshmallows, and heat until smooth.
- Stir in Rice Krispies, peppermint extract, and a few tablespoons of candy cane dust.
- Press mixture into prepared pan with buttered hands.
- Melt white and dark chocolate chips (separately) with a little oil, stirring until smooth.
- Drizzle chocolates over the treats and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
- Let chocolate set (chill if needed), then cut into squares.
Storage & Other Tips
- Sizing: I wrote this recipe for a 10oz bag of marshmallows, because that’s a common size. If you make them in a 9×13 pan as written, they will be on the thinner side. If you like your Rice Krispie treats thicker, you can make them in smaller pan, or do as I did for the ones photographed here and 1 1/2x the Rice Krispie part of the recipe. That works out perfect for the brand of Kroger marshmallows that I buy that come in a 15oz bag.
- Line your pan. It makes it SO much easier to cut out nice bars without having to smash half the pan in first. I used tin foil here, but you can also use parchment. Once that’s in place, use butter to grease the bottom of your pan as well. If you use non-stick spray, it will leave a foul tasting residue on your delicious little treats and then they won’t be delicious anymore.
- Huge peppermint fan? You can also add a little peppermint oil (not extract) to the chocolate, or use melted mint chocolate chips instead of regular.
- Chocolate streaks: when drizzling the chocolate, I like to use a spoon and let big chunks of the chocolate fall on there. It’s yummier that way.
- Use a sharp knife to cut. Warming the knife slightly and coating it with butter helps create clean, smooth edges.
- Press mixture gently: Lightly grease your hands or spatula with butter to press the crispy mix into the pan without compressing it too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make the bars thicker?
Yes! If you prefer thicker treats, either use a smaller pan or increase the Rice Krispies and marshmallow mixture by 1½×, especially if your marshmallow bag is larger than 10 oz.
Why butter instead of spray the pan?
Butter prevents that weird taste from nonstick sprays and still makes it easy to remove the treats cleanly from the pan .
What’s the best way to melt and layer the chocolates?
Melt each chocolate with a touch of oil in short microwave bursts or over a double boiler. Drizzle or spoon on and refrigerate between layers so they don’t blend together.
How should I store them?
Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–4 days.
Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats
These Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats are perfect and festive for the holiday season! See the recipe notes for lots of tips.
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 10 – 11 ounce bag mini marshmallows see notes
- 4 tablespoons butter no substitutions, plus extra to butter pan
- 6 cups Rice Krispie-style cereal
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract more if desired; I like a little extra; see notes
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips semi-sweet, dark, or peppermint
- 3 tablespoons white chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon vegetable oil divided
- 3-4 candy canes crushed, medium-sized
Instructions
- Line a 9×13 pan with foil or parchment paper, and lightly butter bottom and about 1 inch up the sides.
- Place unwrapped candy canes in a heavy duty plastic bag and smash until crushed. Pour into bowl and gently shake so large pieces settle on top and “dust” settles on bottom. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a very large bowl in the microwave. Add marshmallows and stir to coat. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. (You can do that whole process on the stovetop as well.)
- Add Rice Krispies, peppermint extract, and a few tablespoons of candy cane “dust” and stir to evenly combine. With buttered hands, press mixture into prepared pan.
- Place white chocolate chips and ⅛ teaspoon oil in a small bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Repeat same process with semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
- Drizzle both chocolates on top of Rice Krispie treats and sprinkle candy canes on top. Let sit until chocolate is set, place pan in fridge to speed process along. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
- Sizing: I wrote this recipe for a 10oz bag of marshmallows, because that’s a common size. If you make them in a 9×13 pan as written, they will be on the thinner side. If you like your Rice Krispie treats thicker, you can make them in smaller pan, or do as I did for the ones photographed here and 1 1/2x the Rice Krispie part of the recipe. That works out perfect for the brand of Kroger marshmallows that I buy that come in a 15oz bag.
- Huge peppermint fan? You can also add a little peppermint oil (not extract) to the chocolate, or use melted mint chocolate chips instead of regular.
- Chocolate streaks: when drizzling the chocolate, I like to use a spoon and let big chunks of the chocolate fall on there. It’s yummier that way.
- Use a sharp knife to cut. Warming the knife slightly and coating it with butter helps create clean, smooth edges.
- Press mixture gently: Lightly grease your hands or spatula with butter to press the crispy mix into the pan without compressing it too much.
Nutrition
Calories: 98kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 81mg, Potassium: 38mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 788IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 98kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
I will be making these for my family get together on Thursday! I already bought the marshmallows 🙂
Holy stinking cow! These are by far my favorite rice crispie treats ever. I too had the candy cane kisses and no white chocolate chips, so I substitutes the kisses. They worked wonderfully but it’s best to drizzle the chocolate first and then the kisses because the kisses turn the same color as the rice crispie treats, and then you loose the pretty factor. I had crushed candy canes left from the peppermint bark popcorn so that was easy-peasy.
Thank you for the great recipes.
I have made these 3 times already!! I made some for my son’s school party, gifted some, and am sharing them tonight at my MOPs meeting. I couldn’t find the peppermint marshmallows at first, so the first batch was made with regular. A Walmart in another county had them, and they DEFINITELY make the difference!! Yummmmmmo! I’m doing a blog post to share the recipe (and linking it back to you, of course!) Thanks so much for the idea!!
This looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try it and share it with friends and my husbands co-workers 🙂
Oh gosh, I loooove peppermint! YUM! Funny thing is I was at WalMart earlier tonight and when I was by the marshmallows I saw a little green out of the corner of my eye. Got all excited because I thought they were mint marshmallows but they were lime. Then I came home and saw this post, how funny. Maybe I need to go back and look harder for peppermint ones!
I’m making these for my hubby’s work Christmas party tomorrow. I can’t try them because I’m gluten-free but I look forward to smelling them! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Dawn, just curious, where it the gluten here, I was going to mke them for my gluten less friend, should I not?
After much searching through Walmart I almost gave up on making this treat, thinking all your other loyal readers in Spokane had beaten me to the delectable marshmallows. But lo and behold there were a few bags of the jumbo flat peppermint marshmallows left and now the goodness is chillin’ in my fridge, waiting for the family to love them. (Oh and I used the special soft peppermint candy cane sticks for the top crushed stuff.) That was so much fun to make and even though the pink color kind of grosses me out I have to say they turned out pretty too! The next to try will be the chocolate peppermint marshmallows ’cause they had LOTS of those! Thank you and Merry Christmas!!!
These are soooooo good. I also found at WalMart Andes soft peppermint baking chips that I sprinkled on top instead of crushed candy canes. Yummy!!!!
Have you seen the Cinnamon Bun marshmallows? Used them in your recipe & drizzled with melted Hersheys Cnnamon Chips & white chocolate. Now I’m making the peppermint ones….YUM!!
I made these last night (though I couldn’t find the awesome special marshmallows so I added almost a teaspoon of not-very-strong peppermint extract and a couple drops of red food coloring) and they are SO AMAZING! I don’t know if I can go back to regular Rice Krispies Treats! They will also be great the rest of the year without coloring or dyed green and topped with just the semisweet chips – or Andes mints!