Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats (Easy Christmas Recipe)

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Every year, as the holiday season rolls around, we start thinking about those special family traditions that we need to continue (or want to start!)

A favorite holiday treat is Rice Krispie Treats because they are quick and easy to make. Today I wanted to share the cutest rice krispie treat recipe with you that’s great for Christmas time: Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats

These adorable little reindeer with tiny pretzel antlers and red M&M noses will be the hit of your Christmas party. Your friends and family will surely be asking you for this recipe!

Christmas Rice Krispie Treats Reindeer

Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats: Fun, Easy & Kids Love Them

With the tips and tricks in this recipe, you’ll appreciate that these cute little Reindeer Rice Krispies Treats are really fun and easy to make.

The simple ingredients, steps to assemble (no baking required) and easy clean-up make them a great recipe for little hands to help with. A truly yummy way of getting the whole family into the spirit of the Christmas season.

Reindeer Rice Krispies Treats

Cute Reindeer Treats Make Great Holiday Treats & Gifts

As you can imagine, they are always hit as a Christmas or holiday party treat or a snack for the kids to take to school.

You could even give them as Christmas gifts. Just put them in a little clear gift bag, tie it up with a pretty ribbon or bakers twine and add a printable gift tag (Pinterest has some great choices – many you can download for free!)

RELATED READING: Unique chocolates also make great Christmas gifts.

Reindeer Rice Krispies Ingredients 1

Ingredients for Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats

Below is the small list of ingredients you’ll need for your treats. I’ve also included quite a few ideas for substitutions.

Rice Krispies Treats 

Option 1: Buy Ready-To-Use Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats

To keep this recipe super easy and a breeze to clean up, I used ready-made Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Cereal Treats.

Kelloggs Rice Krispie Treats
Image: Kellogg’s

The Rice Krispie treats come individually packaged and are the perfect size for making these reindeer. You can find them in the snack section at the grocery store or Walmart.

And believe it or not, even though they are pre-made, they are quite yummy. I use the regular, original flavor Rice Krispie treats for this recipe.

Option 2: Try Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Treats Sheets

Another fun option is using Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treat Sheets. It’s basically just a huge sheet of krispie treats that you can cut into any size or shape you like.

Kelloggs Rice Krispie Treats Fun Sheet
Image: Kellogg’s

You can find the Rice Krispie Treat Sheets at some grocery stores, craft stores and places like Walmart or Target.

Option 3: Make Your Own Homemade Rice Krispie Treats

And of course, you can always make your own homemade rice krispie treats from scratch. If you go this route you’ll need some extra ingredients, prep time and cook time.

Homemade Rice Krispie Treats Cut
Ingredients For Homemade Rice Krispie Treats
  • 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
  • ½ stick of butter (1/4 cup), melted
  • 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows (about 5 cups)
  • my secret ingredient, vanilla! (2 tsp high quality vanilla extract or paste)
You’ll also need some extra supplies such as:
  • non-stick cooking spray
  • parchment paper (or wax paper)
  • large saucepan pot
  • spatula
  • cake pan (or cookie sheet)
  • large cutting board
  • large sharp knife or butter knife
Instructions To Prepare The Homemade Treat Recipe
  1. Grease the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Set aside.
  2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. 
  3. Reduce heat to low and add the mini marshmallows. Stir often until the marshmallows are melted and totally incorporated with the butter. Do not overcook or you’ll have hard treats.
  4. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.
  5. Turn off the heat and pour in the rice krispies cereal. Gently fold in the marshmallows mixture until all of the cereal is fully coated.
  6. Transfer the cereal mixture into the prepared baking pan. Lightly press the mixture so you have a nice even layer throughout the pan. 

Be sure to give your homemade treats time to cool completely before cutting. After cooling, cut the treats into rectangle shapes. Then follow the rest of the directions below.

Option 4: Try A Creative Flavor

Get creative with these peanut butter rice krispie treats or cake batter rice krispie treats (just leave out the sprinkles or use festive red and green sprinkles to make it an extra special holiday treat!)

If you’re a chocolate fan, you might enjoy using these chocolate-covered rice krispie treats or chocolate chip rice krispie treats.

Ingredients for Rice Krispie Reindeer

Red M&M Candies

I used a red M&M candy for the reindeer noses. I just picked all the red candies out of a big bag of candy. You may be able to find only red M&M’s available for purchase at a craft store or party store.

If you only want to have one Rudolph reindeer with a glowing nose, you could use brown M&M noses for the rest of your reindeer.

As an alternative, you could also use Skittles, Red Hots or any other small red candy you can find.

Candy Eyes 

Starting around Halloween time, candy eyes are usually pretty easy to find in grocery stores, craft stores, and places like Walmart and Target. If you can’t find them in stores, you can also check Amazon.

The candy eyes come in multiple sizes. Look for the small size, unless you really want your reindeer to have huge eyeballs which could be fun too!

White Cookie Icing

For this recipe, you only need a tiny bit of frosting to attach the eyes and nose to your treat.

I find ready-made cookie icing and frosting pouches to be super easy and convenient. I re-use them for lots of recipes where you just need a bit of frosting like these pencil cookies.

Or Use Melted Chocolate

If it’s more convenient, you can also use melted chocolate to attach the eyes and noses.

Step 1: Grab a microwave-safe bowl and melt some chocolate, white chocolate or candy melts.

Step 2: Carefully transfer the chocolate into a Ziplock bag or piping bag.

Step 3: Cut a very small bit of the tip or corner from your bag.

Step 4: Pipe the chocolate onto your reindeer treats.

Pretzels

You will need a bag of large or small twist pretzels to create the antlers for the reindeer. If you choose the larger pretzel twists, you can break them apart to create interesting shaped antlers.

If you’d like all the antlers to look the same, you may want to try the small pretzel twists. You can just break off the same small piece from each for a consistent look.

Popsicle Sticks

Adding a popsicle stick makes your reindeer treats super easy to hold. Just make sure the popsicle sticks are food safe and you’re good to go.

Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats Pin

How To Make Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats

With just a few simple steps, you can have the cutest reindeer treats ready for Christmas in no time at all.

The total time needed is only about 15 minutes. If you’re making these with your kids or family, you’ll spend most of that decorating the reindeer with the fun pretzel antlers and cute red nose.

Instructions For Making Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats

Step 1:
Unwrap your Rice Krispies Treats.

Step 2:
Insert a popsicle stick into the middle of the top of the rice krispie treat.

Step 3:
Break your pretzels into large antler pieces. Carefully press antlers into each side near the top. Be gentle – the pieces can break easily.

Step 4:
Add three dots of icing (or melted chocolate) to the rice krispies treats. You’ll need two dots for the eyes and one for the nose.

Step 5:
Press your candy eyeballs and red nose candy onto the dots of icing.

Step 6:
Allow the icing to set until hardened. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

And that’s all there is to it!

I hope you enjoy making these super cute and easy-to-make reindeer krispie treats and sharing them with your friends and family this holiday season. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Whip up some hot chocolate too with these easy recipes!
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate With Cocoa Powder
Crock Pot Hot Chocolate Recipes

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Reindeer Rice Krispies Treats

Reindeer Rice Krispies Treats

These cute little reindeer rice krispies treats are so fun and easy to make! They are perfect for a holiday party treat or a snack for the kids to take to school. You could even give them as gifts.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 package Rice Krispies Treats
  • Red M&Ms or other small red candy
  • 1 package Small Candy Eyeballs
  • 1 pouch White Cookie Icing
  • 1 bag Twist Pretzels
  • Popsicle Sticks

Instructions

  1. Unwrap your Rice Krispies Treats.
  2. Insert a popsicle stick into the middle of the top of the treat.
  3. Break your pretzels into large antler pieces. Carefully press antlers into each side near the top.  Be gentle - the pieces can break easily.
  4. Add three dots of icing - two for the eyes and one for the nose.
  5. Press your candy eyeballs and red candy onto the dots of icing.
  6. Allow the icing to set until hardened. 
  7. Enjoy!

Notes

Substitutions:

  • Melted chocolate can be used instead of icing.
  • Red Hots, Skittles or other small red candies can be used instead of M&Ms.
  • Homemade rice krispie treats may be used instead of store-bought Rice Krispie Treats.

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