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Give the classic homemade Rice Krispies Treats a festive holiday upgrade with these Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats. Loaded with mini chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, and a splash of peppermint extract, they’re the perfect mix of crispy, chewy, minty, and chocolaty. This easy Christmas dessert is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
These candy cane Rice Krispie treats—also known as mint chocolate Rice Krispie treats—are a must-make for the holiday season. They’re fun, festive, and naturally gluten-free, making them ideal for Christmas parties, classroom treats, cookie trays, and sweet neighbor gifts. A simple no-bake holiday dessert that always disappears fast!
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All things peppermint
I use crushed peppermint candy in my recipe because, let’s face it, no one has time to crush all those peppermint starlight candies or candy canes right now. They sell bags of crushed peppermint at the grocery store this time of year. You can find them on the baking aisle or a holiday endcap in well stocked stores. You can find it year round on Amazon.
But maybe you have leftover candies that you want to use up. Don’t fret, we can deal with those too.
Candy canes or hard peppermint starlight candies: These can be crushed in a food processor; a smaller food processor will work better than a large one. A powerful blender will also crush them up. Or, you can go all old school manual on the candies by adding them to a large plastic ziptop bag. Then pop that bag into a second one – the sharp edges on the peppermint will rip through plastic bags as it’s crushed. Zip the top of the bag closed. Then crush the candies with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer until they’re nicely crushed.
Peppermint extract: You want peppermint extract for these bars, not mint extract. Mint extract will have a toothpaste flavor instead of a bright festive flavor. Mint extract also has a much stronger flavor. Peppermint oil can also be used in place of extract, but it’s thicker and more intense in flavor than extract, so just use a couple of drops.
Can I leave out the peppermint extract? Yes, you can. The bars will be less minty, but will still have nice flavor from the crushed peppermint candies. You may even want to increase the amount of peppermint candies inside the bars.
Pro tip: Peppermint extract varies in strength depending on the brand, so be sure to taste and adjust to your personal preference — adding a little more if you want a stronger, bolder peppermint flavor. Watkins and Nielsen Massey are generally considered to be a bit stronger than other brands. I typically use McCormick because it’s available at most grocery stores, and is always good quality.
You can also add a drop or two of peppermint essential oil to the melted chocolate on top of the bars. Or, use mint chocolate chips or melted peppermint bark to drizzle on top of the bars to up the minty flavor.
By the way, if you love peppermint like I do, you’ll want to check out my Pinterest board of all the peppermint treats I find!
How to make
These are your basic classic Rice Krispies treats with a few additions to up the flavor and festive feel. The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below. Be sure to scroll down to it. I have some tips and tricks in the post to help you get the best treats you can, and these tips will help you make any Rice Krispies squares.
Note: Rice Krispies is a trademarked product of The Kellogg Company, but you can make this recipe with any brand of crispy rice cereal you like. Though I do find that Kellogg’s creates the best quality treats.
Grab your pan. These make nicely sized squares from a 9×13 pan. You could also make thicker bars in a 9×9 pan or an 8×8 pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. This will make it easy to remove the treats after they’ve cooled, and it also makes clean up a breeze. Yes, you can skip lining the pan if you want; it’s totally up to you.
Get all of the ingredients ready. I measure out the marshmallows, the rice cereal, the chocolate chips, etc. and have them all ready to be poured in. The process goes so quickly, it’s a great help to have everything prepared.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Don’t use a high heat, or the marshmallows will get hard. Then add the marshmallows and stir constantly until they’re almost fully melted. I like to take the pot off the heat when just a few small pieces remain; the residual warmth will finish melting them without overcooking.
The biggest tip I’ve learned in making rice crispy treats is to use fresh marshmallows. Fresh ones will give you a nice soft treat. Stale marshmallows will make the treats hard and less flavorful. Take a look at the bag when you buy them – are the marshmallows sticking together inside or are they individual and loose in the bag. Squeeze them a bit – are they soft or hard? You want the bag of soft loose marshmallows.
Stir in peppermint extract. I have you stir in the extract at this point so it gets evenly distributed.
Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated.
Fold in mini chocolate chips and ¼ cup crushed peppermint candies and stir to combine. You want light pockets of chocolate throughout, so don’t stir too much.
With buttered hands or a spatula, lightly press mixture into prepared pan, but don’t squish it too much. When I was a kid, my mom always had me stick my hand inside a plastic bag and butter the outside of the bag. This was to keep my hands nice and clean.
Make the chocolate topping drizzle. Place chocolate chips and oil (the oil will keep the chocolate shiny and from getting too hard) in a small bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate on top of Rice Krispie treats and sprinkle crushed peppermint candy on top. Let sit until chocolate is set, or place the pan in the fridge for a little while until the chocolate just sets (don’t leave them in too long or the treats will get hard).
Cut into squares using a sharp knife. You can warm the knife by running it under hot warm for a little while to help make clean cuts. Also, buttering the knife will help with clean cuts. You can cut them into however many squares you like – 16 bars, 12 larger bars (this is what I made in the pictures), or 25 smaller bars. Or make triangle shapes that might look more like Christmas trees and decorate them with some green sugar sprinkles.
Storage
Peppermint Krispie Treats are best soon after they’re made, but can be kept on the counter in an airtight container, or cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, for up to a week.
I don’t recommend refrigerating or freezing these bars, as the texture will suffer.
Can I make these vegan?
Yes, I’ve had some great vegan crispy treats. Just sub in equal amounts of vegan butter or coconut oil and vegan marshmallows if you want.
More Christmas treats
I hope these treats bring you holiday cheer! For more festive treats, be sure to check out my Candy Canes Cookies, Butter Mint Candies, Peppermint Magic Bars, and Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Trees.
And check out my collection of great Christmas cookie exchange ideas. And you’ll love my Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats.
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Recipe
Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter plus extra to butter pan
- 45 large marshmallows from a 12-ounce bag, or about 5 ½ cups mini marshmallows
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 6 cups Rice Krispie-style cereal
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint candies
- ½ cup chocolate chips semi-sweet, dark, or peppermint
- 1 tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint candy
Instructions
- Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper, and lightly butter bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the paper.
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
- Stir in peppermint extract. Add Rice Krispies and stir until well coated. Fold in mini chocolate chips and ¼ cup crushed peppermint candies and stir to combine. You want light pockets of chocolate throughout, so don’t stir too much. With buttered hands or a spatula, press mixture into prepared pan.
- Place chocolate chips and oil in a small bowl. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate on top of Rice Krispie treats and sprinkle crushed peppermint candy on top. Let sit until chocolate is set, or place the pan in the fridge to set the chocolate more quickly. Cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Debi
I just love the festive twist on the classic, and rice krispies treats are so easy to make! I know you’ll love them as much as I do! Debi, author, Life Currents