Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Spiced Rice Krispie Treats
Chewy no-bake Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Spiced Rice Krispie Treats…aka your new go-to Christmas time snack! It’s a festive twist on everyone’s childhood favorite treat. Crispy rice cereal, swirled with gingerbread spiced marshmallows, a splash of vanilla, and topped with rich dark chocolate. But, the magic doesn’t stop there. After the bars are set, they’re cut into cute little gingerbread house shapes and frosted with a simple decorator’s frosting. There’s no baking needed, and it’s essentially effortless! It’s truly the perfect easy snack to enjoy this holiday season.
For over 20 years, my mom and I have been perfecting our recipe for rice krispie treats that are better than the store-bought ones. These sweet marshmallow treats have always been a staple in our house, just like our Homemade Ding-Dongs! We have spent literal years refining the process, making it more streamlined and easy, but at the same time, ensuring that the end product is even more delicious than ever before.
Our recipe for these Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats is oh-so simple, but we have included some tips and tricks that we have learned over the years to help you achieve the perfect treat every time.
What Makes These Rice Krispie Treats Different Than Store-Bought?
First of all, these marshmallow treats are infused with a hint of vanilla extract that provides a subtle undertone. Also, to give them a super fun and festive twist, we added just the right amount of gingerbread spice to add a delicious warmth to every bite.
We decided to top them with a rich dark chocolate that not only cuts the sweetness of these rice krispie treats, but also really enhances the flavor of the gingerbread spice. Plus, it makes decorating these little houses SO much more fun!
The Secret is in The Ratio Between Cereal and Marshmallow
While it may sound silly, this is actually one of the most important things when it comes to rice krispie treats. Too much cereal can make these bars dry, hard, and unenjoyable. Too much marshmallow leaves you with a sticky mess that just falls apart.
Luckily for you, we have put in the work so you don’t have to. We found that, for a 9×13 inch pan, 10 ounces of mini marshmallows (this is super important!) and 9 cups of cereal is the perfect amount. This provides a perfectly gooey, but still firm bar that’s the perfect treat to enjoy this holiday season.
Grab These 6 Super Simple Ingredients
Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Salted Butter – Adding richness and flavor, salted butter is also convenient because it cuts out the extra step of adding salt.
- Miniature Marshmallows – The sweet component of these bars, marshmallows are also the “glue” that holds them together.
- Gingerbread Spice – For an extra kick of warming spice, nothing beats gingerbread.
- Rice Krispies Cereal – Adding crunch to these treats, rice krispies are what they’re all about. You can’t make Rice Krispie Treats without rice krispies cereal.
- Vanilla Extract – Adding a subtle undertone, vanilla extract is the perfect choice to enhance the flavor.
- Bittersweet Chocolate – While toning down the sweetness from the marshmallows just a bit, bittersweet chocolate adds a whole other layer of yumminess.
Let’s Make Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats!
Step 1: Melt the marshmallows
Combine butter, marshmallows, and spice in a medium stockpot. Heat and stir over medium-low heat until melted, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 2: Mix in cereal
Immediately stir in rice krispies and vanilla.
Step 3: Press into pan
Scrape into prepared pan. Spread evenly and press into pan. Set aside.
Step 4: Melt chocolate & set
Heat chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments, stirring well after each, until melted and smooth.
Immediately spread on top of rice krispie mixture. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is set.
Step 5: Cut & decorate
Using a 4 inch cookie cutter, cut out shapes of houses. Decorate as desired.
FAQ’s and Troubleshooting
There are a couple of things that could be causing the marshmallow treats to become hard! The main culprit tends to be stale marshmallows. Always check your marshmallows before using! If your marshmallows are a-okay, then it might be that your marshmallows were cooked over too high of heat/for too long. It typically only takes about 5 minutes for the marshmallows to melt over medium-low heat!
Absolutely! This is actually one of our tricks to have these done in less than an hour. So, if you want these marshmallow treats to set up a little faster, you can place them in the fridge to allow them to chill quickly! Just don’t leave them in the fridge for longer than 1 hour.
While fresh is definitely better, these marshmallow treats can be frozen. More info on this below!
This recipe and it’s amounts are specifically for rice krispies cereal. If you use a different cereal, we cannot guarantee the outcome.
Decorating Ideas
Looking for some inspo? We’ve got you covered! Here are a few of the best ways to decorate these gingerbread treats.
- Decorator’s frosting. Add a festive flair by decorating your gingerbread houses to look like actual gingerbread houses!
- Sprinkles. Holiday sprinkles like holly leaves or snowflakes can add a cute element on top of these bars.
- Change the shape. Don’t have a gingerbread house cutter? No worries! Cut these rice krispie treats into any festive shape you have on hand. Just remember, depending on the size of your cutter, you may wind up with more or less bars!
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When you make these Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats, be sure to leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Chocolate Covered Gingerbread Spiced Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 10 ounces marshmallows
- 1 ½ teaspoon gingerbread spice*
- 9 cups rice crispies cereal
- 1 ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Line a 9 inch x 13 inch pan with parchment paper, letting the parchment come up over the top of the pan.
- Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine butter, marshmallows, and spice in a medium stockpot.
- Heat and stir over medium-low heat until melted, about 4-5 minutes.
- Immediately stir in rice krispies and vanilla.
- Scrape into prepared pan.
- Spread evenly and press into pan. Set aside.
- Heat chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments, stirring well after each, until melted and smooth.
- Immediately spread on top of rice krispie mixture.
- Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is set.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut out shapes of houses.
- Decorate as desired.
Notes + Tips!
- *If you can’t find a gingerbread spice blend, you can make your own! Whisk together 2 Tbsp ground ginger, 4 tsps ground cinnamon, 2 ½ tsps ground allspice, 1 ⅛ tsps ground nutmeg, and 2 ¼ tsps ground cloves. This will make more than you need. Be sure to store the rest for later use, like in our Homemade Gingerbread Cookies!
- Do NOT over cook your marshmallows! This is so important. If the marshmallows are over-cooked, they will result in a hard/unpleasant bar. We recommend that you take the marshmallows off the heat as soon as almost all of the marshmallows are melted. If you still see 2 or 3 marshmallows that aren’t melted, that’s okay! Go ahead and take it off the heat. Be sure to use the photos in the post above as a reference!
- Be sure to WORK QUICKLY! This is something that is so important. Marshmallows are like any other candy. Once they start cooling, they become almost impossible to work with.
- Don’t skip greasing your spatula. This helps keep the marshmallow from sticking so much.
- Be careful to not over-mix! I know it sounds a bit silly, but you really only need to mix until the cereal is combined with the melted marshmallows. If you keep mixing, you may risk breaking the cereal and/or allowing the marshmallows to cool too much.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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