Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats
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These red velvet Rice Krispie treats are a festive version of the original, made with red velvet box cake mix, marshmallows, and topped with fun Valentine’s Day sprinkles.
A VALENTINE’S DAY TAKE ON REGULAR RICE KRISPIE TREATS
If there’s one snack I love making that is continually straying from the original, it’s Rice Krispies treats. I have probably made the classic version of Rice Krispie treats a handful of times in my life, but I much prefer the flavored variety. I’ve even turned them into brains for Halloween, which is always fun to make and eat with the kids!
Something people always love about these easy treats is how simple they are to put together. The classic recipe just requires some Rice Krispies, butter, mini marshmallows, and you’re done. And the extra fun thing about this red velvet version is that the addition of some red velvet cake mix can turn them into a Valentine’s Day treat in a snap.
I know, I know, I’m always encouraging baking from scratch here, but the thing is, sometimes a box of cake mix can be a fun addition to an already awesome treat, and it eliminates the need to dig out a bunch of ingredients, red food coloring, or dirty a bunch of dishes in the process.
INGREDIENTS FOR RED VELVET RICE KRISPIE TREATS
This ingredient list is impossibly short. You only need 4 major ingredients, and the 5th one is totally optional (though fully encouraged).
For red velvet Rice Krispies treats, you will need:
• unsalted butter
• mini-marshmallows
• red velvet cake mix (heat-treated, see below for more on this)
• Rice Krispies (or other crispy rice cereal)
• festive sprinkles
HEAT-TREATED CAKE MIX
Many people think that the reason uncooked batter is unsafe to eat is because of the raw eggs, but in reality, it is more risky to eat raw flour, as it can contain bacteria. We use heat-treated flour in my cookie dough frosting and heat-treated cake mix in my cake batter dip.
HOW TO HEAT TREAT BOXED CAKE MIX
This is pretty simple: place the cake mix in a microwave safe bowl. You’ll need ½ cup of cake mix for this recipe, so I recommend heating ¾ to 1 cup in the event some of your mix burns or clumps.
Heat the cake mix in the microwave on HIGH in 30 second increments, then stir before checking for a uniform 165ºF (74ºC) internal temperature.
Allow heat-treated mix to cool, then sift to remove any large chunks.
It is now ready to use.
HOW TO MAKE RED VELVET RICE KRISPIES TREATS
First, you’ll want to decide how you’re going to make your crispy treats. You have the option of pressing the entire mixture into a baking dish, like you would the classic Rice Krispie treats, or you can do what I did (which is my preferred method) and press the mixture into cookie cutter hearts.
You could also press the cookie cutters into the pan, but you’ll be left with a lot of scraps.
I prefer the method of using the cutter as the shape, but either way is up to you. Be sure if you’re going the cookie cutter route, you have everything to go before you start since you’ll need to be shaping warm Krispies.
SUCCESS TIP
I chose heart cutters that were at least 2 inches wide. Anything smaller will be hard to work with. This is also a great spot for the really large heart cutters! My bigger one is about 4 inches across.
STEP #1
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spray heart shaped cookie cutters OR a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set everything aside.
STEP #2
Next, melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted, then remove from the heat.
STEP #3
Stir in the heat-treated red velvet cake mix, then add Rice Krispies cereal and stir until well-coated.
STEP #4
Gently press the warm cereal mixture into heart shaped cutters (or prepared pan) with oiled or buttered hands (VERY well-oiled or buttered as this is a very sticky cereal mixture). Add sprinkles, if desired, and gently press sprinkles into tops of treats. Remove from the cutter and place on parchment to cool completely. If you put your treats into a pan, allow the pan to cool completely before cutting into desired shapes.
VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
ADD A DRIZZLE: a little white chocolate drizzle would add some flair to these classic treats! You can melt white chocolate chips or bar chocolate to get that drizzle done. You could also dip the treats into the melted chocolate for some extra fancy pizzazz. You could also use red candy melts to keep the drizzle red or add some drops of red food coloring to your white chocolate.
MAKE IT PATRIOTIC: want to use this recipe for the 4th of July? Add in some red, white, and blue sprinkles and a drizzle of white chocolate to be “stripes” for your celebration.
USE ANOTHER CAKE MIX: experiment with your favorite cake mixes to see what kind of flavors you can come up with!
MAKE FOR HALLOWEEN: believe it or not, I’ve seen lots of folks use red velvet Rice Krispies treats to look like “raw meat” for a Halloween party or April Fools’ Day. This is similar to my Rice Krispies brains! Go for gore. When red is involved, sometimes it’s a must!
MAKE THEM SUPER RED: these Rice Krispies treats have a beautiful color, but if you want them “redder,” add a few drops of red gel food coloring to deepen the color.
SUCCESS TIPS
Spray your fingers and the cutter (or cutters) you’re using every few treats to make sure nothing gets too sticky.
Work quickly but no need to rush! You’ll need to make sure the cereal stays fairly warm.
You can add the sprinkles while the treats are in the cutters or right after you pop them out. Either way is fine, just make sure the treats are still warm when you do so the sprinkles stick!
These red velvet Rice Krispies treats are perfect for the Valentine’s Day holiday, but you can certainly make them all year round. This classic treat never goes out of style!
RED VELVET RICE KRISPIE TREATS RECIPE FAQs
Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter
- 10 ounces (283g) mini-marshmallows1
- ½ cup (72g) red velvet cake mix2
- 5 cups (133g) Rice Krispies or other crispy rice cereal
- Valentine's Day sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spray heart shaped cookie cutters OR a 7×11″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Set everything aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the red velvet cake mix. Add Rice Krispies cereal and stir until well-coated.¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, 10 ounces (283g) mini-marshmallows1, ½ cup (72g) red velvet cake mix2, 5 cups (133g) Rice Krispies
- Gently press warm cereal mixture into heart shaped cutters (or prepared pan) with oiled or buttered hands. Do not force mixture in, otherwise your treats will wind up hard and crunchy. Add sprinkles, if desired, and gently press sprinkles into tops of treats. Remove from cutter and place on parchment to cool completely. If you put your treats into a pan, allow to cool completely before cutting into desired shapes. Store treats in an airtight container up to one week.Valentine's Day sprinkles
Notes
- Mini marshmallows: you can also use regular size marshmallows. Be sure you’re still using 10 ounces.
- Raw cake mix: you’ll need to heat treat your cake mix before using it. Place ¾ to 1 cup of box mix in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the cake mix in the microwave on HIGH in 30 second increments, then stir before checking for a uniform 165ºF (74ºC) internal temperature. Allow heat-treated mix to cool, then sift to remove any large chunks. It is now ready to use.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
DANG IT. Why did we not venture to the April household for Blizzard Day? You guys had it GOING ON. I am absolutely in love with thesa RKTs, Lynn! Adorbs and, I’m sure, insanely delish. What a cute way to celebrate Baby Girl!
Thanks, Leah! We would have happily had you visit us! How about I make it up to you with some tasty treats in a couple weeks?!
These are so cute!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Congrats to Cate! How exciting! Now about the food…….first of all, I love rice krispies and second of all….RED VELVET? Yum!
RIGHT?! Perfect combo!!
Sheee is the rice krispie queen! Loving these Lynn, they are tooooo cute!
These are so cute and tempting ♥
summerdaisy.net
Thank you 🙂
So fun and cute to make! I even had a question along the way and I asked and she responded very quick which I appreciated so much.. I love so many of her recipes and def recommend this one! Thank you for sharing 🤗
Thanks so much, Marci!
I made this recipe with my grandson, and it is fantastic. He’s almost 5, so if he wants more than 1 piece of something it’s a win. It can definitely be used for multiple holidays. As I was being valentine-y, grandpa and Beau were putting Christmas colored sprinkles on the 2nd half of the batch! For the summertime, you could dress them up as hamburgers!
Thank you so much, Teresa!
Thank you so much, Teresa! They are fun as “brains” at Halloween, too, haha!