I'm a total wreck when it comes to making anything in the kitchen. When it comes to baking, I tend to shudder at the thought of allowing my kids to take over my stand mixer or take a pan of cookies out of the oven, because if they're anything like me (and I know they are), they're going to make a huge mess. With Easter right around the corner, I was sweating trying to find a simple and easy dessert to make with my kiddos. Luckily, this easy Easter snack for kids is delicious and adorable, and it looks like exactly what I need to get my kids in the kitchen under the guise of baking, but without disastrous results.
Created by Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life, a mom of three and blogger who loves to bake amazing treats, the recipe for Easter Rice Krispies Treats is one of the easiest kid-friendly dessert recipes I've ever seen. Filled with pastel sprinkles and chocolate coated candies in spring colors, these Easter treats are bright and fun. They're perfect for taking to Easter gatherings at school, church, the office, or with family members. Best of all — they're no-bake, which means no messing with a hot oven. This is especially wonderful for moms of kids who are too young to handle hot dishes or too impatient to wait an entire hour for a pie to bake and then another for it to cool off. And who can really blame them when they're waiting to eat delicious Easter treats?
While you don't have to put anything in the oven to bake, these treats do require melting butter and marshmallows in a pan on the stove. But that is definitely the most complex step and one that kids can easily help out with. Once the butter and marshmallow mixture is melted, add in rice cereal and stir until all of the cereal is coated. When the mixture is cooled (about 3 to 4 minutes) stir in the pastel colored candies and sprinkles, along with more marshmallows. This stirring step is where kids shine. They can stir, stir, stir until all of the candied deliciousness is mixed up.
Once the candy treats and sprinkles are completely incorporated into the mixture, spoon it into a greased baking dish to set for about 30 minutes before slicing and digging in. The colored candies and sprinkles alongside fluffy white marshmallows will really pop through the tan cereal to create a scrumptious treat that is as bright and fun as it is tasty.
According to Jocelyn at Inside BruCrew Life, the key to making these Easter treats soft and gooey is to use plenty of marshmallows. She mentioned on her website that extra marshmallows will make "pockets" of soft goodness that will surely melt right in your mouth. She also recommended using less rice cereal than other recipes might call for, and not packing the mixture down into the pan too tightly, as that will create a harder, crunchier bar.
These delightful Easter treats are so easy to make that your kids will be hopping around and begging to make more once the first batch has been eaten. Take your treats to the next level by cutting them into shapes with cookie cutters or wrapping in pastel-colored wax paper to hand out to friends and neighbors or give out at school Easter parties. Don't forget to snap a picture of the finished product to post to social media because these Easter treats are so pretty, they'll have all of your friends asking when you learned how to rock springtime desserts like a pro.
