Festive Fruity Rice Krispies

Has anyone noticed how many things have celebrated a 100 year anniversary this year? Let’s see, there’s Oreo, that came out with a new cookie with a funfetti cream filling (I never was able to find those festive Oreos), and then those adorable pestering Girl Scouts celebrated 100 years of selling cookies (I believe they also came out with a new cookie. A lemon sandwich cookie possibly?). This past April was the 100^th anniversary of the loss of the Titanic (I absolutely love the history of the Titanic. It’s so tragic and fascinating. It’s one of the few events in history that I love to research on my own). Also, this coming August some pretty spectacular things will be celebrating one hundred years. For instance, on the 24^th of August, Alaska will be celebrating it’s 100^th year of establishment (Baked Alaska anyone?) and the 15^th marks Julia Child’s 100^th birthday.

Ya see? So many 100s that are being celebrated this year. So, why am I rambling on about that number? Well, it’s because this is my 100^th post! Yes! I finally made it to 100. I actually never thought I would get here. But I keep on baking and sharing, not to mention I’ve also fallen in love with some pretty amazing blogs that inspire me every day.

When I saw these Rice Krispie Treats, I KNEW that I had to make them. They were just so pretty and festive looking. I couldn’t resist. I didn’t even really bother looking at the ingredient list; I just saved them on foodgawker and continued to browse. Then one day I saw my post count slowly creeping up toward that 100 mark, and I thought I should do something special. Then those lovely, cake-like Rice Krispie Treats propped into my head.

I usually end up halving recipes because my family has this thing where they take one of something I make, and never touch it again. So I’m often left to finish off a dozen of (insert whatever here) before it does stale. So, my heart kind of sunk when I finally did take a peek at the ingredient list. It calls for ¼ cup of cake mix, that alone kind of put me off from the recipe because I didn’t want to buy cake mix just for ¼ cup, and I certainly wasn’t going to buy it for two tablespoons, no way! So, I improvised, and I think what I came up with is one of the best Rice Krispie Treats I’ve ever eaten. Not only that, but they look just as festive as the Cake Better version Naomi came up with.

Enjoy!

Festive Fruity Rice Krispie Treats
Inspired from Bakers Royal
Makes one 9x9 inch square pan

Rice Layer Ingredients
2 ½ cups (122 grams) mini marshmallows
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tbsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups (86 grams) Rice Krispie Cereal

Fruity Pebble Layer Ingredients
1 ¼ cup (61 grams) mini marshmallows
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 ½ cups (65 grams) Fruity Pebbles Cereal

Garnish
1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp. rainbow sprinkles

Directions
Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

To Make the Rice Layer: place the mini marshmallows and butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the mini marshmallows have completely melted. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the Rice Krispie Cereal until combined and all of the cereal has been coated in the melty marshmallow. Pour all of the rice cereal mixture into the prepared pan. The mixture will be very sticky, so you may want to moisten or grease your hands to aid in spreading the sticky mixture out evenly.

To Make the Fruity Pebble Layer: place the mini marshmallows and butter in a sauce pan on medium-low heat. Pour in all of the Fruity Pebble Cereal and stir to combine. Once the marshmallow and cereal have been completely combined, pour the fruity mixture on top of the rice mixture. With your hands, spread the fruity cereal mixture evenly over the rice layer. Set the pan aside for at least 20 minutes before adding the garnishes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water. Cut the Rice Krispie Treats into squares (or stars or circles…whatever floats your boat). Dip the tops of the treats into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle some of the rainbow sprinkles on top of the chocolate dipped treats. You can eat them now (with creamy melty chocolate to lick off your fingers) or you can wait about an hour for the chocolate to set.