I am a fan of the humble Rice Krispy Treat and have spent a little time working on some slightly elevated recipes to share at parties and tailgates. This one came up today and I thought I would share what was both my most recent attempt and one of my favorites – the King Cake. The idea was to incorporate a cream cheese filling into layers of the cereal treat – the outcome was well received.
I did add sprinkles throughout but I didn’t find them to bring anything to the party. You can but I probably won’t the next time I make these. Adding the cream cheese while the cereal mixture is still warm causes it to melt into the rice krispies. That was ideal and I will do that again. It isn’t really icing so don’t worry about it melting a bit. Also – a little flake salt on the top never hurt anyone but that is up to your personal preference.
King Cake Rice Krispies
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Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 16oz Cream Cheese (2 Boxes)
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter (Softened)
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3/4 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Rice Krispies
- 4 sticks Unsalted Butter
- 3 bags Marshmallows (12oz Jet Puffed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 teaspoons Salt
- 18 cups Rice Krispies Cereal (Snap, Crackle, and Pop)
Rice Krispies (Optional)
- Food Coloring (Your choice of colors)
Directions
| Rice Krispies | |
| Step 1 | |
| In a large pot melt the 1 1/3 sticks of butter over medium heat. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Slowly incorporate the 1 bag of marshmallows until they are melted and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 salt. | |
| Step 3 | |
| [OPTIONAL] Add food coloring until the marshmallow mixture is the color you desire. We used yellow, green, and purple for Mardi Gras. | |
| Step 4 | |
| Remove the pot from the heat and incorporate 6 cups of Rice Krispies stirring constantly. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Once marshmallow and cereal are thoroughly mixed move to a baking pan. [OPTIONAL] Line sheet with wax paper. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Repeat the steps above 2-3 times for each layer you plan to make. We did three. | |
| Cream Cheese Filling | |
| Step 7 | |
| Mixed softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and spreadable. Use the Kitchenaid. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Add cream cheese mixture between layers of rice krispies. | |
