Let’s Make Rice Krispie Treats with Peeps for Easter! With the help of People candy, Rice Krispie Easter Egg Treats could be a fun Easter twist on the traditional Rice Krispie Treats! And making Peeps Rice Krispie treats is way more fun than plain old marshmallow treats. Kids will have a blast making this Easter treat.
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How to Make Peeps Rice Krispie Treats for Easter
I love how this idea could start with pre-made crispy rice treats, but we thought it would be fun to make our own, featuring yellow, pink, and purple marshmallow chicks and bunnies.
What a fun twist on a classic treat. This is one of the funnest recipes using Peeps Marshmallows.
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Let’s Make Rice Krispie Treats with Peeps! Not only are these the perfect treat for your Easter dessert table, but they’re also a fun recipe to hold onto to use up any leftover Peeps after Easter!
Ingredients needed to make these Peeps Rice Krispie Treats
How to Make Peeps Rice Krispie Treat recipe recipe
Step 1
Microwave the marshmallow candy pieces for 25-30 seconds to melt them (the little pink bunnies will be all puffy and a bit disfigured).
step 2
Add the melted butter, then stir until you have a smooth pink melted marshmallow concoction. If it’s still a bit clumpy, put it back in the microwave for a few seconds.
step 3
Add the cereal and spread on a greased baking tray or piece of aluminum foil. Our egg shaped cookie cutter isn’t very deep, so I made sure our cooled crispy layer wasn’t too deep to cut.
step 4
Once it has firmed up a bit, help the children cut out the egg shapes with the cutter. If you don’t wait too long, you can even reshape some of the outer pieces into a different egg shape. We were able to make 4 complete eggs using a recipe above.
step 5
Repeat with yellow chicks and purple bunnies. This can make up to a dozen 3 color crunchy rice treats, ready for frosting!
Tips from our experience Preparing Peeps Rice Krispie treats
- Rice Krispies treats are super gooey. Make sure you use parchment paper to set them, or wipe some cooking spray on the bottom of your pan.
- If you’re like me and don’t like the microwave, you can melt your marshmallow peeps over low heat.
- Also, do not mix the different colors of the peeps, you will end up with a less appealing color. I learned this the hard way.
- All cookie cutters will work if you choose other shapes.
- Don’t like sticky fingers? Add popsicles or suction cups.
- If you’re not a fan of Peeps treats, you can also use regular marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl or melt them over low heat.
Make Royal Icing for Peeps Crispy Rice Easter Egg Treats
royal icing is simply the best! It covers bumpy mistakes and dries smooth and looks professional. I have no patience or skill for fancy decorations but these always look better than I deserve!
- I use Imperial Sugar’s recipe. They have the standard royal icing recipe that uses raw egg whites, but they also have a version that uses powdered egg white instead, in case you’re not a fan of raw eggs.
- We followed the directions and whipped the mixture for almost 9 minutes.
- The kids and I took turns holding the hand mixer.
- We split it into 3 different bowls and added yellow, pink and purple food coloringtrying to mimic the original color of the Easter candy we used in Peeps Rice Krispie Egg Treats.
- Royal icing hardens completely in a few hours.
Unfortunately not many of us made it that long because my kids ate them. At least I have photographic evidence that they once existed!
How can I color frosting with a food coloring/dye allergy?
Baking for a loved one who has a food coloring or dye allergy? If someone you care about is allergic to red dye or any other dye, we have your back!
- Check out this post and share 14 natural food coloring alternatives. The natural pigments found in certain fruits and vegetables can make excellent substitutes for traditional food coloring options.
- If People aren’t an option for you due to the coloring, just swap them out from the recipe above for your favorite marshmallows and one of these natural food coloring alternatives!
- My daughter and I love these Dandie’s Marshmallows, as we both eat gluten free and I’m a vegetarian. Not only are these marshmallows delicious, they’re free from the top 8 allergens (more on that below) as well as free from corn products!
Are Rice Krispie Treats Egg Free?
Kellogg’s states that if one of the top 8 allergens (according to the FDA) is present in their products, they must list an ingredient under the “May Contain” section of their ingredient label. This Top 8 allergens are: milk, peanuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat. Good to know if you’re an allergy mom like I am!
- Kellogg’s has also confirmed that Rice Krispies contain no egg products.
- So stay vigilant about the rest of the products you use to make yours Rice Krispie Easter Egg Treats with (Dandie’s marshmallows, above, are egg-free too!).
Gluten Free Rice Krispie Easter Egg Treats
Unfortunately, due to the malt listed in the ingredients, Kellogg’s cannot guarantee that Rice Krispies are gluten-free. Malt is derived from a few different things, but when it comes from barley, it’s off-limits for those of us with a gluten sensitivity or allergy.
Because they cannot guarantee where the malt comes from, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies does not certify gluten-free. If you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative to crispy rice, you’re in luck!
Gluten-free crunchy rice muesli alternatives
The good news for People Fans, according to manufacturer Just Born, is that some varieties of Peeps are actually gluten-free! Always check the package first. If they are gluten-free, this will be stated near the nutrition label and ingredient list.
Please note that some People Products are not gluten free. If you can’t find gluten-free packets, I recommend the Dandies Marshmallows I shared above!
How do I make Vegan Rice Krispie Easter Egg Treats?
This is still a possibility, and it’s pretty easy too!
- Use a vegan crunchy rice granola, add Dandies Vegan Marshmallows and use vegan butter.
- Another fun option is to use almond butter or another nut butter and brown rice syrup instead of marshmallows!
- You can also just buy them premade vegan organic crunchy rice treatsand then use your egg shaped cookie cutter to cut them into shape and then proceed straight to the decorating step!
preparation time
5 minutes
cooking time
10 mins
total time
15 minutes
Ingredients
9 peeps chicks or bunnies that are the same color
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup rice krispie cereal
Nonstick Cooking Spray
For the royal icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons meringue powder
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
instructions
- In a medium/large bowl, microwave the peeps (by color) for 25-30 seconds to melt them (they will become slightly puffy and disfigured).
- Add melted butter and stir until smooth. They may need to go back in the microwave for a few seconds if they’re still clumpy.
- Add the grain and mix.
- Spread the sticky muesli mixture on a greased baking sheet (or aluminum foil). If you use a cookie cutter to make the shapes, make sure the depth of your granola mixture is no deeper than the cookie cutter. If you are making the egg shape yourself, then form egg shapes on your baking sheet.
- Once the mixture has cooled slightly, cut out with cookie cutters. If you do this before it’s completely cooled, you might be able to reshape some of the leftovers into a different egg shape.
- Repeat this recipe with a different color of Peeps!
- To make the royal frosting for all of the Peeps Rice Krispie Treats, sift together the powdered sugar and meringue into a medium bowl.
- Add water and lemon juice and beat until stiff.
- Divide into smaller bowls (according to the number of Peeps Rice Krispie Treats colors you have) and add food coloring to each bowl to match the Peeps color of this treat.
- If the glaze is too thick, you can also add water.
- Spread the icing on top of the Peeps Rice Krispie Treats – for a “flood technique” see Imperial Sugar’s recipe guide.
- Decorate the Peeps Rice Krispie Treat Eggs with the other colors of Royal Icing using a piping bag.
More Easter treats and fun from the Kids Activities Blog
Do you love the idea of Peeps Rice Krispie Treats?? How did yours turn out?