Heart Shaped Rice Krispie Treats
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Show your friends and family a little love with homemade heart shaped Rice Krispie treats. These easy Valentine’s treats are made with just 4 ingredients and are perfect for desserts, snacks and parties.
Who doesn’t love the classic Rice Krispie treat?! Kids and adults crave these delicious sweet treats and they never go out of style. They’re soft, chewy, have a slightly crunchy texture from the crispy cereal and the marshmallows provide just the right amount of sweetness.
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We’re sharing tips to help you get the best results with this recipe. If you don’t need the tips, scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and a printable recipe card.
And the best part? So many fun ways to customize these marshmallow treats for any occasion by coordinating the decorations and colors. Like these fun Easter version with Cadbury mini eggs and Rice Krispie Nests.
You can even change up the flavors! We’ve made a chocolate batch and a s’mores version in the past, and they are always a hit. We even used Fruity Pebbles and Biscoff cookie butter to make a pan. And although not a Krispie treat, you have to try our Little Debbie copycat homemade Star Crunch cookies made with Rice Krispies cereal.
These heart-shaped treats are perfect for Valentine treats, other holidays and an easy choice for classroom treats and bake sales. And they’re simple enough to prepare that younger kids can help make the krispy treats or with decorating.
Ingredients Needed
- Rice Krispie cereal – you can use name brand or grocery store brand
- salted butter
- regular size marshmallows
- vanilla extract
What You’ll Need for Decorating:
- store bought white frosting
- pink food coloring
- red food coloring
- Valentine sprinkles
- heart-shaped cookie cutter
Get the complete ingredients & directions in the recipe card below.
How to Make Heart Shaped Rice Krispie Treats
Pour the Rice Krispies cereal in a large bowl and set aside. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Grease a 10×15 sheet pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the marshmallows and reduce to medium-low heat. Stir frequently and cook until marshmallows are completely melted.
PRO TIP: to avoid overcooking the marshmallow mixture, keep the heat on low and remove from heat as soon as the mallows have melted.
Stir in the vanilla, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the bowl of puffed rice cereal and stir until it’s combined well.
Pour the Rice Krispie mixture onto a 10×15 rimmed baking sheet and gently press mixture with a greased spatula or piece of parchment paper. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Use heart cookie cutter to cut the cereal mixture, then place them on the lined baking sheets. Repeat until all of the hearts are cut.
Decorating Valentine Rice Krispie Treats
Divide the frosting into two microwave-safe bowls and melt in the microwave for 15 second intervals until mostly melted. Stir until smooth. Add the food coloring to dye the frosting.
For dipped heart-shaped rice Krispie treats, lower the heart cutouts into the bowls of frosting, covering the entire treat or just half of it.
For drizzled treats, transfer the frosting to a squeeze bottle or piping bag and decorate as desired. You can also use a spoon to drizzle the frosting over each heart.
If you’re using sprinkles make sure to add them before the frosting sets.
Tips for Making Rice Krispie Hearts
- Real butter works the best for this recipe.
- Make sure you use fresh marshmallows for the best results.
- Don’t pack the treats down too aggressively or they’ll be hard, just press down gently.
- To make cutting easier, grease the cookie cutters with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Reapply as needed.
- We like using store bought frosting for these cereal bars because it melts easily for decorating and hardens as it sets.
Variations of Heart Shaped Cereal Treats
- If you don’t want to use frosting, sprinkles can be added by gently pressing them into the treats right after smoothing the mixture on the baking sheet.
- To make colored Rice Krispie treats, add a few drops of food coloring to the marshmallow mixture and stir. Remember to work quickly so it doesn’t set up before pouring on the baking sheet.
- Use this classic recipe for all your favorite holidays and occasions. Simply swap out the cookie cutter shape and decorations to make match the holiday or theme.
- These are perfect for classroom treats. Just add them to a cello bag with a ribbon and tag, and you have a great edible gift for Valentine’s Day parties.
- To make these into pops, add a lollipop stick to the bottom of each one.
- Swap the frosting for chocolate melting wafers if preferred. You can also use red and pink candy melts. Or use white candy melts and with colored food dye to tailor these to other occasions.
- Get creative with decorating by using a piping bag with different tips.
How many ounces of Rice Krispies is 6 cups?
Short answer – you’ll need 6 ounces of puffed rice cereal to make 6 cups. A 12-ounce box of Rice Krispies contains 12.5 cups, so you can make 2 batches of this classic treat with one box of cereal.
Can you use big marshmallows for Rice Krispie treats?
Large marshmallows can be used when melting the marshmallow mixture on the stove top. It’s better to use mini marshmallows or cut large marshmallows into quarters if you are using the microwave heating method.
How to Store Heart Krispie Treats
These fun treats are best eaten the day they are made. But you can store them at room temperature in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days if needed. You can microwave leftover treats for 5-10 seconds to soften them up.
MORE EASY
Valentine’s Day Treats
**Save Heart Shaped Rice Krispie Recipe for Later**
Heart Shaped Rice Krispy Treats
Equipment
Ingredients
Krispie Treat Ingredients
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- ¼ cup salted butter (1/2 stick)
- 10- ounce bag regular size marshmallows, about 40
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorations
- 14 ounce white frosting (store bought container)
- pink food coloring
- red food coloring
- Valentine sprinkles
Instructions
Krispie Treat Instructions
- Pour Rice Krispies cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
- Grease a 10×15 baking with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large heavy bottomed saucepan over Medium heat.
- Add marshmallows and reduce heat to Medium-Low. Cook until marshmallows have completely melted, stirring frequently. Low and slow to avoid overcooking.
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Add the marshmallow mixture to cereal and stir until well combined.
- Spread mixture evenly into the greased 10×15 baking sheet. Smooth the top with a greased spatula. Let mixture set for about 5 minutes, so it’s easier to cut.
- Immediately cut out shapes with heart shaped cookie cutters, and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Reshape the scraps and cut out more hearts.
Decorations
- Divide the frosting into two bowls.
- Melt in the microwave for 15 seconds, then stir until smooth.
- Add a couple drops of food coloring and stir to incorporate.
- Dip the heart shapes into the frosting bowls to coat the edges or front of the hearts. Or transfer frosting to a squeeze bottle to drizzle on frosting (can also use a spoon).
- Add sprinkles immediately, before the frosting sets.
Notes
- We recommend using real butter with this recipe.
- Grease your cookie cutter with butter or non-stick baking spray for easier cutting. Reapply as needed.
- Can substitute chocolate melting wafers for the frosting if preferred. Melt in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir until smooth, then add the coloring.
- Rice Krispie treats are best eaten the day they are made. Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days.
- See the blog post for variations and ways to serve these treats.
- The yield will vary based on the size of your cookie cutters.
- Nutritional calculation will vary depending on the size of your treats and decorations used.
Nutritional Estimate
Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.
