Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats

Peppermint.  Chocolate.  Rice Krispie Treats.  What’s not to love here?  These are one of my all-time favorite holiday treats because they’re kind of fancy, yet so super easy to make and everyone loves them. 

I first posted this recipe back in 2011 and it was long overdue for a little facelift.

peppermint-chocolate-krispie-treats our best bites

Back when I originally posted this, I wrote the recipe with peppermint marshmallows, but I actually like them better with regular white marshmallows and peppermint extract.  The color and flavor are better, in my opinion. 

So first up, melt up those marshmallows with some butter.  I always toss the mallows in melted butter and then heat everything up, it seems to be much smoother that way.

marshmallows-and-butter our best bites

You know when you crush candy canes and you get some larger chunks and then lots of pepperminty “dust”?  Save the chunks and toss the dust in the bowl, along with a little peppermint extract.

peppermint-dust

Then mix it all up.

rice-krispie-mix our best bites

One tip when you’re making Rice Krispie treats (or any bar cookie really) is to line your pan.  It makes  it SO much easier to cut out nice bars without having to smash half the pan in first.   Make sure you use butter to grease the bottom of your pan as well.  If you use non-stick spray, it will leave a foul tasting residue on your delicious little treats and then they won’t be delicious anymore.

After they’re all nicely patted on there, drizzle a little semi sweet or dark chocolate over the top and also a little white chocolate or almond bark.  I like to use a spoon and let big chunks of the chocolate fall on there.  It’s yummier that way.

Drizzled-rice-krispie-treats our best bites

If you really love peppermint, you can also add a little peppermint oil (not extract) to the chocolate, or use melted mint chocolate chips instead of regular.

Then just toss crushed candy canes on the top to stick to all of that chocolate.

close-up-of-rice-krispie-treats

And let it all set up.  You can pop it in the fridge to speed up that process.

peppermint-chocolate-krispie-treats our best bites

Quick, easy, no-bake, no-fuss.  Might be the perfect Christmas treat!

Peppermint-bark-rice-krispie-treats our best bites

I should also mention that I wrote this recipe for a 10oz bag of marshmallows, because that’s a common size.  If you make them in a 9×13 pan as written, they will be on the thinner side.  If you like your rice krispie treats thicker, you can make them in smaller pan, or do as I did for the ones photographed here and 1 1/2x the rice krispie part of the recipe.  That works out perfect for the brand of Kroger marshmallows that I buy that come in a 15oz bag.

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats from Our Best Bites

If you’re looking for more of our Rice Krispie Treats, be sure to check out our ENTIRE SECTION devoted to them!

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats

5 from 1 vote
These Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats are perfect and festive for the holiday season!

Ingredients

  • 1 10-11 ounce bag mini marshmallows
  • 4 tablespoons real butter plus extra to butter pan
  • 6 cups Rice Krispie-style cereal
  • 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract more if desired; I like a little extra
  • 3 tablespoons semi-sweet dark, or peppermint chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil divided
  • 3-4 medium-sized candy canes crushed

Instructions

  • Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly butter bottom and about 1 inch up the sides.
  • Place unwrapped candy canes in a heavy duty plastic bag and smash until crushed. Pour into bowl and gently shake so large pieces settle on top and “dust” settles on bottom.  Set aside.
  • Melt butter in a very large bowl in the microwave.  Add marshmallows and stir to coat.  Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  (You can do that whole process on the stovetop as well.)   Add Rice Krispies, peppermint extract, and a few tablespoons of candy cane “dust” and stir to evenly combine.  With buttered hands, press mixture into prepared pan.
  • Place white chocolate chips and 1/8 teaspoon oil in a small bowl.  Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  Repeat same process with semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.  Drizzle both chocolates on top of rice krispie treats and sprinkle candy canes on top.  Let sit until chocolate is set, place pan in fridge to speed process along. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Author: kate jones
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
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Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. Do you think the chocolate mint marshmallows would be just as good? This is a must, but think it would be cool to have different kinds.

  2. Okay… you and peppermint must be like me and rice crispy treats!!! You just made my day!! Last year we made them with the gingerbread marshies. MMMM! And thanks for the pan-greasing tips. I always use non-cook spray and yes, it makes them not so wonderful anymore:( Now I’m off to the store!

  3. My “theme” for homemade gifts this year is well you guessed it….. peppermint. Thank you for adding another one I HAVE to make. 😀

  4. I just went to three different stores looking for peppermint marshmallows with no luck! Please tell me where I can get them 🙂

  5. Um, could you please stop posting recipes/crafts that are from your families’ real lives and meet the demands of all of your readers?! BAHAHAHA how ridiculous!!

    I grabbed these as soon as I saw them too! Along with some random sprinkles and other yummy junk. Wal-Mart is so smart with their center aisle goodies. 🙂

    Thanks for another fun idea!

  6. Mmmm…those look good! Might need to even brave the freezing weather to get the ingredients!

  7. I think I found my neighbor treats for this year!! I was going to do baked caramel corn (which takes almost 2 hours to make), but this is TOTALLY vetoing that idea 🙂

  8. I just saw Jet Puffed’s caramel marshmallows at the store this morning. Those would make delicious rice krispies too, especially with your chocolate chip and white chocolate chip topping (uhmm, minus the peppermint and candy canes though). There’s so many possibilities!

  9. I just got done making chocolate cupcakes. I filled the inside of the cake batter with 4 little peppermint marshmallows and then put the rest of the batter on top. Next Milk Chocolate Whipped icing (from the can, not inspired to make it from scratch today!) and then a great treat for tonight after dinner!!! Next I think I’ll try peppermint fudge!!!!

  10. Ah, kindreds! I made Rice Krispy treats using the peppermint marshmallows last week with friends for a movie night. I saved a handful of whole marshmallows to stir in along with about a cup of mini marshmallows. They were so yummy, and YES! They are the perfect Christmas treat!

    1. Duh… I meant a cup of mini chocolate chips. And I failed to mention that as I ate them I thought ‘these need crushed candy canes on top’. Great minds!

  11. So between the 7000 cookies I always make around this time of the year, I have our first year of preschool with an official-mommy-must-provide-something Christmas Party! These wonderful little beauts may be just what I’m looking forward. And if not, I’ll just eat the whole pan myself!

  12. Seriously!? I had to Pinterest this before I even bothered to read it! cuz well Yeah! I’m gonna make them! hello?

  13. Rice krispy treats were the first thing I made with those marshmallows! I went back to get more and they were all gone!! Next time I’ll have to stock up. Adding the chocoloate sounds fabulous!

  14. I think I need these right now!! What a fabulous idea!! 🙂

  15. Those look so pretty, they make me wish I liked peppermint. I know, kinda strange… I do like a very mild mint but only with chocolate. 🙂 I think the odds of finding someone to make these for who does like peppermint are pretty good though. Maybe this way I won’t eat it all before I have a chance to give it away. Ha!

  16. I LOVE the costco peppermint bark and I bought some a month ago, well we had company come and as I was unwilling to share it all I gave them some and then tucked it away. Well, I can’t imagine how but I forgot about it…and did I mention I live in Houston? The candy cane pieces were utterly soggy! I was totally bummed, but now there is hope again!!! I am so going to try these because you cannot go wrong with this combo! Thank you!

    1. ohhh no! Once I hid my favorite candy because I didn’t want to share and I hid it so well *I* couldn’t remember where I put it! I found it a whopping 6 months later, only to be ruined, lol!

  17. I am seriously not trying to be rude because I really do LOVE your website but it seems like the last several months have been either dessert or non food posts : ( My family doesn’t need more desserts but they do need more dinner ideas! Please, please post some soon??

    1. Did you post that anonymously because you were afraid to put your name with it? lol We don’t bite; I promise. Unless you’re mean to us, and then we might nip just a little 😉 Ya know, one thing we’ve learned from doing this blog for a few years is that we can’t please everyone. When we post treats, people ask for dinner, when we post dinner, people ask for crafts, when we post crafts, people ask for dessert…everyone BEGS for diet food but no one comments when we post healthy stuff, lol. It’s a funny thing! So we just try to keep it well rounded, and if you look at our archives, we’ve done a good job of doing so. But when it comes down to it, this is a personal blog and the things we post reflect what we’re doing in our own homes and with our own families and around the holidays, treats and fun activities are our specialty! So yes, you will definitely see more of that because the holiday only comes around once a year. So maybe take a peek at our recipe index for some new dinner ideas- there’s TONS there, I’m sure even some new ones you haven’t seen before. And don’t worry- we won’t post dessert forever!

        1. Oh, no, we don’t mind suggestions at all- in fact we enjoy them! We definitely want to know what people are interested in. The lesson is, just don’t be bummed if we don’t do what you ask, haha. You just have to know that for every suggestion/request, there is someone else suggesting/requesting the exact opposite 🙂

  18. Have you ever tried making homemade marshmallows? Lets just say they are WORLDS apart from store bought… in fact I made up a batch of pretty potent peppermint marshmallows Saturday afternoon. (lesson learned… know how strong your peppermint extract is BEFORE you use it!! yep henceforth the potent part but they have started to mellow with age and exposure to open air. ha ha!)

    I think I might have to melt a few up and throw in some rice crispies! Thank you for sharing another nummy dish!

  19. Absolutely brilliant. I love reading your posts because I always look forward to your latest, seasonal creations.

  20. Haha, I like how fast you made them into something! Thanks to you posting your marshmallow finds, and great recipes, I made something similar to these last holiday season, with the gingerbread marshmallows…folks went nuts for them!

    I want to know what you’re going to come up with for that “nasty” tube of cookie dough you also bought (which I also have a tube or two of in my fridge!) 😉

    1. ooh, I love the gingerbread ones too; I drizzled those ones with white chocolate last year and they were sooo yummy!

      And lol- geez, can you imagine if I were to actually post something with STORE BOUGHT COOKIE DOUGH, the world might end right now. I better stick to things like store bought marshmallows which are just chalk full of wholesome natural good-for-you ingredients, haha!

  21. And all of us simple-minded creatures were just sitting there thinking “oh, those would taste good in our hot chocolate!” Your brilliance is unequalled. Did you add any food coloring or did the marshmallows make it that pink all by themselves?

  22. oh my word! I just did the same exact thing at walmart saturday night! I took one look at them and without another thought, threw them in my cart! Now I have a plan for using them–thanks!