Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats: Food Art Fun
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Thank you to Sour Power® for sponsoring this Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats post. All thoughts are my own.
Make your holidays sparkle with these Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats on a stick featuring Sour Power®. Rice Krispie Treats are layered with sugar-coated sour candy to make them shine and resemble Christmas Trees, complete with red ornaments and a yellow star! This holiday food activity is perfect for those who love to decorate holiday treats. No baking is required to enjoy some fun with family.
While I love to make homemade goodies for the holidays, I also enjoy easy, no-bake treats that center around decorating. Sometimes I just want to make something fun that isn’t complicated. I had a vision of sparkling Christmas tree food art using sour candy and these products didn’t disappoint. Sour Power® Belts and Straws are so easy to work with that I’m already brainstorming new ways in which to use this sour candy.
Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats Ingredients
To make these easy edible trees you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Rice Krispies Treats Crispy Marshmallow Squares Original (0.78-ounce each)*
- vanilla frosting
- Sour Power® Wrapped Belts Green Apple
- Sour Power® Assorted Wide Belts in strawberry and tutti frutti (yellow)
- Sour Power® Straws Green Apple wrapped packages or tub
For supplies you’ll need:
- paper straws
- mini star cookie cutter (0.98 inch)
- Wilton 12 tip (or similar size round tip)
- sharp knife
- kitchen shears
*You can make the Rice Krispie Treats homemade or you can skip that step and purchase them from the store. Since I like to make my homemade cereal treats extra gooey anyway, I went the store-bought route so they would be nice and firm to hold their shape. You can also opt for homemade frosting but only a small amount is needed.
How to Make Edible Christmas Trees
You’ll want to start by spreading some vanilla frosting over the top of your cereal treat. I went with white because any frosting that peeks through will just look like snow. You don’t need a ton of frosting, just enough so that the candy will stay on when you pick it up.
Because I wanted my sour candy to match up perfectly with the edges of the tree, I placed them on the cereal treat and used kitchen shears to cut along the edges. It is easier to do before cutting them into triangles.
I layered the green apple Sour Power® Belts as I went. One single belt can fit one Rice Krispie Treat rectangle perfectly as shown below. Press down lightly on the top so the candy is secure.
Turn your cereal treat over on a cutting board and cut down at an angle on both sides to create a triangle using a large and sharp kitchen knife.
These trees look so pretty with the sparkling sour candy belts, don’t they? If you are short on time or supplies you could stop here and they would still be beautiful.
To make my trees colorful I inserted red and white paper straws into the bottom. Normally I cut my straws into halves or thirds but for this project, just under half a straw each seem right. You can make them as short or as long as you like!
I wanted to add red ornaments (or berries) into my tree so I used a wide strawberry Sour Power® Belt and a Wilton 12 decorating tip to cut them. You will need to press down firmly to get through the candy.
Kitchen Tip: Use a kitchen towel over the top of the metal decorating tip or mini cutter so it doesn’t hurt to press down.
For the yellow stars you’ll need an extra small star cutter and wide yellow Sour Power® Belt. I already owned a small cutter shape variety set from Amazon and was able to get four stars per wide belt with my just under 1-inch star cutter.
Place a small amount of frosting on the back of each red circle before placing them on the edible tree. I found it easier to pass the candy over the top of some frosting rather than try to spread it over the back. For the yellow star it was easier to place the frosting on the tip of the tree so there wasn’t excess frosting along the back.
Pretty easy, right?
How to Make Christmas Trees with Sour Power® Straws
The process to make the holiday Rice Krispie Treats with sour straw candy is much the same as the belts. You will need three straws for every one tree, however.
After spreading the top of your cereal treat with frosting, attach the Sour Power® Straws to the top and cut once it reaches the end. Repeat that process until the entire top of the treat is covered.
Press down slightly and flip your treat over to cut into a triangle using a sharp knife.
Insert a cut paper straw in the bottom and top with additional cut out round and star sour belt candies.
Both of these trees are beautiful, however the candy belts are a little easier. If you are working with children, the sour candy belts are a safer choice. Be sure to also help them with cutting the treats into triangles.
Rice Krispie Christmas Tree Leftovers
When you cut your rectangle-shaped cereal treats into a triangle you’ll have two smaller triangles left over. I added a little frosting to one side and stuck them back together to create a new style with a country feel.
This is easier to do with the belts than the straws as the pieces are bigger. I recommend placing your star a little lower if you try this method with the Sour Power® Straws so it doesn’t fall off.
Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 20 Rice Krispies Treats Crispy Marshmallow Squares Original 0.78-ounce each*
- 1 container 10oz vanilla frosting
- 20 Sour Power® Wrapped Belts Green Apple or 60 Sour Power® Straws Green Apple *1 belt per tree or 3 straws per tree
- 3 Sour Power® Wide Belts Strawberry 5 Sour Power® Wide Belts Tutti Frutti
- 10 paper straws cut in half or thirds
- mini star cookie cutter 1 inch or less
- Wilton 12 tip or similar size round tip
Instructions
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Spread a thin layer of vanilla frosting over the top of the cereal treat.
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Create rows by placing belts or straws on top of the frosting and cut with kitchen shears at the end.
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If using belts, overlap each layer slightly after you add a row. One belt will cover one cereal treat.
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If using straws, stack each straw close together. Three straws are needed per cereal treat. Press down lightly on the top so the candy is secure.
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Turn cereal treat over onto a cutting board. Using a long, sharp knife cut sides diagonally to create a triangle.
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Insert red and white paper straws into the bottom, pushing up halfway.
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Press size 12 round decorating tip into red wide belt to create little circle ornaments. Attach 4 to 5 on your tree using frosting.
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Cut out stars using star cutter and yellow wide belt. (You should get 4 stars per belt.) Add a bit of frosting to the tip of your tree and gently press down.
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Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
Use a kitchen towel over the top of the metal decorating tip or mini cutter so it doesn't hurt to press down.
If your candy circle gets stuck inside your decorating tip, gently push it out with the end of a paper straw.
You can create more edible trees by using your tree scrape leftover from cutting. Use frosting to glue two scraps together to create another tree.
My kids love sour candy so they were pretty excited to come home and find these holiday Rice Krispie Treats with Sour Power® waiting for them. They would love to make this food craft and pass them out to their friends!
Be sure to pick up some Sour Power® to make your own edible food art this holiday season!
What is your favorite dessert to decorate for the holidays?
These would be SO great at a youth meeting!! The kids would love it. Pinned!!
Thank you. My daughter loved making these treats with me and with a little help it was manageable for her. So cute!
These are so fun! Bookmarked so we can make for the holiday!