Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares (Funfetti!)

It’s possible to make Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares – they’re completely from scratch. Perfect for when you run out of marshmallows.

Before we talk about making Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares, can we talk about something that is truly distressing to me? My 3 year old son has decided to stop napping. I mean, he’ll nap once in awhile, when he’s truly exhausted, but more often than not (like 5-6 days a week) there is no nap whatsoever. I guess I should have expected this to happen at some point. My older daughter stopped napping at about 2.5. Not so – it has completely thrown me for a loop, and without that extra 1-2 hours of me/housework/cooking/photography/computer time I am left feeling like I can’t get caught up with anything. So something has got to give. Is the house a mess? Yes. Have I been cooking elaborate home cooked meals from scratch? Nope. Have I been keeping up with the blog/social media schedule that I believe to be ideal? No. But that is life, and I guess I’ll have to find a way to make it all work. In the meantime, I  will have him “help” me with more baking, and we will eat the goodies together.

Our first mother-son baking project was these rice krispie squares. I’m not going to lie – he mostly just complained that he would rather be watching a show, and that he doesn’t like marshmallows (how a child of mine doesn’t like marshmallows, I will never know). But in the end, we polished off a whole row of these chewy, vanilla-y, sticky squares before anyone else even knew they existed. And if you make them, you probably will too.

Keep in mind, that any time you cook sugar to make candy (in the case of marshmallows), you need to monitor the temperature very carefully and need to be careful with the timing. Make sure you read the entire recipe first and have everything ready to go so you can go through all the steps smoothly. Also, be a little bit prepared for a sticky mess. It is marshmallow after all.

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Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares

It's possible to make Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares - they're completely from scratch. Perfect for when you run out of marshmallows.

Servings: 24

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Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup white corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (see note)
• pinch salt
• 4 Tablespoons butter, melted (see note)
• 12 cups crisp rice cereal
• 3/4 cup sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

• Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with oil or cooking spray. Set aside.
• Add 1/2 cup of the water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and allow it to sit until the gelatin has absorbed the water, at least 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the remaining 1/2 cup water, sugar and corn syrup to a medium saucepan. Cover and heat over medium heat for 4 minutes. Remove lid and attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan. Increase heat to medium high and continue to heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 240°F (the mixture will come to a rapid boil). Immediately remove from heat.
• Turn the stand mixer on low speed, and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture over the dissolved gelatin. Once all the sugar has been added, slowly increase the mixer to high speed, and continue to mix until it becomes thick, and shiny white, and is cooled, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the vanilla and salt. Turn back to high speed and mix for another minute. Turn mixer back to low speed and add melted butter. Increase mixer to medium speed, and mix until butter is incorporated, about 30-60 seconds (marshmallow may deflate slightly). 
• Add rice cereal and sprinkles (if using) and stir until completely mixed (it may be easier to do this in a bowl that is larger than your stand mixer bowl, if you have one). Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and gently by firmly press into the corners. Allow to set at room temperature, about 30-60 minutes. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container or zipper bag at room temperature or freeze.

Notes

To give them a more authentic "cake mix" style funfetti flavor, use clear vanilla.

Use dairy free butter alternative to make this recipe dairy free.

Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.

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Homemade Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares Nutrition Notes:

Regular Kellogg’s Rice Kripies, and many other brands of crisp rice cereal are not gluten free. If you need to make these gluten free, make sure you look for crisp rice cereal that does not contain malt flavor or malt extract. If it’s marked “gluten free”, you’re safe. I have had luck with Malt-O-Meal’s Crispy Rice, as well as Aldi’s store brand.