Gingerbread Crispy Rice Treats

 It's the day before the day before Christmas!   Most people have been working frantically this past month to buy and wrap presents, put up Christmas trees, hang stockings, plan parties, and of course, do some holiday baking.  If you have put off your holiday baking and are now desperately searching for a festive treat you can make quickly, you have come to the right place.  Most of the holiday desserts I have posted so far have been a little time consuming, so I thought it was time to share an idea that is super simple and fast.

You may recall in October I shared two posts with pumpkin spiced marshmallows I found.  Well, the other day I found some gingerbread spiced marshmallows.  I love the delicious simplicity of crispy rice treats, and I knew I had to try a gingerbread version of them.  So I bought a bag, and got "baking." 

Crispy rice treats aren't usually associated with Christmas, but add some ginger and a gingerbread man cookie cutter, and in about 10 minutes of hands-on time, you have yourself a simple, festive goodie that everyone will love.  I had some leftover royal icing from making Christmas sugar cookies, so I quickly added a little of that to my gingerbread men, but these are good just on their own.  They also would be good with the quick no-bake cheesecake topping I made for my pumpkin spiced treats. 

All you have to do to make these is melt marshmallows and margarine.  I just did it in the mircrowave, which took less than two minutes.

While those are melting, measure out your crispy rice cereal into a large bowl.

Then stir it all together and  pour it into a greased baking pan.  To easily smooth the top, use wet hands.

Let it cool.  I put mine in the refrigerator to speed up the process.  If you are really, really short on time, just cut these into bars. 

If you've got a few free minutes, use a cookie cutter to cut into gingerbread men shapes, or whatever shape you want.  

Breathe a sigh of relief and go spend time with your family.  Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Crispy Rice Treats

Ingredients:

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 10 oz bag Kraft Jet Puffed Gingerbread Mallows

1/4 cup margarine

Directions:

Melt and stir together gingerbread flavored marshmallows and margarine.

Measure 6 cups crispy rice cereal into large mixing bowl.  Add melted marshmallows and margarine and stir until combined.

Pour mixture into greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Allow to cool until set (for faster cooling, place in refrigerator).  

When cooled, cut into bars, or use gingerbread man cookie cutter.  Decorate with royal icing if desired.