4th of July Dessert - Parties for Pennies

Hey party people!
Are you headed to a cookout for 4th of July? A night out on the lake? Whatever your plans, if you need a 4th of July dessert…
…this one…
…even the baking-challenged can tackle.

You cannot get more simple than Rice Krispy Treats!

This is a simple & festive dessert that both adults & kids will enjoy!

This is what you’ll need:

Rice Krispy Cereal (a little over a box)

Marshmallows (2 10 oz bags)

Butter (at least 1 whole stick)

Food Coloring (Red & Blue)

Clear Vanilla

White Chocolate Melts or White Chocolate Chips

Divide your Rice Cereal into 3 cups, 4 cups & 6 cups.

In three different pans, melt the cooresponding amounts of butter…

1/4 stick of butter (2 tbsp) + 1/2 bag of marshmallows + 3 cups Rice Cereal + Blue Food Coloring

3 tbsp of butter + 1/2 bag of marshmallows* + 4 cups Rice Cereal

1/2 stick of butter (4 tbsp) + whole bag of marshmallows + 6 cups Rice Cereal + Red Food Coloring

*If there isn’t enough marshmallows for this one, steal a few from the third combination that uses a whole bag.

Melt the butter first on med-high heat. As soon as it has melted, turn the heat to low.

Stir in the cooresponding amount of marshmallows. Continue to stir until they’re melted.

At this point, add about a teaspoon of vanilla.

Now add a teaspoon (at least) of food coloring to the 3 cup pot & the 6 cup pot (See the chart above for reference).

You may have to add more food coloring to get the desired color.

After you’ve added the food coloring, add the Rice Cereal & stir. Turn the burner off.

Time is of the essence here because the crispy mixture needs to still be pliable enough to form into a flag.

This would be a great part for your kids to do (if they like cooking with you). Let them stir the rice cereal in one of the pots (this is after you turn off the burner).

Take your blue rice mixture & add to a greased 9×11 casserole dish. I used olive oil cooking spray to make sure it didn’t stick.

Form a square by using a spatula (I usually spray this with the cooking spray, as well…it helps it not to stick).

I wasn’t able to take pictures of me laying down the red & white stripes because I didn’t want it to harden. 🙁 Sorry.

The red & white stripes are created the same way you created the square. Using a greased spatula form the stripes. Make sure it’s packed in.

Allow to harden.

* After I took my “flag” out of the pan, I realized I should’ve placed the blue square opposite so that when you flip it out, it’s correct. It had a really flat & cohesive look on the other side. (Just an FYI)

I added another red stripe (which I accounted for in your recipe) because it just didn’t look right without it.

For the stars, I melted white chocolate melts, put them in a little baggie, snipped the end & just did my own stars. They are far from perfect but I think they work (at least enough to give people an idea of what they are).

You could just add some lines of white chocolate chips, as well. (In fact, the white chocolate chips may be delicious to add to the white rice krispy stripes…yum!)

Side Notes:

* This is obviously NOT to scale!

* I tried using blueberries & strawberries to color the treats. I’ve heard the cautions of food coloring. It didn’t work. It turned out more pink & purple…and made the crispy treats mushy.

What do you think? Look easy enough? Are you a fan of Rice Krispy treats?

Hope your 4th of July is an explosion of fun!