Lucky Charms Cereal Treats
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Lucky Charms cereal treats made with chocolate, Lucky Charms cereal, and plenty of marshmallows. The perfect treats for celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day!
Why Make These Lucky Charms Cereal Treats?
I love a classic Rice Krispie treat as much as the next person, but I also love experimenting with different cereals (such as Fruity Pebbles), colors (like these Pride-inspired rainbow stripes), and shapes (basketballs, pumpkins). A few years ago I developed a green, shamrock-shaped Rice Krispie treat recipe for Saint Patrick’s Day, which just so happens to be one of my favorite “whimsical recipe” holidays. See also: my green cake balls, shamrock cookies, shamrock sprinkles, and green chocolate bark!
This year, I settled on a whimsical cereal treat recipe made with the most Saint Patrick’s Day-themed cereal of all: Lucky Charms! I created these Lucky Charms cereal treats after testing a few batches, aiming to get the balance of gooey marshmallow and crunchy cereal exactly right. The “lucky” cereal shapes, colorful cereal marshmallows, and green chocolate drizzle make these treats a fun option for celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day, and this recipe is so easy that even kids can help with the stirring and decorating.
Lucky Charms Treats Recipe Ingredients
To make Lucky Charms cereal treats, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Butter – Unsalted works best. And no need to soften, since it’ll be melted anyway!
- Marshmallows – The plain vanilla kind (or peppermint, if you’re feeling extra festive!) for making the cereal treat base. I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure marshmallows, since sizes vary between brands and countries. You’ll also need cereal marshmallows—more on that below.
- Vanilla Extract – Opt for a quality vanilla extract from a brand like Nielsen-Massey or Taylor & Colledge.
- Fine Sea Salt – A tiny amount of fine sea salt cuts the sweetness of the marshmallows and sugary cereal.
- Lucky Charms Cereal – A General Mills breakfast cereal featuring a combination of toasted whole grain oat pieces and colorful dehydrated marshmallows shaped like rainbows, horseshoes, hearts, and shamrocks. If you’re in the UK, you can purchase these from Amazon, or a specialty shop such as Partridges in London.
- Cereal Marshmallows – You can pluck 1/2 cup of marshmallows from the box of cereal, or purchase a separate bag of cereal marshmallows. See my notes below.
- Chocolate – I decorated my treats with a drizzle of green chocolate. See my notes on chocolate below.
- Sprinkles – You can use pastel nonpareils, rainbow nonpareils, rainbow sprinkles, or even homemade Saint Patrick’s Day sprinkles to top your treats.
Sourcing the Marshmallows
For these treats, I kept things simple and separated 1/2 cup of marshmallows from the box of cereal:
However, if you want to streamline the process you can purchase Lucky Charms cereal marshmallows packaged without the cereal—just a big bag of marshmallows! There are several different versions available on Amazon. These are perfect for making cereal treats (or other St. Patrick’s Day recipes, like my green chocolate bark) and are also less wasteful for recipes where you don’t need the cereal at all.
Notes on Green Chocolate
You can decorate your treats using green candy melts (sometimes called candy wafers or confectionery coating) or white chocolate tinted with green oil-based coloring. If opting for the latter, make sure to use an oil-based food coloring rather than a water-based gel—oil and water do not mix!
You can also decorate with a drizzle of melted white chocolate, or a combination of white and green. And if desired, feel free to stir in a few drops of peppermint oil (or other oil-based flavoring) to flavor the melted chocolate.
I scooped my chocolate into a piping bag and piped zigzags across the top. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can make an impromptu one by clipping the corner of a food storage bag. Or, use a small stepped palette knife to spread the chocolate over the cereal slab before cutting, or cut the slab into squares then dunk the bottom of each square in melted chocolate.
Cereal Treat Tips and Tricks
These Lucky Charms treats are very easy to make, but a few simple tips will help to ease the process along.
First, if using marshmallows from the box of Lucky Charms (rather than purchasing cereal marshmallows separately), take time to separate them before melting your butter and marshmallow mixture.
Next, be generous with the nonstick spray. Grease your pan, your parchment, your spatula, and your knife. It will make the process so, so much easier!
And finally, when pressing the gooey cereal-marshmallow mixture into the tin, don’t pack it down too firmly. If you do, the treats will be difficult to slice, and equally difficult to bite. Instead, use your fingertips to press down just firmly enough for everything to hold together.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Lucky Charms treats taste best on the day they’re made. Layer leftover treats between sheets of parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Other St. Patrick’s Day recipes you might enjoy:
Green Chocolate Lucky Charms Bark
Shamrock Rice Krispie Treats
Meringue Shamrock Cookies
Homemade St. Patrick’s Day Sprinkles
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Print
Lucky Charms Cereal Treats
- Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
- YieldOne 8x8-inch square tin 1x
Lucky Charms cereal treats made with chocolate, Lucky Charms cereal, and plenty of marshmallows.
Ingredients
Nonstick spray, for greasing tin
113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup/1 stick)
430 grams marshmallows (15 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
225 grams Lucky Charms cereal (about 6 cups)
18 grams cereal marshmallows, to decorate (1/2 cup)
50 grams green candy melts or white chocolate, to decorate (1/3 cup; 1 3/4 ounces)
Pastel nonpareils or St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles, to decorate
Instructions
Line an 8 x 8-inch square tin with parchment, allowing a 1-inch overhang on all sides. Spray generously with nonstick spray.
In a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
Add the marshmallows, stirring continuously until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and fine sea salt.
Add the Lucky Charms cereal and stir until gooey and well combined, with no dry cereal remaining.
Pour into prepared tin. With oiled fingertips, press down* until evenly distributed and about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Refrigerate 30 minutes, or until set.
Melt the green candy melts (or white chocolate) in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 15-30 seconds, until completely melted. Scoop into a disposable piping bag.
Pipe melted green chocolate over cereal slab in lines or a zigzag pattern.
Decorate with additional cereal marshmallows, pressing down gently to secure. Sprinkle with pastel nonpareils.
Set aside and allow to cool at room temperature until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes.
Lifting by the parchment, transfer slab to a large chopping board. With a sharp, well-oiled chef’s knife, slice into squares. You can cut 3 rows x 3 rows (9 squares) for larger treats, or 4 rows x 4 rows (16 squares) for smaller treats.
Serve immediately. Store leftover treats in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Don’t pack the cereal mixture too firmly, or it will be difficult to slice.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Rice Krispie Treats
- Method: Stovetop
