Circus Animal Cookie Rice Krispie Treats
Lately, I’ve been having tons of fun with animal cookies. Remember these? They’re adorable little animal-shaped cookies, topped with colorful frosting and sprinkles – and it turns out, they make a great mix-in for other desserts.
My first experiment was Chewy Circus Animal Sugar Cookies and it came out so yummy, I immediately started looking for another dessert that could use some animal cookie crunch. And right away, I thought of the classic Rice Krispie treat. I’ve already tried dressing these up with chocolate, gingerbread spice, and even candy googly eyes, so adding animal cookies to the mix made perfect sense. (I admit, my definition of “sense” may be a little unusual.)
Once I had the idea, making the treats was super easy. To make these Circus Animal Cookie Rice Krispie Treats, I just took the basic recipe, then stirred a whole bag’s worth of chopped animal cookies into the mix. I wanted to make sure you got that cookie crunch in every bite. I also stirred in some rainbow nonpareils (round sprinkles) for an extra touch of color. Then, once the bars were cooled, I drizzled on melted white chocolate and topped each one with a whole animal cookie and more sprinkles.
Recipe Tips
- You can adjust the amount of cereal:cookie proportions. For a 10 oz. bag of marshmallows, use 6 cups total of cereal/cookies.
- For thinner rice krispie treats, spread into larger (9×13) pan.
- Marshmallows and butter can also be melted over low heat in a large saucepan on the stovetop.
- Use buttered spatula or parchment/wax paper to press rice krispie mixture into pan if it’s sticky.
- Don’t overheat the candy melts or they become thick and not spreadable. Do not get any moisture in the candy melts.
- Placing the topped rice krispies into the refrigerator will cool and set the candy melt drizzle more quickly.
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How to Make Circus Animal Cookie Rice Krispie Treats
- In a large microwave safe container, heat butter and mini marshmallows for 1 minute in the microwave.
- Stir marshmallow mixture until fully melted. Heat for 15-30 second increments if more melting is needing. Stir in a couple drops of red food coloring to make the melted marshmallows light pink.
- Stir rice krispies cereal, 1 tablespoon of nonpareils, and 2 cups chopped animal cookies into melted marshmallows.
- Spread into greased baking dish. Allow to cool completely (at least 30 minutes).
- In separate bowls, heat candy melts in the microwave at 30 second increments, stirring between each heating, until just melted.
- Transfer candy melts into piping bags or plastic Ziploc baggies. Snip a small hole in the point (or in the corner of the baggy) and drizzle over the cooled rice krispie treats.
- Immediately top with whole cookies and more nonpareils. Allow candy melts to set and harden (about 15 minutes). Cut and serve.
What’s the difference between animal cookies and animal crackers?
- Both cookies come in animal shapes, but they taste quite different. Animal crackers are usually plain, lightly sweet cookies, with a neutral color. They’re made from a layered dough, like a cracker, which makes them extra crunchy. Animal cookies are sweeter and not quite as crisp, and they’re covered in frosting and colorful candy sprinkles. This adds a pop of bright color to the ice cream.
My store only has animal crackers, not animal cookies. Where can I find them?
- A good brand is Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies, which are sold at Walmart and Target.
What’s in white candy melts? Are they the same as white chocolate?
- Not exactly. They both have sugar, fat, vanilla, milk, and lecithin, but the fat in white chocolate is cocoa butter and in candy melts it’s usually palm oil. This makes them cheaper and also easier to work with, because they melt more smoothly. If you use white chocolate for melting, you have to “temper” it by adding melted butter or oil so it doesn’t clump up on you. And when you’re only using a little drizzle like this, you can’t really taste the difference.
Here are more sweet family treats to try!
- Apple Snicker’s Salad
- Easy Cream Puffs
- Chocoalte Turtle Poke Cake
- Halloween Monster Rice Krispies Treats
Animal Cookie Rice Krispie Treats
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Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 10 oz. bag mini marshmallows
- 4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 11 oz. bag of Mother’s circus animal cookies
- 3 tbsp colored nonpareils
- 1/2 cup pink candy melts
- 1/2 cup white candy melts
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Two piping bags or plastic baggies
Instructions
- In a large microwave safe container, heat butter and mini marshmallows for 1 minute in the microwave.
- Stir marshmallow mixture until fully melted. Heat for 15-30 second increments if more melting is needing.
- Stir rice krispies cereal, 1 tablespoon of nonpareils, and 2 cups chopped animal cookies into melted marshmallows.
- Spread into greased baking dish. Allow to cool completely (at least 30 minutes).
- In separate bowls, heat candy melts in the microwave at 30 second increments, stirring between each heating, until just melted.
- Transfer candy melts into piping bags or plastic Ziploc baggies. Snip a small hole in the point (or in the corner of the baggy) and drizzle over the cooled rice krispie treats.
- Immediately top with whole cookies and more nonpareils. Allow candy melts to set and harden (about 15 minutes). Cut and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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We have never moved so fast to make a recipe! It is fantastic. Definitely our favorite way to make rice crispy treats, thanks.
Yay! So happy you loved the recipe!