The perfect mishmash of crispy and chewy with shattery cereal bits and melty, gooey marshmallow, my Rice Krispie cookies are unique and obsession-worthy. They have an incredible texture that makes it impossible to eat just one, and there’s no chilling required meaning you can have them ready to go in under 30 minutes! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Rice Krispie Treat Cookies
Something a bit different today! My rice krispie treat cookies combine super chewy cookies with gobs of mini marshmallows and pebbly bits of crunchy cereal. They taste just like rice krispie treats, but in cookie form!
What’s to Love about This Recipe
- Nostalgic and so fun! These truly tastes like a rice krispie treats, and my kids loves them just as much as I do.
- Amazing flavor. With buttery, vanilla notes, sweet marshmallow, crisped rice cereal… it’s like a gourmet rice krispie treat in cookie form.
- Equally amazing texture–chewy with pockets of gooey marshmallow and crisp cereal pieces. I just love them!
- Easy to make with no chilling required. If no-chill cookies are your thing, also try my butterfinger cookies or double chocolate chunk cookies.
- A fun way to use up cereal in your pantry. I’m a big fan of using cereal in desserts (we prefer scrambled eggs for breakfast), and you’ll know that if you’ve tried my fruity pebbles macarons or puppy chow. If your kids are tired of rice krispie cereal, here’s a fun way to put it to use.
One thing I should note about these cookies: they are messy. The marshmallow will inevitably melt out all over the baking sheet, and while I include tips in the recipe to tidy this up, it’s honestly not a big deal! I think it adds to their charm 😊
What You Need
- Rice Krispies cereal. We’ll use just 2 cups for this recipe. A 12 oz box typically has 10-12 cups of cereal, so you will have plenty leftover for snacking (or for making a batch of my peanut butter rice krispie treats or scotcharoos).
- Sugar. We’ll use a combination of mostly light brown sugar and just a bit of granulated sugar for a richer flavor and softer texture.
- Egg + egg yolk. An extra egg yolk enriches the dough and encourages a tender, chewy texture. If you’d like to use your leftover egg white instead of discarding it, make a batch of my candied almonds or candied pecans!
- Mini marshmallows. You will need 1 ½ cups, which is typically about ⅓ of the usual 10oz bag. You can put the remainder towards my ambrosia salad recipe!
- Vanilla. A hefty pour of vanilla rounds out the flavor of these cookies in such a nice way. I use vanilla in my rice krispie treat recipes too, so this was a non-negotiable for me when developing this recipe.
SAM’S TIP: If you’d like, you can add a cup or so of chocolate chips with the marshmallows and cereal. I originally was going to make this a rice krispie chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I found the chocolate chips to be a little bit overpowering, and, my taste testers and I much preferred this recipe without chocolate chips in it. But you can certainly add them if you like! I think milk chocolate chips actually work better than semisweet in this particular cookie.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Rice Krispie Cookies
Make the dough
The dough comes together quickly and easily. Rather than using melted butter, we use softened here and cream it with the sugars. You will want to use an electric mixer (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment!) and cream the butter and sugar well, until it’s light and fluffy and well-combined.
You’ll whisk the dry ingredients separately before stirring into the wet ingredients, then I add the cereal and mini marshmallows last. I prefer to fold these last two ingredients into the dough by hand; using a mixer will break up the cereal to be a bit finer than I prefer so a gentler hand works well here.
Bake the cookies
I like my cookies a bit on the larger side, so I use 3 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. Because I can be a bit of a perfectionist, I also like to roll the dough between my palms to make the cookie dough uniform before baking. Just like when making my s’mores cookies, it helps to try to conceal the marshmallows to help prevent them from leaking out, but you’re not going to have a 100% success rate with this no matter how hard you try (and that’s OK — more on this in a bit!).
Bake the cookies until you notice the edges turning a light golden brown (any marshmallow that leaks out will turn golden before the edge of the cookie, note that you’re looking for the edge of the cookie to be golden).
Some of the marshmallow will likely ooze out of the cookies in the oven. This is messy but fine, but if you’re a bit of a perfectionist, too, use a spoon to nudge it back into each cookie after baking.
SAM’S TIP: If your cookies are spreading a bit thinner than you’d like, your ingredients may have just been a tad too warm. To fix this, you can chill your dough in the fridge (I recommend 30 minutes or so) before making your next batch. This will help them retain their shape!
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately that is just the nature of this recipe! Unless you contain each marshmallow perfectly in dough, there really is no avoiding it. Personally, it doesn’t bother me, and if you nudge the marshmallow back into the cookies after they come out of the oven (using a spoon, the marshmallow will be hot!), it’s not really an issue.
I haven’t tested it, but I suspect any of the rice krispie varieties would work here, just note that the flavored/coated kind will likely be much sweeter.
If you want to make cookies with Fruity Pebbles, try my Fruity Pebbles cookies!
As written, my recipe is not gluten free; however, I suspect a 1:1 gluten free flour will work just fine in this recipe. Just make sure the cereal you are using is labeled gluten free as well!
If you do try this, please let me know how it goes for you.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Rice Krispie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (60 g) rice krispie cereal
- 1 ½ cups (85 g) mini marshmallows
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat together until well-combined.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 ¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Add rice krispie cereal and mini marshmallows and use a spatula to stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough.2 cups (60 g) rice krispie cereal, 1 ½ cups (85 g) mini marshmallows
- Scoop cookies by 3 Tablespoon-sized scoop (54g) (I do 2 level scoops from my cookie scoop, linked above, and roll them together) and gently roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. Place on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” (5cm) apart.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 13-14 minutes. Cookies are finished baking when the edges of the cookies (not any melted marshmallow!) are beginning to turn light golden brown.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, if your cookies are messy you can use the back of a spoon to help round the cookies and push any melted marshmallow back in (an optional step that neatens them up but isn’t mandatory!)..
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying!
Notes
Spreading
I never need to chill this dough, but if your first batch of cookies spreads too much for your liking, your ingredients may just be a bit too warm! Just cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes or longer before using.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Molly
I made the dough ahead of time. Yes, maybe the rice krispies weren’t AS krispie’y, but the caramelized marshmallow that seeped down to the bottom still made the cookies crunch. Instead of a spoon to cut away the browned marshmallow on the side, I used a glass cup to cut away the edges and twirled the hot cookies around to get a perfect circle. Thanks Sam!
Yes, they’re messy, but well worth it.
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback, Molly! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Loni
Followed the recipe exactly, sadly, these turned out to be a wash. The rice krispies got super soggy and chewy and the cookies tasted like flour. I pulled the first tray at 15 minutes in preheated 350F convection and they were raw so I ended up baking them for like 23 total minutes. Once they were uniformly golden brown at least the flour taste got a little more balanced but it still was more like a shortbread sweetness rather than a cookie sweetness.
Looking at similar recipes, maybe the brown sugar included in this recipe and not others made them too moist and therefore the krispies got soggy?
Also, I only got 3-4 marshmallows per cookie at the 3T serving size recommended so I think the sugar balance might work better with a more uniform fluff swirl or an increase in the marshmallow count.
Candice Gable
I made these. they are not all the good. the dough is super yummy tho. I will have to pass on these next time
Sam
Hi Candice! What was it that you did not enjoy about them?
Molly
Hey Sam!!
Can I make this dough ahead of time and roll out the cookie balls, then place them in the fridge (in an air tight container) for 2 days before baking? Would that dry them out? (Just trying to get ahead, prepping for a party.)
Sam
Hi Molly! The Krispies may get a little soft, but I think it will be ok. 🙂
Ryan Childs
Fantastic as always 🙂
Kathy
I made about ten dozen of these delicious Rice Krispie cookies to rave reviews! These cookies are something different to try and if you don’t say what’s in them at first, everyone is surprised! Thank you for an easy, delicious recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad they were such a hit, Kathy! Thanks for using our recipe 🥰
Donna DesRoches
Absolutely delicious! I have made them twice. My husband loves them. Your site is a go-to for me when needing a well-developed recipe. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much, Donna! We are happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying everything 🥰
Desirae
I never review recipes, but this one I couldn’t not. This is the best cookie recipe I have ever tried in my life. I added caramel chips to the first batch, and the second batch I did plain as the recipe states I will forever have these in my freezer ready to go
Sam
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Desirae! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
AAA
I made these today and they were awesome! Can you freeze the dough?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! You should be able to freeze the dough without issue. 🙂
Tam
Wow! These cookies are dangerously delicious! My husband I tore these up! 😆 Thank you for another great recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Tam! 🙂
kim
I don’t see a how-to video.
Sam
Hi Kim! Are you running an ad blocker? It will block the video as well. You can always find all of my videos on YouTube as well. 🙂
Cyndi
Hi Sam,
Have you tried to add peanut butter? We love peanut butter in our Rice Krispie treats.
Sam
Hi Cyndi! I actually have a peanut butter rice krispie treat. 🙂
Judy
Delicious and easy to make. I measured all ingredients with a scale as you suggested. Baked perfectly.
Thank you
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Judy! 🙂
TANYA HERNANDEZ
wow!! this is a perfect cookie for a cookie tray. it’s not your usual cookie seen. love it
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Tanya! 🙂
April
These are fantastic, even my husband loved them (and he normally refuses anything besides a standard chocolate chip cookie). Thank you for sharing all of these recipes for free, your website has been seriously invaluable to me (and work potlucks :)).
Sam
I’m so glad these were such a hit! Thank you so much for your support! I’m so happy to hear everything has turned out so well. 🙂
Blue
Delicious recipe. So easy and quick to make with the no chill. My only complaint is the marshmallow that melted on the bottom of the cookie turns to a crunchy, hard caramel, which I don’t care for the texture. Other than that perfect.
Sam
I’m glad you ultimately enjoyed them! 🙂