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Use your favorite Special K Cereal to make deliciously crispy and chewy marshmallow cereal treats. It's easy to make a pan of Special K Bars using the original crisp rice cereal or any other variety of whole-grain flakes.
You can use just about any cereal to make marshmallow cereal treats. To date, I've only found one cereal that doesn't work (Sugar Smacks Cereal gets too soggy).
We've shared recipes to make delicious Frosted Flakes Treats, Corn Flakes Treats, and even Raisin Bran Crunch Bars using cereal flakes so I knew Special K cereal would work great too.
I have to admit though that I did not realize that the original Special K Cereal is essentially flakes of crisp rice. There is wheat listed in the ingredients, but the cereal tastes very similar to Rice Krispies. When you use the original Special K Cereal to make marshmallow cereal treats, they taste and look very similar to a traditional Rice Krispie Treat.
I had not ever eaten plain Special K Cereal. I typically buy the Special K Fruit and Yogurt Cereal and the first ingredient listed is wheat. The flakes also have rice in them but they have a stronger wheat flavor.
When experimenting with this recipe, I picked the fruit and yogurt bits out of my box of cereal because I thought the flakes in that cereal were the flakes from the plain Special K Cereal. As it turns out, I was wrong. I also purchased a box of the original cereal and was very surprised to find they tasted more like Rice Krispies Cereal.
In the end, both treats tasted great. One tasted more of rice while the other tasted more of wheat.The moral of the story is that you can use any variety of this cereal to make delicious Special K Bars. Choose your favorite and enjoy!
Let's make marshmallow Special K Cereal Bars!
You'll need:
- medium-large saucepan or microwave-safe mixing bowl
- 8-inch square baking pan
- butter to grease the pan
- your favorite variety of Special K Cereal
- salted butter - We always recommended using European-style salted butter for the very best flavor.
- marshmallows - We recommend using Kraft Jet-Puffed or Staypuff Marshmallows for the best texture and flavor. Check out our Marshmallow Conversion Chart for weights and measurement information.
Printable Recipe
Special K Bars
Beth Klosterboer
Crispy and chewy marshmallow Special K Bars can be made with your favorite variety of Special K Cereal. Use the stovetop or microwave to quickly make these cereal treats.
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 124 kcal
Equipment
1 medium-large saucepan or microwave-safe bowl
1 8-inch square baking pan
Ingredients
- 6 cups Special K Cereal
- ¼ cup salted butter (European-style butter for the best flavor)
- 10 ounces marshmallows
Instructions
Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with butter or nonstick baking spray.
Grease the inside of a large mixing bowl with butter or non-stick baking spray then pour in the 6 cups of Special K cereal.
Set the bowl aside until needed.
Stove-top recipe:
Begin to melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat.
Then, stir in 10 ounces of marshmallows and allow them to melt, stirring often, until about 75% have melted.
Remove the marshmallows from the heat and stir, smashing them, until they are completely melted.
If you remove the pan from the heat when the marshmallows are not fully melted the residual heat will continue to melt them.
If marshmallows are overheated the sugar will begin to crystalize which in turn will create hard treats.
Pour the marshmallow mixture over the cereal and toss to coat evenly.
Spread the cereal mixture into the prepared pan.
Press down gently to flatten the mixture into an even layer. You don't want to crush the cereal. Plus if you compact it too much, the treats won't be as soft and chewy.
Then, set the pan aside for at least 1 hour in order for the marshmallow cereal treats to cool before cutting into 16 squares.
Microwave recipe:
Combine 4 tablespoons of salted butter and 10 ounces marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl.
Heat on high power for 1 minute then remove and stir until the melted butter blends with the marshmallows.
Keep stirring until the marshmallows melt.
If needed, reheat for 15-second increments, stirring after each until the marshmallows are fully melted.
Once again, you do not want to overheat the marshmallows!
Pour over a bowl filled with 6 cups of Special K cereal and stir until the cereal becomes well blended with the marshmallows.
Spread the cereal mixture into a prepared pan.
Give the cereal treats time to cool before cutting.
Notes
Storaging your cereal treats:
- These treats are best served the day they are made but will stay nice and fresh if stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week and possibly longer. I ate my final treat on day 7 and it was still crispy and delicious!
- If you'd like to make these treats in advance you may freeze them.
- See our Rice Krispie Treat FAQ for information regarding freezing and storage.
Keyword cereal treats, marshmallows, rice krispie treats, Special K Bars
More Cereal Treat Recipes:
Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Bars
S'mores Rice Krispie Treats
More traditional flavors
- Samoa Rice Krispie Treats
- Potato Chip Rice Krispie Treats
- Rice Krispie Treat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Snowflake Rice Krispie Treats
About Beth Klosterboer
Beth Klosterboer is a professional chocolatier, recipe developer, cookbook author, photographer, videographer, and event planner. She has owned and operated two retail confectionery stores from 1989 until 2001 and has been blogging since 2010. Beth creates fun food and delicious desserts for multiple websites and teaches chocolate-making courses for The Sugar Academy.
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BUY ME A COFFEE - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hungryhappenings
We love creating easy Rice Krispie Treats recipes to share with you and hope you find our tips and instructions helpful. ___ - Beth and Meaghan
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