Tangy Watermelon Rice Krispie Treats

When my kids are home in the summer time, and it’s a kazillion degrees outside, we spend a good deal of time in the kitchen making “fun food”.  Generally, there’s not a whole lot of nutritional value in “fun food”, but that’s OK.  It’s for fun, right?  This is a recipe that I came across online last year and it has become a summer favorite.  Last summer, I should have bought stock in marshmallows, I made so many batches!

The finished product is deliciously chewy, sweet, and tangy, but above all, fun!  Plus, from an adult standpoint, it’s pretty cute.

Rice Krispie treats are one of the easiest, universally loved desserts around, and this recipe is just as easy as the original…it just adds a couple of quick steps.

I start, just as I would with regular Rice Krispie treats, by melting down a bag of marshmallows with some butter on the stove top.

Once the marshmallows and butter are melted together, I add a pack of green lemon-lime Kool Aid to tint the marshmallows.  After the Kool-Aid is mixed in, I quickly stir in four cups of Rice Krispies, carefully coating them evenly with the marshmallow mixture.

Once the cereal is coated, I quickly pour the green, sticky Krispies into a round 9 inch cake pan that I’ve sprayed with nonstick spray.  Next comes the trickiest part of the whole thing…and it’s not that tricky.

I always spray my hands with nonstick spray and, with the help of some waxed paper, I push the green Krispie mixture around the edges of the pan so I have an even watermelon rind.  I press, and press, and press until it’s really compact and the Rice Krispie mixture is staying put.  At first, it’s pretty hot, but this stuff cools quickly so work as efficiently as possible!

Once the rind is in place, it’s time to make the middle of the watermelon.

I wash out my pan and start the same process over again, except this time, I use strawberry flavored marshmallows and cherry Kool-Aid.

I’ve heard that there’s a red watermelon flavored Kool-Aid out there, but I’ve never been able to find it.  That’s OK, though.  We like the cherry just the way it is!

Once the red batch is all mixed together, I pour it into the middle of my green ring.

Then, I take another sheet of waxed paper and, carefully, press it firmly into the  pan so that the top of the red is flush with the green.  It doesn’t seem like it should all fit in there, but it does, just trust me!  Keep pressing!

Once the red and green are together, I let them cool for a while before adding the “seeds”.  I’ve always used chocolate chips as seeds, but you could certainly change that up and use raisins if you’d like.

When I’m ready to serve up some “watermelon”, I just run a knife around the edge of the pan and pop it out with a spatula.  It slices into perfect wedges, just like the real thing.  It’s just a little sweeter!  The Rice Krispie treat is so thick that you can get quite a few slices out of one 9 inch round.  It’s the perfect pool party, summer fun kind of treat!

TANGY WATERMELON RICE KRISPIE TREATS

Adapted from DineandDish.net