Cake Batter Rice Crispie Treats

Super easy. Super tasty. Super festive. These cake batter rice crispie treats were the obvious baking choice for my recent road trip adventure to run a half marathon in Savannah.

I got on a sprinkle kick about a week ago – mainly in anticipation of seeing one of my most sprinkle-ish friends. She’s the one I baked the Triple Birthday Cake Cookies for over the summer. She’s also the instigator of what seems to be turning into a bi-annual adventure to run half marathons all over the country. So, baking was in order.

However, I was a bit pressed for time last week, what with leaving town and a mountain of boxes yet to be unpacked in my house. So I needed something quick and portable. These colorful crispies totally fit the bill.

They do include cake batter – and the flavor comes through nicely without being overwhelming. They’re essentially your standard rice crispie treats, but you add half a cup of cake mix to the butter before adding the marshmallows. And the result is both novel and charmingly celebratory.

Cake Batter Rice Crispie Treats (barely adapted from Ashlee Marie)

Grade: A- (mostly ’cause anything cake batter lands on my “too sweet/artificial” scale)

• 5 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup yellow cake mix
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 5 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1/3-1/2 cup sprinkles

Spray a 9×13 (or whatever size pan you want to use) baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, and then add the cake mix. Stir until it’s all combined and there are no massive clumps remaining.

Add the marshmallows and stir until they are thoroughly melted and the mixture is fairly homogenous.

Stir in the cereal so it is evenly (as possible) coated with marshmallow mixture. Scatter some of the sprinkles and gently fold the mixture. Then sprinkle in some more and fold again. The sprinkles will bleed if you’re not careful, so you want to be gentle as you incorporate them. Reserve about 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top (but this part is NOT exact science).

Press the mixture into a baking dish using the back of a silicone spatula (or you can grease your hand and do it the old fashioned way). Sprinkle with the remaining sprinkles and then pat them into the mixture.

Let the bars sit for 20-30 minutes (long enough to cool) before cutting.