Rice Krispie Treat Turkey Legs
Rice Krispie treat turkey legs are a fun, seasonal spin on everyone’s favorite cereal treat perfect for Thanksgiving. This kid friendly, no bake Thanksgiving dessert add a playful touch to your holiday dessert table without spending hours baking.
If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving treat that’s a little more fun than pie or even cookies and cupcakes, these Rice Krispie treat turkey legs are just the thing.
They are a super cute take on the classic treats we know, love and enjoy year round in a festive Thanksgiving version.
They take classic crispy rice cereal treats and turn them into adorable edible turkey drumsticks for a cute, kid friendly addition to your dessert table.
And you can make them without fancy decorating skills or hard to find ingredients.
Plus they are fun to make with kids so they can really feel apart of things.
Whether you’re planning a Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving event or just looking for a fun activity to make with the kids, making these will add a festive touch to your table.
Ingredients
To make these you’ll need:
- Melting wafers– White ones. These are sometimes called candy melts. You could also use white chocolate with a teaspoon or so of coconut oil stirred in to smooth it out.
- Pretzel rods– Cut in half.
- Mini marshmallows– Make sure to reserve 14 mini marshmallows for the bones.
- Butter– 1 stick.
- Cocoa powder– Adjust the amount of this to make your desired color.
- Rice Krispies
How to Make
Rice Krispie treat turkey legs are pretty easy to make and a fun project to do with the kids.
To make them, start by melting the the candy melts by filling a small saucepan a quarter of the way with water and placing a heat safe bowl on top so that the water is underneath but not touching the bowl.
Put the candy melts into the bowl and bring the water in the saucepan underneath the bowl to a bowl.
Reduce it to a simmer and stir the wafers until they melt and are smooth.
Dip about 2/3s of a pretzel rod into the melted candy and shake off the excess.
Immediately lay the dipped rod onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and stick two marshmallows on the dipped end so it looks like the end of a bone while the candy is still melted.
Repeat this with the rest of the pretzels.
Refrigerate the dipped pretzel for 5 minutes so the candy sets up.
Then take the dipped rods and dip them again, covering the marshmallows.
Lay the dipped rods down on lined baking sheet.
Place in the refrigerator to set for 5 mins.
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and then stir in the cocoa powder.
Once the butter and cocoa powder are combined, add the marshmallows and stir them until they are fully melted and smooth.
Fold in the Rice Krispies until all are coated.
Remove the “bones” from the refrigerator.
Using gloved or lightly greased hands from cooking spray or vegetable oil, take about 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup worth of the Rice Krispies mixture depending on how big you want each “turkey leg” to be and form it into a ball.
Put one of the prepared bones into one end so the “meat” covers the undipped portion of the pretzel.
Set it onto the lined baking sheet and keep molding it until you are happy with the turkey leg shape.
Repeat with the rest.
Let them set for 10 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Storing
Store these in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
Tips and Tricks
- I suggest using the double boiler method so you can keep the melted wafers viscous long enough to dip the pretzel rods in a second time. You want to keep the wafers at a simmer so they stay melted. Just stir them occasionally to prevent clumping.
- Adjust the amount of cocoa powder in the Rice Krispie treats to make the turkey legs darker.
- If you prefer to use no cocoa powder you can omit it and just give it the classic Rice Krispie treat color.
- You could also use Cocoa Krispies and omit the cocoa powder. It will just give you a darker turkey leg.
- The longer it sits, the more it will harden! Let it sit for 10 minutes just to firm up (it firms up pretty quickly off the heat) and then serve. If it becomes too hard, you can always give it a quick microwave for 5-10 seconds.
- The Rice Krispie mixture is super sticky to mold. I like using gloves sprayed with cooking spray to prevent them from sticking to my hands. If you use a measuring cup to get exact measurements, you can lightly spray the inside of the cup as well so it doesn’t get stuck in there.
Other Thanksgiving Treats for Kids
Rice Krispie treat turkey legs are a fun twist on traditional Rice Krispie treats for kids of all ages at Thanksgiving.
Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other Thanksgiving treats for kids?
Try these:
If you’ve tried these RICE KRISPIE TREAT TURKEY LEGS or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Rice Krispie Treat Turkey Legs
Ingredients
- 10 oz white melting wafers
- 7 pretzel rods cut in half
- 12 oz mini marshmallows divided (reserve 14 pieces for the bones)
- 1 stick butter 8 tablespoons
- 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder to desired color
- 7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Instructions
- Fill a small saucepan a quarter of the way with water and place double boiler on top. The water should be right underneath but not touching the double boiler. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and melt the wafers until smooth.10 oz white melting wafers
- Dip pretzel rods into the melted wafers and shake off the excess.7 pretzel rods
- Immediately lay the dipped rods onto a lined baking sheet and stick two marshmallows on the dipped end. Place in the refrigerator to set for 5 minutes. Keep the wafers at a simmer so they stay melted and stir occasionally to prevent clumping.12 oz mini marshmallows
- Take the rods and dip the again into the melted wafers.
- Lay the dipped rods down on lined baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator to set for 5 mins.
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.1 stick butter
- Stir in the cocoa powder.2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
- Add marshmallows and stir continuously until fully melted and smooth.
- Add the Rice Krispies and gently fold together until all are coated.7 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- Remove the “bones” from the refrigerator. Using gloved hands or lightly greased hands from cooking spray or vegetable oil, take about 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup worth of the Rice Krispies mixture (depending on how big you want each “turkey leg” to be) and form it into a ball. Insert one of the prepared bones into one end. Place it onto the lined baking sheet and you can continue to mold it into a turkey leg shape there. Repeat with the rest.
- Let set for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I suggest using the double boiler method so you can keep the melted wafers viscous long enough to dip the pretzel rods in a second time. You want to keep the wafers at a simmer so they stay melted. Just stir them occasionally to prevent clumping.
- Adjust the amount of cocoa powder in the Rice Krispie treats to make the turkey legs darker.
- If you prefer to use no cocoa powder you can omit it and just give it the classic Rice Krispie treat color.
- You could also use Cocoa Krispies and omit the cocoa powder. It will just give you a darker turkey leg.
- The longer it sits, the more it will harden! Let it sit for 10 minutes just to firm up (it firms up pretty quickly off the heat) and then serve. If it becomes too hard, you can always give it a quick microwave for 5-10 seconds.
- The Rice Krispie mixture is super sticky to mold. I like using gloves sprayed with cooking spray to prevent them from sticking to my hands. If you use a measuring cup to get exact measurements, you can lightly spray the inside of the cup as well so it doesn’t get stuck in there.
