Everyone remembers the old story about Santa leaving a lump of coal in your stocking if you are on the naughty list. This year, you can leave these Lump Of Coal Rice Krispie Treats instead! Your kids will love finding a delicious snack in their stocking and you get to have fun with the story of telling them they are on the naughty list.
Jump to Recipe
This recipe for Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats is super easy to make. It’s a basic Rice Krispies treat recipe with the addition of my favorite cookie, Oreo’s’. With crushed Oreo cookies and some black food coloring, you can turn a plain Rice Krispies treats into a little lump of coal.
This recipe is perfect for sharing around the holiday season. It makes a fun addition to cookie platters and dessert tables.
If you want to use less food coloring and you have Cocoa Krispies and Chocolate Oreos available, then try our Double Chocolate Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats Recipe.
Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
This fun Christmas dessert is made by shaping Chocolate Oreo Rice Krispie Treats into the shape of lumps of coal.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows or 30 large marshmallows
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups rice cereal (reduce to 3 cups if you want softer coal)
- 1 1/2 cups crushed Oreo cookies, loosely packed (best to leave the filling in the cookies)
- 4 – 10 drops black gel food coloring (enough to turn the melted marshmallows black. The amount required will depend on the brand you use). We have found this super black gel food color is able to darken the marshmallow with the fewest drops.
Directions:
1. In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, heat your marshmallows and butter for 60-90 seconds. Until the butter and marshmallow are melted.
2. Stir your marshmallows and mix in your food coloring until you achieve the desired color.
3. Now mix in your rice cereal and the crushed Oreo cookies. Use a heavy metal spoon as it is quite hard to stir all of the Rice Krispies.
4. Let sit for about 5 minutes until your marshmallows cool down
5. Use a tablespoon to scoop out your treats onto a piece of parchment paper.
6. Let them cool for 20 – 30 minutes.
7. Finally, pack your treats a little more tightly by using your hands and shaping your “coal”.
The final product will be harder, denser, and drier than your traditional Rice Krispies treats, but the Oreos will make it more flavorful.
Note about color: Some people have found that their food dye did not do an adequate job of coloring the Rice Krispies treats. One of my friends had this happen to her and she used Wilton Black Color Mist to give them an extra coat of black color of her lumps of coal.
This is such a fun idea for Christmas! Make these lump of coal Rice Krispie treats and store in paper bags marked with “coal” on the outside. Slip them inside your kids’ stockings or gift them to your friends and family as a fun and delicious holiday treat. They are also an easy, no-bake alternative to cookies that you can take along to a cookie exchange.
Printable Recipe for Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats
Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups miniature marshmallows
- 1½ Tablespoons butter
- 3 - 4 cups rice cereal use 3 cups for softer "coal"
- 1½ cups crushed Oreo cookies loosely packed (best to leave the filling in)
- 4 - 10 drops black gel food coloring
Instructions
- In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, heat your marshmallows and butter for 60-90 seconds.
- Stir your marshmallows and mix in your food coloring until you achieve the desired color.
- Mix in your rice cereal and crushed Oreo cookies.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes until your marshmallows cool down.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop out your treats onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Cool for 20 - 30 minutes.
- Pack your treats a little more tightly by using your hands.
More Holiday Rice Krispie Treats
Here are more Christmas Rice Krispie Treat recipes. These are an easy no-bake addition to holiday cookie platters.
Christmas Tree Rice Krispie Treats
Double Chocolate Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats
More Christmas Desserts:
Christmas Rolo Pretzel Turtle Recipe
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Donna @ Modern on Monticello says
Such a fun new way to make these! Kids and adults will love them. This post will be a feature this week. Thanks for sharing it. #HomeMattersParty
Nicolle says
Alea this is such a darling idea! My kids would get a kick out of these! I hope you will come by and link up some more of your recipes and ideas over on my weekly link party every Wednesday-Sunday! https://www.ourtinynest.com/2022/11/30/weekly-wednesday-link-party-324/
Sarah Hill says
How long do they last for?
Sophia says
Can you freeze these?
Jess says
Is it really just 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of butter? Why so little butter? (lol). I know these are not your “normal” rice krispy treats, and although Im used to making regular rice krispy treats, this doesn’t seem like its enough butter?
Alea Milham says
Since we leave the filling in the Oreos, you don’t need as much butter.
Lauren says
Thank you! I came here specifically looking for a tip on the oreo creme center and i liked that you mentioned to keep it in there. The food coloring tip was a life saver. I had 2 separate brands that didnt work at all. One turned it blue and the other light grey.
Emily says
Does it matter if you use salted or unsalted butter?
Alea Milham says
No, it doesn’t.
Julie C says
These turned out great! Very easy and they look like perfect lumps of coal! I used Wilton Color Right base black – part of their performance color system (which I don’t have). It took A LOT of the food coloring but it turned out!
Cathy says
How crushed should the oreos be? Should they be small crumbs like when put into a food processor? Or just crushed by hand with larger pieces of crumbs?
Thanks!
Alea Milham says
I crushed them by hand.
Lauren says
Can I use regular black food coloring instead of gel? I understand the results will vary but I plan on buying the black food mist as well, just wanted to know if the regular food coloring will work at all.
Every year we do a Christmas treat exchange with my husbands family- these are gonna be a hit!?
Alea Milham says
Yes, you can.
Mica says
These look great… How long do they keep for?
Alea Milham says
They keep for 5 days as long as they are hidden from your family in an airtight container.
KatCS says
This was my first time making any type of Rice Krispie treat, but I added the Oreos first then the cereal (lack of bowl), and I could barely stir after two cups of cereal!
Is that normal? I eventually got in 4 but had to use my hands a bit (they’re going to my father).
Alea Milham says
We usually put the rice krispies in first. The cookie crumbs may have absorbed more of the liquid than the rice krispies usually do.
A big metal spoon is easier to stir with than a wooden spoon or spatula.
Some of my kids prefer them with only 3 cups which makes them chewier rather than harder.
Lori says
Charcoal capsules are the way to go if you want black coloring.
Gina says
I just made these but I couldn’t get them black as shown in pic, I added extra food coloring but it didn’t help
Alea Milham says
We are finding that Food coloring performance varies greatly. You need to add enough food coloring to the marshmallows to make it near black before adding the rice Krispies or crushed Oreos. The crushed Oreos will darken it even more.
Sandy Carlson says
I made these this weekend and they turned out GREAT! What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing!
Baking's A Science says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is such a good idea. How many “lumps of coal” did you get out of this recipe?
Sandy Carlson says
I got a total of 60. Initially, I made them much larger but when “smooshing” them in the final step, I realized they would be fun as “bites” instead of the size of a typical treat
Amanda says
Do you scrap the filling from the press before crushing them?
Alea Milham says
You can make them with or without the filling in the cookies. With the filling is a little sweeter and more flavorful.
Karen Hardecker says
In that case you could use chocolate wafer cookies instead of Oreos.
Alea Milham says
Yes, you can.
carvill veech says
This is a good gift for a “frenemy”, your bad boss, or your no good brother-in-law.
Eden Passante says
How adorable! Lumps of coal are typically sad, but this makes a nice joke out of them! Thanks for sharing!!
Adele says
i know right!! i am going to put them in my brother’s stocking! i can’t wait to see the look on his face when he opens it!
Audrey says
For the marshmellows are they supposed to be the mini size or regular?
Alea Milham says
You should use mini marshmallows.
Kat says
You could use activated charcoal powder in place of the food coloring. It is found at most health stores and on Amazon. One capsule i opened would do the trick. It is tasteless AND great for purifying the body. But do not take it close to meds, within a few hours, due to its binding properties.
Diana Cox says
Just one question. These are a cool idea, but I have had experience with some food coloring that leaves your mouth colored with it. Do these turn your mouth etc, black?
Alea Milham says
Depending on the food dye you use, it may.