Lemon Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats for Easter

Admittedly, sometimes letting the kids into the kitchen feels like a whole lot of trouble. It's always messier and with six extra hands, mistakes and mishaps are almost guaranteed. But spills and sticky fingers aside, I really love cooking with my girls. 

These Lemon Chocolate Rice Krispies Treats are so simple they barely qualify as "cooking," but they were a great project for the kids because they could really do it all by themselves - with me hovering and grinning at their enthusiasm of course. 

It was fun to do something a little out of the ordinary and make a sweet, delicious treat for the holidays together. The kids really enjoyed getting to be in charge of the whole project and they gave the whole experience a 10 out of 10!

Though I do believe that even the greenest vegetables taste better to kids when they have participated in the preparation process, it helped this time, of course, that in the end we had a platter of fun Easter treats to taste and share! 

My girls were very impressed with how pretty they turned out and it took a bit of convincing, on my part, to keep them from "decorating" every room in the house with their sticky Rice Krispies Egg Nests. Although once they realized they could eat them, well, that was that! 

3 tablespoons butter

1 (10oz) package jet puffed Marshmellows

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

6 drops lemon essential oil or ¼ teaspoon lemon extract

1 cup chocolate pieces (we used Easter M&M's) 

Candy Sprinkles, optional

In a microwave safe bowl heat butter and marshmellows on high for 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add lemon essential oil and stir until smooth. Add Rice Krispies and Sprinkles and stir until well coated. 

To make normal Rice Krispies bars, stir in the chocolate and using a buttered spatula, press the mixture evenly into a greased 9x13 pan. Cool and serve. 

To make the egg nests that we made, use an egg mold or use a ⅓ cup measuring cup coated with cooking spray and divide the warm cereal mixture into even portions. Using buttered hands, shape each portion into an egg, pressing an indentation with your thumbs into the center. When they have cooled, place the chocolate pieces into the indentation. 

Gather your family into the kitchen for some holiday fun too! For more simple, kid friendly treat ideas check out the Rice Krispies Pinterest page.  

Also, visit Rice Krispies, make one of the fun and yummy recipes you find and then share it to enter the Rice Krispies Treat Making Contest and win special family prizes. You can also share your creations on facebook, twitter, and instagram with the #easytomake hash tag. Have some fun with it!