There’s probably nothing cuter in the baking world than cake pops, and I find their overwhelming sweetness very appealing as well. But unfortunately they can be quite an undertaking to make, and can require different steps to be spread out overall several days. So before I headed off to my friend Mara’s bachelorette party last month, I managed to find a way to capture the cuteness of cake balls in a more manageable way on my end. Enter: Nutella rice krispie balls. After making my first batch of rice krispie treats a few months ago, and realizing how easy they can be to throw together, I was anxious to use them in another form with different flavors. Since my friend Mara is a Nutella-holic (featured here before), the flavor choice was a no-brainer and I was able to show up with a fancy display of desserts that were easy to make and definitely a crowd pleaser.
As you can see from the photos, the balls aren’t perfectly round and smooth like some cake balls, even though I tried my very best to squish the rice krispies as much as possible to form a uniform ball. But I think that just adds to their character – and the sophisticated sprinkle of crushed rice krispies on top gives a little nod to the fact that these aren’t your average cake balls. When your friends bite into these the texture will be a nice surprise, and the taste of the Nutella and chocolate coating are a perfect smooth balance to the crispy cereal. And I just had to class them up even more for their photoshoot with the gold embellishments and fancy cake plate. If you ask me, rice krispie treats have never looked so good!
The bachelorette I made these for stand out a bit from the other weddings this year – she’s chosen Paris for her wedding destination, and Ryan and I will be making the trip in just a few weeks! Mara was actually my roommate when we studied abroad in Paris in the fall of 2007 (along with Tyla, also in the photo below), and now we’re all going back 5 years later to celebrate her wedding and eat lots and lots and lots of cheese. I can’t even start to imagine what a beautiful bride she’s going to make, especially in the setting of the most romantic city in the world! Taking a trip to that special place with my fiance (even if it’s just for a few days) ain’t too bad either :) Don’t you like how we all coordinated for her bachelorette to match the glitzy rice krispie ball getup??
Nutella Rice Krispie Balls
Yield: 36 balls
Ingredients:
3 cups Rice Krispie cereal
5oz mini marshmallows
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dark chocolate candy melts or chocolate chips for dipping
Directions:
Measure out the cereal into a large bowl and set aside.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the marshmallows, butter, Nutella, and vanilla. Melt in the microwave for about 45 seconds, and mix until completely smooth.
Stir in the rice cereal until well combined.
Using a small cookie scoop to keep the balls the same size, start forming balls of the rice krispie mixture with your hands. You'll find the cereal might be hard to roll, but just squeeze hard enough with your palms and they will eventually cooperate :) Place rolled balls on a wax paper or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and set aside.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring thoroughly between each round, until chocolate is completely smooth. Dip each rice krispie ball in the chocolate and tap the handle of the spoon on the side of the bowl to help shake off any excess. Return the chocolate covered treat to the lined cookie sheet to allow the chocolate to set.
Sprinkle with crushed up rice cereal if desired.
These look great! I’m not a fan of Nutella, but my husband would love these!
Have fun in Paris! What a fun creation. I have been wondering how rice krispie treats would fair being dipped in chocolate
What a great idea! I have a whole lot of rice bubbles (Aussie version) in the pantry from another recipe and I’ve been wondering what to do with them. Paris for a wedding?! Wow!!! That will be absolutely amazing!
Erica! How do you have time to be a dental student, bake scrumptious treats, and look gorgeous? Please advise. – baking-deprived D1.
Erica — September 29th, 2012 @ 7:58 pm
Hahahah – thanks! I just try to be as organized as I can. I need to distract myself sometimes or I’d go crazy, so I choose to bake and blog :) Good luck with your first year!!
Wow! Those crispie balls look beautiful! I bet it takes a lot of effort to make them?
Erica — September 29th, 2012 @ 7:58 pm
No they weren’t that hard at all! Rice Krispie treats are a cinch to make and then you have to put a little time into rolling them, but much easier than cake balls :)
These sound wonderful
Just made these today for my roommate’s birthday–fantastic, and so easy!!! Thanks!
These look so beautiful!
I made these last night……like heroin! Lol. They should be illegal.
Hi, I am trying to make balls and they just won’t roll. I find the ingredients are to dry to roll. I added more Marshmellow and nutella and still no results…I tasted them and they are delicious if only they could stay together…
Erica — December 21st, 2012 @ 1:41 am
You really have to put some muscle into it! Just press really hard with your fingers as you’re rolling to kind of compress the rice krispies down. I hope you figured it out and enjoyed them!
My family really like those, instead of dipping I drizzled the melted chocolate because they like their things less sweet. Huge hit thanks for sharing :)
I made these as a New Year’s Eve party gift. They were crazy easy to make and SO delicious!
i made these but i could barely taste the nutella! to me, it was a rice krispie dipped in chocolate. any suggestions?
I love the recipe. If you prefer to taste more hazelnut, you may want to try using Frangelica Liqueur instead of vanilla extract.
I just made these and I had a hard time forming the balls. However, I think you have to pour the rice krispies in the marshmellow mix in order for them to stick better. I was too late for that so i added more marshmellows in a seperate bowl and microwaved them and then added the rice krispie mix to that and i was able to form balls.
These look absolutely FABULOUS! I love making balls, can’t wait to try these (and I’m pretty sure they have these ingredients in Costa Rica – will check!). Thank you!!
I’m thinking I could just press the mixture in a 9X13 pan like regular treats instead of rolling into balls. Then maybe top with melted chocolate chips or frosting of some sort. What do you think?
Erica — April 2nd, 2014 @ 4:52 pm
I think that would work just fine! Definitely mix in.since Nutella to the melted chocolate topping if you can :)
I’m having a lot of fun making over traditional desserts into healthier versions of themselves. Rice Krispie Treats are so much fun to play around with now that I’ve discovered marshmallow fluff made with brown rice syrup. Thanks for your recipe, it’s an inspiration for me to get back to the drawing board, or maybe I should say “cutting board” LOL
Wow this looks amazing….Will have to give this a go. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
These are so deliciously easy to make! I spent all winter learning how to make chocolate truffles with various recipes and gave boxes of chocolates as gifts. This recipe was by far the easiest to make but also the favorite of the bunch! Thanks for the recipe, I’m definitely trying out your other truffle concoctions!
At what point do I add Peanut Butter to use for Chocolate Nutella Rice Krispie Balls, justvgotta have PB IP in the mix