An easy, no-bake holiday treat. Quick-to-assemble reindeer are sure to be a fun food craft to make with kids or give away as treats to neighbors this Christmas. These Allergy-friendly Reindeer Rice Krispies are free of: wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, peanut & tree nuts. They have a vegan option too.
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Who loves to make holiday goodies? ME! Who also tends to get overwhelmed with all of the holiday hustle and bustle? Me! So, who needs something festive, easy, yummy and no-bake to hand out to friends and neighbors? ME!!!
If this fits you too, you’re going to love my newest creation!
As you’ve probably seen in my many other rice krispy adventures (like Frankensteins, Valentine hearts, Inside out scotcheroos, and Snickerdoodle krispies) I’m a huge fan! It’s like adult play-doh! You get to have fun making shapes and playing with colors. It’s one of my favorite go-tos when making a treat. We make them constantly when we need something sweet but I don’t want to bake.
What’s nice about this recipe, is that it’s halved from an original recipe to fit in a glass pie plate. So, it makes just eight reindeer, so it’s nice for a small batch, or if you don’t have a full bag of marshmallows–like I constantly do because my kiddos are always sneaking them! Stinkers!
Or, if you want to give it away to a family, it makes just enough for one lucky neighbor!
This could also be a fun food craft for kids. I know my kids love pouring in the cereal and the marshmallows, as well as helping to decorate. Use this at school or other holiday parties to make sure everyone is included whether they have food allergies or celiac disease. Because, Christmas and the holidays should be about thinking of others and making sure everyone can participate.
Here’s the details on the allergy-friendly decorations:
- Eyeballs: I get asked this the most, so let’s get down to business: I could only find edible candy eyes that had gelatin in them. If you’re vegan, I found this homemade recipe for you. I always say we’re accidentally vegan since my son is allergic to dairy and eggs–but since he can do gelatin we did the Betty Crocker brand and we’ve done the Wilton brand too. Or, you could always put the plastic kind on and simply not eat them…up to you! (Note, if you’re doing vegan–then be sure to use vegan appropriate marshmallows, like Dandies.
- Cereal: Regular and generic brands of rice krispies use barley in all the brands I’ve ran across. (So they are wheat free, but not gluten-free). I’ve found Malt-0-Meal & Erewhon are great gluten-free substitutions.
- Antlers: I’ve unfortunately never found soy free pretzels, hence why these are not considered top-8-free. But, we can do soy. We’ve found two pretzels that work for us: Synder’s Gluten-free Pretzels and Glutino’s Preztzels.
- Nose: Since most people do chocolate for this part, and almost all chocolate is not allergy-friendly (or it’s hard to find if it is) we simply went with an upside down Skittle, so the “S” on the front didn’t show. You could substitute it for cinnamon candies too…or really any safe red candy that works for your own food allergies.
- Glue: We used honey to make the decorations stick, so it’d be clear. If you want, you can use frosting (and then make a batch of sugar cookies to use up the rest!) or, use maple syrup or agave if you’re doing vegan.
- Marshmallows: If you’re wondering what brands of marshmallows are gluten-free and dairy-free, check out my article: What’s in the biggest brands of marshmallows? (It even has a comparison chart!)
To see a video how easy it is to make these Allergy-friendly Reindeer Rice Krispies, watch this fun video:
Allergy-friendly Reindeer Rice Krispies
An easy, no-bake holiday treat. Quick-to-assemble reindeers are sure to be a fun food craft to make with kids or give away as treats to neighbors this Christmas. These Allergy-friendly Reindeer Rice Krispies are free of: wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, peanut & tree nuts. They have a vegan option too.
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a pot over medium low heat, add your coconut oil and melt. Next, stir in your marshmallows until they're melted.
- Add in your cereal and stir until it's completely incorporated.
- Pour into a greased, round, pie plate and flatted evenly with your hand.
- Allow it to cool.
- Cut into eight even triangles.
- Place dollops of honey where you want the eyes, nose and antlers to be. Place the corresponding candy on the dots of honey.
- Keep covered room temperature.
Notes
*Note: if you use coconut oil, if it gets cold it will toughen up. So, if you don't want tough krispies, be sure to keep these at room temperature.
If you have a coconut allergy just use Spectrum shortening.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 107Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 98mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS!
Looking for other allergy-friendly holiday treats? Here are some of my other favorites:
Allergy-friendly Rice Krispy Christmas Trees
Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies (GF, Vegan, Peanut/Tree nut Free)
Dairy-free Peppermint Patties (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free; vegan)
Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with the hope that they help you as you manage your food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!
Jessica
Super cute! We’ve found that Great Value brand rice cereal doesn’t contain barley. Thinking I might also make these with Cocoa Pebbles for some brown reindeer! My son will love these!
Megan Lavin
That’s great news! I hadn’t checked their packaging in a few years. They used to have malt in it. Thanks for the update!
Don Schuldes
Can I use butter instead of cooking spray? Cuz i’m not so sure if I have it here in my country
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Yes, that should be fine!
Audrey
Such a cute idea! My kids would love these.
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Thanks–yes kid friendly food is so fun!
Amanda
My jaw literally dropped when I saw these. So imaginative! Regardless of how many desserts are on the table, the Rice Krispies Treats always go first. I suspect these will disappear before they even hit the table!
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Thank you! I’m having the HARDEST time saving them for some neighbors to give away!
Sandi
These bars are seriously adorable!
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Thank you! I just melt over cute food!
Alisa Fleming
These are so adorable! And I love how they are wedge shaped – more fun to eat like a slice of pizza!
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Right? Pizza or rice krispie–the wedge is just too fun for hand held eating.
Kristina
these are just the cutest! I have at least one party where kids are invited, and I am definitely going to make these! 🙂
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YAY! I hope they’re a hit with the kiddos.
Chrystal @ Gluten-Free Palate
Awe, these reindeer treats are so cute. My kids are going to love them.
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Thanks! I have a weakness for cute food.
Nicole Dawson
Such a cute way to make rice crispy treats even more fun to eat.
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Thanks! Yes, I’m addicted to coming up with new ways to eat the good ol’ rice krispie!
Leslie
These are too cute! You are so creative. These will be a big hit with my boys!
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Thank you! I hope your boys like em as much as my boys did!