Pandan Rice Krispie Treats with Coconut
Rice krispie treats are a fun treat, but they can be even more exciting with the addition of pandan extract, vivid green color, and shredded coconut! These sticky treats are super quick to make and pretty dang easy once you figure out how to handle the sticky factor.
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Pandan Rice Krispie Treats
If you’ve never heard of pandan, let me give you a little intro. Pandan is a tropical plant common to Southeast Asia. The juice of the pandan leaves is bright green and can be used to flavor desserts. I got my pandan flavor from Amazon when I bought the ube flavor for my frosted ube sugar cookies.
But I know you are wondering, what does pandan taste like? It’s a pretty subtle flavor similar to vanilla, but with an earthy, malty undertone. I feel like it really helps boost the flavor of the marshmallow in these rice krispie treats. The coconut helps pull out the vaguely tropical vibes in the pandan as well.
Do I Need To Add Food Coloring?
These are your pandan rice krispie treats and you should make them however you want. Typically, pandan is a pretty vivid green. Since my flavoring was clear, I decided to add a few drops of neon green food gel.
You can absolutely skip this addition, but if you have food coloring on hand, I would go for it. We eat without eyes and I like being able to see that these are not just regular ole treats.
Coconut Topping
Since pandan was described as having coconut notes, I figured a little shredded coconut would add more yumminess, plus make for a pretty rice krispie treat. If you don’t like coconut, you can skip this addition and you’ll be fine.
However, if you’re into shredded coconut, you could do so much more. You could always mix it in with the puffed rice cereal. Or, add half of the sticky mixture to the pan, sprinkle with coconut, then top with the rest of the mixture and even more coconut.
This is a pick your own coconut level adventure situation.
Manage The Sticky
For years I avoided making rice krispie treats because they can be just so frustrating. The marshmallows make quite a sticky mess that can be hard to control. I like to help tame it by brushing the sides of my pot with the melted butter before adding the marshmallows.
Once you add the cereal, things get crazy. Start by spraying your spatula with oil, then mix it all up. As you transfer the sticky mess into the pan, scrape the spatula and spray with more oil whenever it begins to stick too much.
Related Reading: Brown Butter Caramel Rice Krispie Treats
Press It Real Good
You want to make sure you press the cereal and marshmallow mixture down really firmly, otherwise the pandan rice krispie treats could fall apart when you cut into them. I start by using my greased spatula to smooth it into one even layer.
Once you have an even layer, spray the bottom of a glass with oil and use that to press the treats down firmly. You will crush a little bit of the top layer of the cereal, but it’s not noticeable. Finish the treats off with a sprinkle of coconut!
Cut It Up
I’m obsessed with this pastry cutter I got for Christmas. Use it to score even lines on the pandan rice krispie treats. The coconut makes this tricky, so I suggest doing this step with the treats face down on a cutting board.
Use a large knife to cut up the treats. It helps to lightly grease the knife before cutting. If needed, wipe down the blade and add more oil to the blade. Check out the video tutorial for all you visual learners!
Enjoy!
Pandan rice krispie treats get a bright green upgrade with tropical pandan flavoring and shredded coconut. I hope you get to enjoy this unique treat soon! If you give it a whirl, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Pandan Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsps unsalted butter
- 10 oz marshmallows
- 1 tsp pandan flavor
- 3- 5 drops neon green gel color optional
- Pinch of salt
- 6.5 oz puffed rice cereal
- 3- 5 oz shredded coconut
Instructions
- Prepare a 9x13 dish by spraying with oil, then line it with parchment paper. Spray the paper lightly and set the pan aside for later.
- Place the butter in a large pot and melt over a medium- low heat. Once melted, stir in the marshmallows. Stir constantly until the marshmallows are completely melted.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the pandan flavor, neon green gel color (if using) and salt. Once well combined, scrape any excess mixture off of the spatula and spray the spatula with oil. Fold in the puffed rice cereal until completely combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even layer. I like to finish it off by greasing the bottom of a glass and gently pressing the surface to ensure it is well packed and even. Top with shredded coconut, pressing gently into the mixture.
- Let the rice krispie treats cool and set up for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Once firm, slice into squares. To store: layer the squares between parchment paper in an airtight container. Keep on the counter for up to a week.
Notes
- Depending on how big you slice them, you could end up with 12- 16 servings.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
2 Comments
Connie C
Yumm! Did you use sweetened shredded coconut or unsweetened for the topping?
Colleen
I used sweetened shredded coconut 😀