Surprise someone with these cute, easy bunny huts this Easter. Behind the door of each egg-shaped abode is a little bunny, just waiting to be discovered. Made with rice cereal, marshmallows, candy melts, and butter (flavoring too, if desired) this no-bake treat is simple to make and so much fun to decorate.
You can make this as easy or as challenging as you wish. If time (and mess tolerance) is at a premium, try simply forming the eggs with your hands, cutting a door, scooping out a hole, and placing a bunny inside. Done! Or you can pipe icing around the opening, add doorknobs, and even toss in a graham cracker roof (painted with royal icing).
You may even want to go all out and turn them into panoramic eggs by adding creative touches like flowers, leaves, bees, Easter baskets, or butterflies. Go wherever your imagination takes you. Lots of little sugar shapes are available in the stores, so you don’t have to take the time to make everything by hand.
NOTE: To simplify the Bunny Hut recipe, I’ll give you instructions for the panoramic eggs at the bottom of the post.
These are easy. I piped around the door with royal icing, used a piece of candy as a doorknob, and added Mr. Bunny with a few jellybeans. And just for the record, I realized later that I have the doorknob on the WRONG SIDE! I have no idea why I did that. You, I’m sure, will get it right.
A little harder: vertical panoramic eggs. Slice off the front, scoop out the innards, and decorate!
A lot more challenging: horizontal panoramic egg. Sorry it’s fuzzy – it’s HARD to get a picture inside one of these!
And trust me, these taste a lot better than the traditional sugar version. Panoramic sugar eggs are gorgeous, but you can’t EAT them. Well, you can, but shouldn’t. If you want to play with them though, here is my post: Sweet Sugar Eggs.
I tried a lot of variations when I made these, and here are my words of wisdom:
- If it’s important that all the eggs are the same size (avoiding fights on Easter is a good idea), use egg molds. Metal, plastic, those old eggs that had pantyhose in them . . . what? You don’t remember those? Sheesh, I’m old. Anyhow, as long as you butter them, they’ll work. The trick is to really, really pack the mixture in.
- If you want a custom size egg, or the kids want to help, buttered (or damp) hands are all you’ll need. Again, the mixture has to pressed firmly. You may have to help younger children with this.
- I used colored candy melts, but white are fine. Just add a bit of food coloring when you stir in the marshmallows. A spoonful of flavored gelatin or unsweetened Kool-Aid is a fun way to add flavor and coloring too.
- If you move the eggs to a tray to sit and dry, they may start to break open. Just keep an eye on them and give them a squeeze as needed.
- Don’t expect light pastels! The cereal is tan, and it will slightly muddy whatever colors you’re using. Still pretty, though. Make sure you stir really, really well. You can see in some of my pictures that there are darker pieces of cereal that didn’t get coated completely, which isn’t desirable . . . though the kids won’t care one bit!
| Krispie Treat Easter Bunny Huts | Print |
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup candy melts (colored or white)
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
- Food coloring, ½ teaspoon flavored extract - optional
- 5 cups crispy rice cereal
- ROYAL ICING:
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 5 tablespoons warm water
- 6 small foil-covered chocolate bunnies
- Small jelly beans
- Round candy (I used white Sixlets, but small M&Ms or chocolate chips would work too)
- Eggs can be formed with your hands or molds. If using plastic or metal molds, lightly butter the insides.
- In a very large pan (non-stick is definitely recommended) on low heat, melt the butter and candy melts together, stirring often.
- Once melted, stir in marshmallows and any additional coloring or flavoring. As soon as all of the marshmallows have melted, remove pan from the heat and stir in the rice cereal. Stir well to coat the cereal completely.
- IF USING MOLDS:: Fill prepared molds and press down firmly. Add additional mixture, cupping with the palm of your hand to create a 3-D egg. Pack it down! Slide each egg out, turn over and press into mold again. This will make both sides uniform. If possible, dry for 2 hours in the molds. Otherwise, turn eggs out onto parchment or a baking sheet. Check often to make sure the eggs haven't broken apart. If they do, just squeeze them back together.
- BY HAND: Butter your hands (or dip them in water and give the a shake) and form mixture into egg shapes. It's important to press very firmly as you shape them. Let them dry on a piece of parchment or baking sheet. Check often - if they start to break apart, just squeeze them back together. Allow eggs to dry for 2-3 hours.
- ROYAL ICING: In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. On medium speed, slowly add water until mixture is thick and creamy. Add a little more water, ¼ teaspoon at a time, if necessary. Beat for 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Keep icing covered with plastic wrap. It dries out quickly!
- ASSEMBLY: Using a serrated blade, slice a piece lengthwise off one side of the egg. Make it a generous slice; a thin door is a fragile door! With royal icing, glue a candy doorknob on the right side of each door and set aside to dry. Use a melon baller to scoop out enough of the egg to comfortably hold your small chocolate bunny. Paint the inside with royal icing, then place bunny and a few small jelly beans in the cavity.
- Using a small open star tip, pipe icing around the outside of the opening. Let it dry completely. Once all of the eggs are done, lay them down. Pipe a small amount of icing on the left side of each door and attach it, leaving it slightly ajar. Let door dry completely before sitting egg upright.
Melt butter and candy melts. Stir in marshmallows (and color/flavor) well. Remove from heat.
Add rice cereal and stir really, really well.
Eggs in molds.
Or you can skip the molds and just freestyle it! Hope you have strong hands, because you really need to pack them tight.
Slice off the “door” and scoop out a hollow for your bunny to sit.
Pipe around the outside of the opening, paint the inside with royal icing, and place the bunny and some jelly beans in the hole.
You can also add a roof. I used two graham cracker halves, painted with royal icing and sprinkled with colored nonpareils.
Going for the gusto? Here are the instructions for making panoramic eggs.
Make krispy mixture as described in recipe above.
HORIZONTAL EGGS: press mixture against the inside of the mold, creating a shell. Make sure there are no holes or open spaces. Press very firmly. To avoid ragged, thin edges, let the mixture go a little over the top and trim with scissors once dry. Dry the eggs for at least 2 hours in the molds before removing. If you don’t have molds, use your hands to make the eggs. Once dry, cut about 1/4 of the egg away from the narrow end, then cut the egg in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out with a melon baller, leaving approximately a 1/3-inch thick shell.
The left one with sky will be the top. Now to fill in the bottom.
A little icing around the edge and the top will be added.
Paint the insides with colored royal icing. Green on the bottom half for the grass, blue on the top half for the sky, white for clouds. Place all of your decorations on the bottom half, using royal icing to attach each item. Pipe icing around the edge of the bottom half, then gently press the top half on. Once completely dry, pipe a decorative border around the opening and the seam. Top with leaves and flowers.
VERTICAL EGGS: Make solid eggs as described in the recipe above. Slice a thin piece lengthwise from the front of each egg. Create a cavity by scooping with a melon baller. Use royal icing to make clouds, glue decorations inside, and decorate the outside. Colored icing is perfect for piping flowers and leaves.
Have fun! I’d love to see some of your creations on my Facebook page.
Happy Easter,
Lorinda