Rice Cereal Ornament Balls

For my husband's holiday work lunch, I made Ornament Balls out of rice cereal treats (see my Rice Cereal Treats post for the recipe). Some of them were covered in cookie icing, while others simply had decorating icing and sprinkles. The tops are mini-candy canes stuck through a mini marshmallow to form the ornament hook. You could also use string licorice to create the hook.



You will need:

• Rice Cereal Treats ingredients
• Icing. I used cookie icing. Be warned that the blue icing will turn your lips and tongue blue!
• Sprinkles
• Small candies (M&M's, etc.)
• Mini candy canes
• Mini marshmallows

Directions:
1. Stick mini candy canes through middle of the mini marshmallows. (DM Alternative: Fold string licorice in half and stick ends through mini marshmallows. Set aside.
2. Make rice cereal treats.
3. Grease a measuring cup and scoop out a 1/2 cup of cereal mix. Shape into a ball around the end of the candy cane and set aside to cool.
4. Once the treats are cooled, decorate with icing, frosting, and candies. I placed a sheet of wax paper down and drizzled the cookie icing over the balls. A plastic knife can be useful in spreading the icing around. Let icing start to set before adding sprinkles or candies. If the icing is too liquid, the sprinkles/candies will slide off. Set aside on a piece of wax paper to allow the icing to set.*



*DM Tip: Read the back of the icing and make sure the icing will set hard enough to stack cookies. This may take a few hours, depending on the icing.