These came about mostly my accident. I was trying something else that didn’t work and ended up with these rays of sunshine. My daughter is into unicorns and rainbows now (ah, does a ’80s kid like me proud) so I’m hoping she still is at her next birthday.
See below for written instructions. But if you still need some more rainbow-y marshmallow ideas, use this same method to make unicorn-approved rainbow s’mores dip! It’s amazing. And grown-ups, did you know you can use vodka instead of water here? Check out these vodka-dipped rainbow marshmallow pops.
how to make sparkly rainbow marshmallow kabobs
you will need:*
- marshmallows
- toothpicks
- bowl of water
- sprinkles or sanding sugar, variety of colors
- wax paper
- lollipop sticks, 12-inch
- paper towels
- crisco
*I used red, yellow, green, blue and purple sprinkles. In the updated version, I also use pink instead of red, and I add orange. Find 12-inch lollipop sticks in the craft store or online.
step one: add sprinkles to marshmallows
Have ready a bowl of water, a paper towel, an empty bowl or plate, an open container of any color sprinkles and a piece of wax paper. Skewer a marshmallow at one of the flat ends with a toothpick. Use the toothpick to hold the marshmallow, submerge the marshmallow fully in the water quickly, and remove. Dab the excess water on the paper towel, hold the marshmallow over the empty bowl and sprinkle generously with sprinkles to entirely coat the marshmallow. Carefully remove the marshmallow from the toothpick and set on a piece of wax paper to dry. Let dry several hours. Repeat with more marshmallows in the different colors.
step two: add the stick
MAKE AHEAD TIPS:
Kami says
April 15, 2011 at 4:37 pmgonna have to try these out! my daughter loves marshmallows, and what is better than an bright one?
I hope my daughter loves the 80's as much as I do too!
Sue says
April 15, 2011 at 4:47 pmI love rainbows in any form, especially the sweet, cute edible form! 🙂
heidi says
April 15, 2011 at 4:54 pmThese are so pretty. I love rainbows and easy crafts.
-heidi
a week from thursday
Sarah-Jane - SiliconeMoulds.com says
April 15, 2011 at 5:57 pmthats' really cool – I like those. What's more, it's something that can easily be done by kids.
I need to buy sanding sugar !
siliconemoulds.blogspot.com
Hayley says
April 15, 2011 at 6:41 pmThese are awesome! I'm so excited to make these for the pride parade!
unikornz says
April 15, 2011 at 7:17 pmthis is awesome.
i am especially curious to know what you were trying to make originally, before accidentally making these!
Chic Cookies says
April 15, 2011 at 8:57 pmThanks all! Go '80s! And rainbows. Agree, Hayley, easy to tote around, too! Unikornz… you'll see in a few weeks.
malia says
April 15, 2011 at 10:03 pmfirst of all… what a lovely blog!
second… thanks so much for linking my itsy bitsy carrot patch project up– so sweet of you!
xo malia
Erin says
April 16, 2011 at 12:54 amThese have Punky Brewster written all over them! 🙂 Love that!
Kristan says
April 16, 2011 at 8:40 pmYou had me at "Glitter up your marshmallows"
xoxo
Kristan
Cookbook Queen
Cheryl @ Sew Can Do says
April 17, 2011 at 5:01 pmGorgeous!! These would look amazing at party – good thing my birthday is coming up – now I have an excuse;)
Penny says
April 17, 2011 at 5:46 pmI love this, thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Anonymous says
April 17, 2011 at 10:34 pmLove these they are adorable, think I will make them in pastel colors for Easter next weekend!
Chic Cookies says
April 17, 2011 at 11:10 pmSheesh, I didn't even think of that! Pastels for Easter. Great idea.m
bridget {bake at 350} says
April 18, 2011 at 3:40 pmI think I need to have a stash of marshmallows at all times now! How fun!
SweetSugarBelle says
April 18, 2011 at 7:58 pmThese are GREAT! My kiddos LOVE anything on a stick. The other night Caleb woke up EARLY and had marshmallows for breakfast, LOL, you'd be his kind of gal!
lisa says
April 19, 2011 at 12:58 pmMy daughter thinks that marshmallows are in the food pyramid – she would flip over these! Can you imagine one or two of them floating on white hot chocolate? theenchantedoven.blogspot.com
Chic Cookies says
April 19, 2011 at 3:02 pmWait, they aren't part of the food pyramid?
Jenn Erickson says
April 26, 2011 at 1:59 amBrilliant! I love it!
Stumbling and pinning this post for sure!!
Jenn/Rook No. 17
nicole says
April 28, 2011 at 7:09 pmquestion on the fantastic sparkly kabobs: how far in advance do you think i could make them?
i was worried about the sanding sugar running if i stored air tight. but dont want the marshmellows to get stale if i leave them out.
thanks. thanks!
Chic Cookies says
April 28, 2011 at 8:44 pmNicole, I'd say up to 2 days uncovered. I think rather risk staler marshmallows than the effect of moisture on the sprinkles in an air-tight container. The sprinkles (well coated) create a sort of shell that helps preserve the marshmallows soft center. You can also wrap the marshmallows with cellophane favor bags, tie with ribbon at the base of the marshmallows (so the stick sticks out). Not air tight, so maybe even up to 3 days that way. Bonus, cute favor.
nicole says
May 1, 2011 at 3:19 amOhhh. Great idea for favor and longevity. N
brett says
May 3, 2011 at 6:38 pmToo fun! Love the rainbow – totally looks like Rainbow Brite from the 80s, too cute! I'm sure you could dust them with sprinkles in other color themes too.
~Brett
charmedlifediva.blogspot.com
Dawn Wilson says
May 3, 2011 at 11:17 pmThese are awesome!
Victoria @ One Crafty Momma says
June 28, 2011 at 3:33 pmMade them!!!
http://one-crafty-momma.blogspot.com/2011/06/pinterest-inspired-marshmallow-pops.html
Stacey says
July 9, 2011 at 1:55 pmThese are so fun and colorful! love it!
Sara says
July 10, 2011 at 5:09 pmLove it! Going to have to try my own version soon. Will link to you when I do.
Theresa says
August 1, 2011 at 2:52 amMade these tonight for a bbq. Next thing I know my sisters-in-law are holding them over the hot coals. Roasted glittered marshmallows! The inside got melty while the outside stayed crunchy. Amazing!
Chic Cookies says
August 2, 2011 at 1:45 pmHa, brilliance! So going to try if I find myself near an open flame with one of these. So cool!
Colortude says
September 5, 2011 at 3:55 pmawesome idea. they look so fun.
art on canvas says
November 11, 2011 at 2:52 pm"poor orange and indigo got the shaft."
LOL
Pamela says
February 28, 2012 at 8:46 amWonderful idea, My son wants a candy party for his 6th birthday well at least a table set up with loads of special treats. Being a DIY person i love this idea the most kids will love the funky colors. I made one just befor using blue, green, purple and pink as thats all the sugar sand i have and it looks wonderful and a cheep idea as well
Kari says
February 28, 2012 at 2:14 pmThis looks like a lot of fun. We just found out that my son is allergic to wheat. I have been looking for some fun food crafts that are wheat free. Thanks so much!
Becca says
March 5, 2012 at 8:35 pmThese are so cute!!!!
Do you have to make these right before serving them? Don’t the marshmallows get hard otherwise?
Becca says
March 5, 2012 at 8:37 pmoops I read from the bottom up and saw you answered my question!!! Can’t wait to try them!
meaghanmountford says
March 5, 2012 at 9:20 pmWay ahead of me Becca! But I’ve rethought the tupperware idea since then. I’ve put them overnight in tupperware and they were totally fine the next day!
Becca says
March 6, 2012 at 3:01 amGoing to try them the tupperware way! Thanks for answering!!
Julie says
May 25, 2012 at 1:16 pmMy daughter is having a rainbow birthday party tomorrow. I just finished step one, and they’re going to be great. Have to share, though–after following the directions exactly for the first color, I went the “shake-n-bake” route to get the sprinkles on the marshmallows for the rest. After dunking in water and dabbing dry, I dropped them into a baggie with the color sugar and shook it. It was awesome. Far less tedious and more even sugaring!
meaghanmountford says
May 25, 2012 at 4:31 pmLove it… GREAT idea!!! Thanks for the tip :).
traci says
June 12, 2012 at 7:06 pmi’m having a rainbow treasure hunt party for my six year old’s bday party tomorrow — made these with her (so much fun!) and we’re going to make a “fluffy bunny” game out of them! it did take a little while to make 23 skewers. tip: if you buy sprinkles, make sure the opening is wide, it took awhile to get the sprinkles out of the jars. 🙂 and it takes A LOT of sprinkles. they’re awesome though!
meaghanmountford says
June 13, 2012 at 2:17 pmHave a great party, Traci!! Yep, 23 times 5 marshmallows per kabob… go you for the patience! And yes, good tip. I’m VERY generous with my sprinkle coating! I usually just take off that plastic part and pour the sprinkle on right from the jar (though frugal me then uses a funnel to dump the leftover sprinkles back in the jar).
Jessica says
July 17, 2012 at 9:55 amThis are so cute… already trying to figure out how to use them for my daughter’s birthday next February. In the meantime, a friend recently asked me to do lego pops for he son’s birthday this weekend. I’m thinking just one yellow sugared marshmallow on each stick with eyes and such drawn on might just do the trick.
Melissa says
July 17, 2012 at 6:47 pmThese are gorgeous! I’m wondering if it would work with miniature marshmallows and then put them in a clear bag as a take home party favor.
meaghanmountford says
July 18, 2012 at 6:16 amLove that idea, Melissa! I bet you could use a spray bottle to spritz all the marshmallows with water then shake them with sprinkles in a bag! Adorable…
Melinda says
December 30, 2012 at 7:56 pmHow did you get the sugar to be colored?!
meaghanmountford says
January 1, 2013 at 3:52 pmHi Melinda, I just used store-bought sanding sugar. It comes in every color of the rainbow! 🙂
Keri says
March 13, 2013 at 2:22 amWhen I do crafts, I do them for A LOT of kiddos with my clinic (like 100-200). We like to do them for holidays. I loved this craft! I used kabob skewers (much cheaper and longer, too!) instead of lolipop sticks, was able to put 6 or more marshmallows on them and didn’t really need the crisco. Also made my own sprinkles with some food coloring and everyday sugar (and some muscle)in all the colors I wanted. Put the colored sugar in ziploc and shook each marshmallow after it was wet. Worked fairly well, especially for a bunch of kids. And the kids really love how bright and tasty the craft was. Definately recommend!
Gaby says
April 12, 2013 at 3:49 pmLove them! Super cute and colorful! 🙂 Where can you get sanding sugar?
meaghanmountford says
April 15, 2013 at 10:12 amHi Gaby, You can use any sprinkles! I get mine at the craft store.
Christy says
August 17, 2013 at 8:01 amMy son is 13 and his favorite sweet thing is marshmallows. We ALWAYS have them in the house. This will be a MUST DO once I get some Crisco at the store!!! He’ll have a fabulous time doing this. Thank you for posting.
Yanilka says
October 15, 2013 at 11:14 pmHi Keri,
I want to know how did you make the sugar coloring using food coloring? I also have to make more than 40 pieces…
meaghanmountford says
October 17, 2013 at 11:05 amHi Yanilka! Nope. I just purchased different colors of sprinkles at the craft store. The finer the sprinkle the better. It may also be called “sanding sugar,” but any will work!
sophie says
October 28, 2013 at 12:25 pmHello, what kind of crushed candies are you using ? skittles ? thanks
meaghanmountford says
October 28, 2013 at 1:00 pmthese are just different colors of sprinkles, found in the craft store. I have done this with ground skittles, too, though!
Audra says
July 4, 2014 at 3:22 pmMy daughter and I made red, white and blue crackers for July 4th. She had a blast! Although we rolled the marshmallows instead.
meaghanmountford says
July 6, 2014 at 9:00 amYay, thank you Audra! And great idea :).
Tahra says
March 26, 2015 at 11:03 amI love these! I plan to make them for my daughter’s rainbow Hello Kitty party this weekend. I have question though… can I make these a few days in advance? I’m afraid of the marshmallows getting hard.
Thanks!
meaghanmountford says
March 26, 2015 at 11:36 amHi Tahra, You CAN make them ahead of time, but I would say only 1 to 2 days. The water/sprinkle combo creates a sort of barrier around the marshmallow which keeps it soft inside, however, after they dry (an hour or so), line a large, flat tupperware container with a paper towel and place them in there, and seal. I’ve also just stuck them in gallon ziplocs and they last a couple days.
shaunda says
April 10, 2015 at 9:06 pmHey. Im doing these for a dr seuss party. Can i use koolaid too ?
meaghanmountford says
April 13, 2015 at 8:48 amHi Shaunda, You can dye marshmallows with KoolAid, but these are made by dipping in water, then in sprinkles, so the koolaid would dissolve. You can try brushing the marshmallows with light corn syrup and then adding Koolaid, but it may dissolve. However, I still think it would look cool dissolved!
Pam says
March 25, 2018 at 2:10 pmHi. Has anyone tried roasting these after adding the sugar? I thought they would be pretty on a s’mores bar for a wedding.
meaghanmountford says
March 26, 2018 at 9:50 amHmm, that’s a great question Pam! I haven’t, so I’m not sure how it would work, but I think definitely worth testing!