These snowflake crisps are a symphony of contrasting flavors and textures: chewy and crispy, milky and fragrant, sweet and salty, yet with a hint of tanginess for balance. With only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time, this quick and easy no bake snack is blowing up in popularity in Taiwan and China for a good reason!
Snowflake crisp (雪Q餅) is probably the most popular snack in Taiwanese in the recent years. It was created and sold at a store in Yilan city, and because of its amazing taste and textures and how simple it is to make, it quickly went viral on the internet. Even today, you still can see lots of people making snowflake crisp on Chinese websites, with many different flavors.
At first I thought it would just taste like a fancier rice krispy treat. But I was wrong, it's actually very different. I love the balance of the soft, chewy and creamy milky nougat with the slightly salty cracker, all of which is brightened up with the hint of tartness from the cranberries. While these are slightly chewy, they melt in your mouth in the most satisfying way after a few bites. Make some today and I bet you will enjoy it!
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It's super easy to make and only requires five ingredients.
- Spend 20 minutes and you will have your snack in the following week taken care of.
- This went viral for a reason -- try it and see what the fuss is all about!
- It's a great holiday gift that you can even send it to your family and friends.
Ingredients You'll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Dry Milk powder - you can use either full fat or reduced fat.
- Marshmallow - get the mini one as they melt quicker. If you only have the larger type, cut them in half before using.
- Dried cranberry - I like the organic whole dried cranberry from Trader Joe's. You can also use other kinds of dried fruit of your choice.
- Ritz cracker - you can use other types of cracker, but the texture and flavor will be different.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1 - Line the baking pan with parchment paper.
Step 2 - Break the crackers into big chunks.
Step 3 - Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or non stick pan over medium low heat.
Step 4 - Add marshmallows and stir until they melt and become smooth.
Step 5 - Stir in dry milk powder.
Step 6 - Stir in crackers and cranberries, mix until they are evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.
Step 7 - Transfer everything to the baking tray, cover with another piece of parchment paper and press down until it's firm and the surface is smooth.
Step 8 - Let it cool completely before cutting into bite size, dust with more milk powder and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- When breaking the crackers, fold two or three pieces together and break into half. Don't break them too small, as they will break more during the folding process.
- When folding in the crackers and dried cranberries, work quickly and try to keep the crackers from being crushed too much.
- During the shaping process, it will be easier to use a square or rectangular shaped object with a flat bottom to flatten your snowflake crisp in order to end up with nice flat/smooth pieces.
- If you don't have an appropriately sized tray, you can also place the mixture between two pieces of parchment paper or silicon mat, shape it to the desired thickness with your hand and roll it with a rolling pin to get a smooth surface. Basically, you can form it to any shape you want before the mixture cools down and hardens.
Recipe FAQs
No, milk powder is essential for both flavor and the texture for this recipe.
Yes! For example, you can add about a cup of walnut or pecan, or half a cup of pumpkin seed when you mix in crackers and dried cranberries.
Two weeks in air tight container or up to three months in the freezer.
If you liked this recipe, also check out my quick and easy puff pastry almond cookies or easy baked mochi balls! If you need a drink to go with these for a complete afternoon tea experience, try my Taiwanese milk tea!
Don't Forget to Try
I would like to hear from you! If you make the recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment in the section further down the page. Stay in touch by following my Instagram and Pinterest!
Snowflake Crisp (Milk Nougat Bite)
Equipment
- parchment paper
- square baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, 113 g
- 1 10 oz bag mini marshmallow , 283 g
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp dry milk powder, 150 g, plus more for coating
- 1 11.8 oz box Ritz cracker, 334 g
- 1¼ cup dried cranberry, 150 g
Instructions
- Line a 9 X 9 or 8 X 8 baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Break the crackers into large chunks and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or non-stick pan over medium low heat.
- Once the butter melts completely, add mini marshmallows into the pot. Stir and cook until all the marshmallows melt and became a smooth batter. Adjust the heat accordingly to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Stir in milk powder and mix until there's no more dry powder before adding cranberries and crackers.
- Fold the crackers and cranberries until they are evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture. Work quickly and try to keep the crackers from being crushed too much.
- Transfer everything into the baking tray, cover with another piece of parchment paper and press down until it's firm and the surface is smooth.
- Let it cool completely before cutting into bite sized pieces; dust with more milk powder and enjoy!
Wasn't sure what I was expecting going in, but the sweet and salty mixed with the unique texture is so addicting that it is dangerous knowing that this recipe is so simple!
I agree, They are so good! Thank you so much for trying the recipe! 🙂
I know different people like different textures to their nougat. Would you say with the amount of crackers you put in that your resulting texture is more on the crispy/crunchy side? Could I reduce the cracker amount for a chewier texture?
Hi Susanna, of course! You can customize it base on your preference 🙂
Thank you for posting this recipe!
Do you think I can tweak the butter in some way? (e.g. replacing it or halving it?)
Thanks!
Hi Liv, butter is necessary for making this recipe :).
have you tried using coconut oil instead?
Hi Daniel, I haven't tried using coconut oil but I think it should work just fine.
Q1: Any suggestions to tweak the recipe to make it less sweet ? I tried reducing the marshmallow but the texture change as well.
Q2: How long is the cooling period after baking?
Hi, you can try increasing the amount of crackers or add some nuts so that there'd be less nougat in each bite. For your second question, do you mean after shaping? You can cut it once it's completely cool, at least 30 minutes.
Great recipe
Many thanks!!
Thank you, Sue!!