Yesterday, I went to a Halloween party and wanted- nay, needed- to bring some clever Halloween-themed treats. After watching the Duck vs. Cougs game (go ducks!) and scouring the internet on commercial breaks for inspiration, I was ready to make some freakin’ adorable pumpkin rice krispy treats.

To make the actual treats, simply follow the directions on the box but add some orange food coloring. When I first stumbled upon this idea, I thought about adding actual pumpkin, but I wasn’t sure how it would affect the chemistry of it all. If you’re feeling adventurous, go for it.

Start by melting butter in a large saucepan and then throw in a decent amount of orange food coloring. I like Wilton’s gel food coloring. Stir it around, then add the marshmallows.

(Sorry for the yellow tinted pictures- my stove has a light that gives off a nasty color) Stir constantly until the marshmallows have melted. Also, I keep misspelling marshmallows. I always thought that it was marshmellows. Because that’s how I say it. Whatever.

Once it’s nice and melted (more than the picture above), add Rice Krispies cereal and stir to coat. This was hard and my hand hurt from stirring so much already, so Boyfriend was kind enough to assist. He did an excellent job. Once coated, cut a piece of parchment paper. I used this to help me form the batter into balls- if you use your bare hands you’ll just have rice krispy coated hands. Which is fine, because then you can have a little snack. Scoop a decent helping onto the parchment paper and squish it to form a ball.

I squished the balls down a bit to give them a true pumpkin shape. Set ’em on a surface lined with parchment paper while you’re forming the rest.

To make the stems, I got some Dots and Boyfriend graciously went through and picked all the green ones out for me. Then I made a simple icing and added green food coloring and used a baking paint brush to paint on the stems. For the dots, I cut them in half and dipped them in the icing before putting them on the pumpkins so they’d stay in place.

And now they’re ready for hungry people in strange costumes to consume! Like these people:

(Boyfriend, Me, and friends Eric and Kelly as The Aquabats)
 
So make them for your Halloween party. But don’t pass out homemade goods to trick or treaters. I’ve heard that’s frowned upon.
 
 
If you’re looking for more Halloween treats, I also whipped up some “We Smoked It All” Salmon Dip and shaped it into a ghost with little pesto eyes and mouth. It may be one of my favorite things I’ve ever made.
 
It was temporarily renamed “Ghostly Salmon Dip.” Have I mentioned that I’m addicted to this stuff?
 
 
Have a happy Halloween!
 

Pumpkin Rice Krispy Treats
Makes ~16 Pumpkins

 
Ingredients
Treats:
3 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp orange Wilton’s gel food coloring
1 10 oz package marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
 
Stems:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/8 tsp green Wilton’s gel food coloring
Green Dots candy, cut in half
 
Directions
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add food coloring and stir to combine.
2. Add marshmallows and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Once melted, remove from heat and add cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and tear an extra piece of parchment paper.
4. Scoop 1/2 cup portions of the cereal mixture on to the extra piece and use it to form the cereal into a pumpkin shape. Set aside onto the parchment lined baking sheet and continue forming pumpkins.
5. For the icing, combine all ingredients except the Dots and use a small paint brush to paint on stems. Dip the Dot halves into the icing to act as glue and add to the tops of the pumpkins.