A sweet, crispy, ooey gooey Halloween treat

It’s the second most wonderful time of the year. T-minus seven days until Halloween. As for second, I’m referring to Halloween being second to Christmas, of course. The fact I’m writing these words is mind boggling to me. I have no idea where the time has gone.

Are you feeling the same way?

“Every day is Halloween isn’t it? For some of us.” — Tim Burton

The thing I like about celebrations like Halloween is that you can have fun no matter what your age. Whether it’s decorating the house, dressing up in costume or making fun Halloween themed food – you only live once, so enjoy it.

There’s nothing like Halloween to bring you back to your childhood, or make you channel your inner child. If you’re not feeling it yet, perhaps today’s column might bring it out.

I love a good Rice Krispie cookie, all that sweet, sticky, ooey gooey goodness. They have the perfect amount of sweetness, the perfect amount of crunch and chewiness you’ll ever want from a delicious treat. So when I saw these Rice Krispie pumpkin treats, I took myself straight to the grocery store for supplies.

I read that the original Rice Krispie treat was first invented 82 years ago. Supposedly, two Kellogg employees invented them back in the 1930s as a fundraiser for the Camp Fire Girls, so the story goes. Eighty two years is impressive though! Goes to show how something so simple can stand the test of time (and taste buds).

These tasty pumpkin treats are a great idea for the kids, grandkids, and big kids like yourself. Yes, Rice Krispie pumpkin treats pair great with a good cuppa. After you make them, you may have to smack your hand from creeping in for a second Rice Krispie pumpkin.

What do you need? A quarter cup of butter, one bag of large marshmallows (about 40 marshmallows), six cups of Rice Krispies, red and yellow food coloring (to mix together if you don’t have orange), mini Rolos or mini Reese pieces, green M&M’S (don’t get me started on having to pick green M&M’S out of a big bin of mix colored M&M’S) and a quarter cup of cooking oil or butter.

No, it’s not a mistake, you need the second round of butter or oil for your hands. If you’ve made Rice Krispies shapes by hand before, you know the struggle of it sticking to your fingers. This will, thankfully, save you that aggravation.

Making Rice Krispie pumpkins is not unlike making regular Rice Krispie cookies. The difference is that you’re going to use food coloring to colour them orange, form them into the pumpkin shapes by hand and decorate.

Let’s get started.

First, melt the butter in a large pot on low heat. Don’t turn it up too high or you’ll burn it. Once melted, add the marshmallows and stir constantly until melted and mixed with the butter. Remove the pot from the heat hen the mixture is thick and sticky.

If you have orange food colouring — great. If not, mix a few drops of yellow food colouring into the marshmallow mixture. Once it’s mixed, add some red. Be very careful though, only one or two drops of red at a time until you achieve the desired orange color.

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” — From Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”

Then, stir in the Rice Krispies.

“A messy kitchen is a sign of happiness” — Unknown

This is where you need to get your hands dirty. Well, wash them first, of course. When clean, coat your hands in cooking oil or butter and start shaping the mixture into small balls, eventually into a pumpkin shape, aka flattened circles. You want to work with the mixture while it’s warm. You don’t want it to cool and stiffen up before you’re able to add your decorations on top.

You can make Rice Krispie pumpkins into any size. I prefer a smaller size as I like how the mini Rolos and M&M’S fit perfectly like the real thing.

Rice Krispie pumpkins may not be ghoulish, creepy or gross but they’re a super cute Halloween treat and definitely fit to eat.