Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats

Fall is the official start of baking season at my house. There are tons of bake sales, church functions, and the annual processing of the fall pumpkins into treats and recipes. Plus, my friends and family, love feasting on the results of my fall baking frenzy as well.

I have seen photos of candy corn shaped rice cereal treats for a few years now. Nothing says fall like candy corn, and they looked super simple to make. This year, I decided it was time to give it a try for an upcoming bake sale. 

While I used Kellogg’s Original Rice Krispy Treats® recipe as a starting point, I did watch a great video from the How to Make Cereal Treats before whipping up my first batch. They have some amazing variations on the recipe including Oreo, butterscotch, and an adorable pumpkin pie Rice Krispy treats that would be great for Thanksgiving. Be sure to check out their site for some inspired variations.

In preparation for the first bake sale, I’ve now made four batches or 32 servings. Below is my version of the candy corn rice cereal treat recipe, along with a few tips and suggestions I learned along the way in italics.   

Ingredients:

6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal

10-ounce bags of mini-marshmallows

4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

Red and yellow liquid food coloring

Creating the yellow ring:

1. Place a sheet of aluminum foil in an 8-ince cake pan.  Using a piece of paper towel, butter the surface of the aluminum foil, a heat-proof plastic spatula, the inside of any bowls you will be mixing the ingredients in and along the sides of the saucepan.  If you can, save an empty butter wrapper as it will come in handy later.
2. Pour three cup of cereal into a measuring cup and set aside.
3. Slowly melt the remaining three tablespoons of butter with the bag of marshmallows over low heat.
4.  Once fully melted, remove from heat, and pour half of the mixture into a buttered mixing bowl.  Add several drops of yellow food coloring and mix until fully incorporated.

5. Add the rice cereal and mix well.
6. Using the spatula, place in a ring around the outside of the cake pan. I frequently use the butter wrapper on my fingertips to prevent sticking as I pressed the mixture firmly into the pan.

Creating the orange ring:

1. To create the orange ring, repeat steps two through six, but you will use slightly more than two cups of rice cereal for this ring.   
2. Reheat the butter/marshmallow mixture on low, if necessary, then add a little more than half to the mixing bowl.
3. Since the red food coloring is strong, I add it last and in smaller quantities.  Start with three or four drops of the yellow followed by one or two drops of the red.  Mix, and adjust accordingly until desired orange color is achieved.   

4. Mix in the cereal.
5. Using the spatula, place in a ring next to the yellow ring and press in firmly.  There should be about a 2-inch empty space for the last ring.

Creating the white ring:

1. Repeat steps above for the orange ring using remaining cereal (a little less than a cup).
2. Rewarm the butter/marshmallow mixture, if necessary, then thoroughly stir in the rice cereal.
3. Using the spatula, place into the center section.  Pack firmly into the sides and bottom on the pan. 

Allow the entire pan to firm and cool and firm completely.  Turn the pan upside down and remove from the pan.  Carefully remove the foil. Cut into eight wedges.

You can package these by wrapping in cling wrap, but I prefer pastry bags with twist ties.  The packaging alone momentarily convinced Sweet Lou that I had purchased them instead of making myself.  So, if you are selling them, it’s worth the extra effort to purchase cellophane bags for packaging.    

I got rave reviews for these. Including someone, who shall remain nameless, who ate four. Enjoy!