Spiderweb Rice Krispy Treats

I love experimenting with Rice Krispy treats.  So when I volunteered to provide a treat for my son's Halloween party, I came up with these.  Plus it helped that I recently came to own Wilton's Spider Mix sprinkles.  They were a huge hit in the classroom.

Click here for printable recipe.

Post by: Jen

Ingredients:

 1/4 c butter/margarine
2/3-3/4 box rice krispies (or actually measure what it indicated on the box)
1 bag mini marshmallows
4 oz white chocolate (or white candy coating or almond bark)
spider sprinkles (OR if you don't have any, just melt down dark chocolate and pipe some out.  When the chocolate hardens, then you have your own chocolate spiders!)
toothpick

Directions:
Melt butter in large nonstick saucepan.  Add the bag of marshmallows and slowly melt with the butter.  Stir them around to evenly distribute the heat.

 Add the cereal and fold it into the marshmallows until all the cereal is coated.

 Line a jelly roll pan (or 9x13 pan for thicker ones) with parchment paper.  Spray it first with nonstick spray. Press the marshmallow mixture into the pan.

 Cut into circles, OR squares and then round off the edges of the squares.

IF you have the Wilton's Spider sprinkle mixture, separate out the spiders.  You will need to work quickly before the chocolate hardens. So have your spiders prepped.

 Cut up your chocolate into small pieces.  Place into a baggie and melt in microwave at 20 second intervals.  Make sure to squeeze the bag all over to evenly melt the chocolate.  If you have one unmelted piece of chocolate it will cause your baggie to get clogged and thus bursting.

 When all the chocolate is melted, then snip a TINY hole in corner of it.  This will be your little piping bag for the spider webs.

 Start in the middle and pipe a spiral around the treat.  Don't forget to twist the baggie closed at the top.  You don't want chocolate oozing out the top.

Use a toothpick and start at the middle, drag the toothpick from the center moving outward.  This will make a spider web effect. 

Add a spider to a part that has a lot of chocolate in order for it to stick.  Add extra sprinkles if desired.

 Make sure you only pipe out about 5-6 at a time.  You want to make sure that the chocolate is still wet in order for the sprinkles to stick.  So I piped 5 spirals, then dragged the toothpick, then sprinkled.  Then I moved on to five more at a time.

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April Fool's Day Mashed Potatoes and Meatloaf

April Fool's Day is coming up soon and I'm getting prepared to trick my kids! (Ha, ha, ha...evil laugh) I recently purchased a great book called "Fake out Food" which is an AWESOME book for food ideas to trick your kids. My boys don't like meatloaf, but I'll bet that they'll love this 'meatloaf' with marshmallows, chocolate, and fruit snacks. I love how it looks so real. Have fun coming up with different ways to present your food. You'll be surprised if you start looking at food and thinking of other ways to make it look like something else. In fact just the other day I thought to myself "I think that scallops look like apple chunks. Hmmmmm" What are you making for your April Fool's Day trick?

Posted by: Jen

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter

6-8 c cocoa rice krispy cereal

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 10 oz pkg mini marshmallows

1/3 c Craisins

2-3 pkg fruit snacks

other dried fruit, optional

frosting and red food coloring

The Instructions:

Melt the butter in a large nonstick pan. When butter is melted, stir in the cocoa powder until it is smooth.

Add the marshmallows, and stir occasionally to melt all the way through.

While your marshmallows are melting, put the cereal in a gallon baggie and pound with a meat mallet or roll with a rolling pin to crush the cereal. Don't worry if it's not all crushed. It adds to the texture of the 'meatloaf'.

Chop your Craisins, fruit snacks, and any other dried fruit into small pieces. Attention, this can be sticky on your knife. I wonder if it would help to spray your knife with nonstick spray first. Add the fruit snacks to the baggie of crushed cereal and mix it all in well.

Add the cereal mixture to the melted marshmallows and stir in until all the cereal is completely coated with marshmallow.

Grease a loaf pan. (or even also line it with parchment paper and spray that.) Pour your marshmallow/cereal mixture into the loaf pan and press down to make it all firm. (spray your hands with nonstick spray before doing this.) Let cool for about 1/2 hour.

If desired, coloring your frosting red and spread a thin layer on top of the 'meatloaf'. (I should have used a deeper red food coloring. Oh well, Next time)

Now for the mashed potatoes. All you need are:

Ingredients:

Vanilla ice cream

caramel sauce

yellow soft candies (ie, Starburst)

You'll want to prepare the 'mashed potatoes' immediately before serving your family. It will take you a grand total of maybe 3 minutes to prepare. Scoop out some ice cream and place it on your serving plate. Gently press in the middle of your ice cream scoop to resemble the cavity for gravy in your mashed potatoes. Drizzle caramel sauce into the cavity and let some drip down the side of the ice cream. Press your yellow candy into a flattened square to resemble a pat of butter. If your candies aren't so soft (like mine were ), then nuke it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds. I placed my candy on a piece of wax paper (parchment would be better). When it was softer I pressed it down and immediately placed it on top of my 'mashed potatoes'.

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Candy Cane Rice Krispy Treats

Day 21 of our holiday treat series features these fun candy cane (shaped and flavored) Rice Krispy treats.  Kids are sure to adore them and since they're easy to make and allergy friendly (no nuts, no eggs), these are perfect for serving at a classroom holiday party! 

One of my kids has a peanut allergy, so every class party I volunteer to bring treats. Every child (young and old) loves Rice Krispy treats. Years ago I found a Rice Krispy treats cookbook in the clearance aisle of a bookstore. I can tell you that this book has revolutionized the way I make these treats. I had no idea they were so versatile. These are peppermint flavored treats shaped into candy canes. According to my boys the kids at school "went crazy over these!"

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Jen.

Ingredients:1/4 c butter
1 bag (10-ounces) mini marshmallows (large ones work, but take longer to melt)
red food coloring
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6 cups Rice Krispies (or generic brand)
non-stick spray

The Directions:
In a large non stick pan, melt the butter. When melted add the marshmallows and melt together, stirring frequently. You may need to spray your stirring spoon with non-stick spray to help it not get sticky.Once the marshmallows are completely melted this is the time to remove it from the heat and add colorings and flavorings. Today we're using a few drops of red food coloring and some peppermint extract. You can add anything from spices to extracts to even a couple Tbsp pudding mix. (Banana nut bread flavored rice krispy treats anyone?!) It's so fun to experiment. Anyway, mix it in thoroughly and then add cereal.Mix the cereal in melted marshmallows until evenly coated.In order to shape them you'll need to work quickly. Have your non-stick spray handy to spray your hands so the marshmallow mixture doesn't stick. Work with the mixture immediately when it's not too hot to handle. (about a couple minutes after mixing it all together).

For the candy canes, scoop (with a spoon) about a fist full size of mixture into your hand. Squeeze it into a rope. Make sure that it will keep its shape. You may need to squeeze firmly. (like playing with playdough)
When it is formed into a rope, bend the top part to resemble a cane. Repeat quickly so that the mixture in the pan doesn't cool too much thus making it harder to shape. You'll have to respray your hands every few canes so that it doesn't get too sticky. I made about 40-50 little 2 inch sized ones (I was baking for two school classes). You can make them as big as you want. Yes, you can press them into a jello roll pan and then use a candy cane cookie cutter to cut them out as well. But then you have left over scraps to piece together. (or eat). I needed every last bit of mixture so I would have enough, so used my hands. These will keep for a couple of days in an air tight container.Last year I colored the marshmallows green and then formed them into wreaths. When cooled, I stuck red hot candies on the wreaths (with corn syrup, or small amount of frosting) and the kids at the school loved them. The possibilities are endless. Just use your imagination.

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