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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

October 28: Dressed-up Rice Crispy Treats



I'm going to start off right away by stating that I'm well aware that the word "crispy" as it relates to the title of my post should technically be spelled with a k, as in "krispy" since it's the brand name of the cereal for which it is named. However, I'm not going to do that for two reasons. (1.) I hate when companies misspell things for effect. Like "krazy" instead of "crazy," for example. I won't be party to that. (2.) I have been known to go about referring to these snacks as RCTs. If I use the K, my made-up acronym is ruined.

That is all. Breckenridge. (Another one of my favorite old Disney shorts. The girls and I love watching it. Meanwhile, where the heck does Donald live in this thing? A hotel? Why is the table so long? Why are there so many floors to his house??? Sure looks like a regular house at the beginning...)

As it were, I guess I should get on with it.

So...do you have to send a treat to your kid's school on Friday for the big Halloween par-tay? Well,  rice crispy treats are always a safe bet (literally, since plain ones are nut-free, perfect for everyone to enjoy!) But you can do more to jazz up the base yumminess. Today I'm showing you three different decorating options to add extra pizzazz to your treats. (It should be noted that while these additions are themselves nut-free, they may not be safe for people with severe nut allergies as the packaging notes that the product may contain trace peanuts/tree nuts as they were produced on shared equipment.)

For the treats, I always use this recipe because it tastes great and I like the cereal to marshmallow ratio. I definitely wouldn't go any higher on the cereal or it would be too dry. 6 cups of cereal as opposed to 7 would increase the marshmallow gooey factor (and is the official amount listed on the RK brand website.):

1/2 stick butter
1 bag mini marshmallows
7 cups crispy rice cereal (confession: I use the generic brand more often than not.)

Melt the butter in a large pot. Stir in marshmallows and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat and quickly add in the cereal. Stir to coat. Pour into a buttered dish/pan to cool slightly before cutting.

If I'm making these for general snacking purposes, I use a 13x9 dish for this. When I want to do cutouts of my treats (or get a higher yield), I use a cookie sheet. This time, I used the cookie sheet.

I made three variations this time.

1. A flat pumpkin shape, using a pumpkin cookie cutter
2. A few round pumpkin balls, using the scraps from the cutouts (if your scraps are too firm, microwave them for 5-10 seconds and then mold them into a cereal snowball)
3. A rectangular bar shape, using a section of the pan on which I no longer felt like using the cookie cutter- ha!
I could have cropped my dog out of that shot, but it was such a funny photo bomb I left him in. 
If he had a bubble above his head, it would read: "What is she doing now? Why is she holding a plate aloft and photographing it?"
(Yes, my dog is clearly a reader.)

Once my shapes were made, I dug out another bag of candy melts--this time in orange--and melted them according to package directions.

Time to decorate!

For 1, I used the back of a spoon to spread some candy on the side facing up. Then I sliced a green gum drop candy and put it in place as the stem.

For 2, I also used the spoon-as-paintbrush method and smeared orange melt all over the cereal orb except for the very bottom. I again used a slice of green gum drop as stem.

For 3, I covered both sides of the bar, leaving a section of plain RCT showing (and making it easier to grasp as I was working!) and then sprinkled Halloween-shaped sprinkles on top of the still-wet melts. (Be sure to add the candy prior to the melts firming up.)

And how do they taste, you ask? Like sweet superfluity. The firm shell against the chewy interior is a pleasant textural foil, while the candy coating and decoration up the sense of occasion of this classic go-to dessert. If you make these for a Halloween party treat, they're sure to impress.

That is all. Breckenridge. (And this time I mean it.)

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