October 16: Candy Corn RCTs (Rice Crispy Treats)

Do you like marshmallow cereal treats (aka Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats or, as I call them, RCTs- because, brand name or no, I refuse to think of the word “crispy” being misspelled with a K!)? 

What am I saying!? Of COURSE you do. Everyone does. Because they’re so delightful in their simplicity. Buttery and sweet and chewy and crunchy…what’s not to love?

But I wanted to do something FALL-ish with them that I haven’t done before. I’ve made them into Frankenfaces, and dressed them up by dipping them in candy melts, but I wanted to do something else. What’s more fall-ish than candy corn?

I found this recipe on the Glorious Treats blog. I tweaked it because some of the ratios of the original recipe didn’t quite make sense to me, but I was happy to have had the source material as a jumping off point. I also used slightly bigger pans, and cut my treats smaller because 1 treat is good, but 2 is better. (Yes, I know 2 is equal to 1, but it’s a sensory thing. Hahaha.) Finally, I made mine on the stove like I always do because that’s how I roll. 

For this recipe, you’ll need two (2) 10-oz bags of mini marshmallows, almost a whole 11.5-12.5oz box of rice cereal, a stick of butter, and yellow & orange gel food coloring. 

Candy Corn RCT’s

Adapted from Glorious Treats

Yield: 32 servings/wedges

Ingredients:

For the yellow ring
4 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
5 cups (1 bag) mini marshmallows
3 Tablespoons butter

Yellow gel food coloring 

For the orange ring
2 3/4 cups crispy rice cereal
3 cups mini marshmallows
2 Tablespoons butter

For the white center
2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 Tablespoons butter

For your hands

At least 1 Tablespoon of butter

Directions: 

Spray two 9” cake pans with non-stick spray and set aside. 

Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. When melted, add marshmallows and stir constantly until melted. 

Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring. (I used 7 drops of yellow gel coloring. That wasn’t really enough. It looked like it was enough when I stirred it, but it didn’t end up being sufficient. I’d suggest adding at least ½ teaspoon.) 

Add the cereal to the marshmallow, and stir. 

*Note: in this photo, you’ll see I added the marshmallow to the cereal (because I was trying to follow the method of the source material.) That seemed completely counterproductive to me as all it did was add an extra step and dirty an extra bowl, and even wasted more of the melted marshmallow and sticky, coated cereal. After the yellow layer, I reverted to my normal method which is much better.

Add half the yellow mixture into each of the round cake pans, then use your buttered hands to form a ring around the outside edge of the pan. Press firmly and work quickly because things harden up as they cool. Aim for about 1”- 1 ½” wide.

As you can see, I was not exact here. I did the best I could
to create a uniform ring. 

Wash and dry your supplies—pot and spoon—and repeat the process twice more. First, with the orange ring and then (after one more wash and dry) with the un-tinted “white” center.

Adding the cereal right to the melted, tinted marshmallow was a way easier process

After the orange ring

After the white center.
1. You can see they aren't exact. But they still turn out well regardless.
2. You can see the yellow and white layers could use more color differentiation.

Allow to cool fully so that it sets, at least 30 minutes. 

To cut: flip out of pan (it should release with relative ease- you may need to slide the tip of a straight edge between the pan and treat to get it started) onto a cutting board. Cut the large round in half, then into quarters, then cut each quarter in half, and finally each eighth in half one last time to make sixteen.

And there you have it! A festive spin on a classic treat. 

When I caught my older daughter stealing one from the sideboard and I asked what she was doing, she said, “Just having my favorite kind of candy corn!” Can’t argue with that.