Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treat Bites

Name: Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treat Bites
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons salted butter; 1 10- ounce bag mini marshmallows; ¼ cup pure pumpkin puree; ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal; 1/3 cup crushed graham crackers (from about 2-3 graham cracker sheets); 1.5 ounces good quality dark or white chocolate (chopped (I went half and half for dramatic effect, but you do you.))

October 20, 2015 | Fall | Dessert | Recipes

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My family was big on Halloween when I was a kid. Our front hall was transformed into a full-blown haunted house with faux cobwebs and spiders creeping up the walls, various skeletons/sheet ghosts hanging from the ceiling, and a motion-sensing headstone that let out bloodcurdling screams whenever someone walked by. (This was semi-traumatic for my younger brother, but I’m pretty sure he’s fully recovered.) We carved pumpkins using elaborate stencils, took our costumes very seriously, and ate “worms” (aka buttered pasta) for dinner every year. Even my dad was into it, and I’m creepily giggling to myself right now picturing him dressed as a nun, which, if I’m not mistaken, he did two years in a row circa ‘94/’95.

In short, Halloween was easily my favorite non-present holiday.

I grew less enamored with Halloween in high school, since I went to boarding school and there wasn’t really a dress-up component (although that didn’t stop me from being a Ninja Turtle junior year and turning a printer box into a rather unwieldy shell), and there were no parties involved. I got back on the bandwagon in college, which we won’t discuss today (those stories are better suited to a future season of Cocktails and Confessions than a Tuesday morning blog post), and then I promptly went into Halloween retirement.

Now that I’m old, I don’t particularly like to leave my apartment after dark on October 31. The Village Halloween Parade is an absolute shitshow, and I live across from some New School dorms, so the neighborhood tends to get pretty scary. My roommate has talked me into couples costumes a few times over the past few years, but as much as I loved gallivanting around the city in my Eve and Catwoman bodysuits, I’d really prefer to watch Hocus Pocus on my couch. Having easy access to good booze and snacks makes me happy, and there are less polyester wedgies involved.

While I’m no longer pumped to hit the town on All Hallows’ Eve, there are two aspects of the holiday that I continue to look forward to. The first is what I like to call “Internet Halloween,” which is already well underway. You may or may not have noticed that from early September on, an overwhelming amount of Halloween content hits the interwebs, especially in the DIY sphere. I’ll most likely never make or do any of these Pinterest-y things, but I have to admit, I’m a ridiculous sucker for small children and dogs in costume. I know that’s unexpected given my general fear of babies/animals—there’s just something about a corgi Harry Potter and baby Star Wars characters that slays me every time.

The second thing I’ll always appreciate about Halloween is the abundance of pumpkin-themed treats. I’m as basic as the next bitch when it comes to my love of all things pumpkin spice, so I thought I’d throw my hat into the Internet Halloween ring with these seasonal bad boys. Without further ado, I proudly present Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treat Bites…

I haven’t been this excited about a dessert in a while, peeps. Pumpkin puree and spice add major fall flavor to these teeny-tiny marshmallow delights, and the chocolate drizzle gives them a little extra sweetness and festive flair. (I also threw a couple crushed graham crackers into the mix, which is optional, but highly recommended.) What’s even more thrilling is that the entire recipe shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes from start to finish, and you never even have to turn on your oven. (Hallelujah!)

If you’re feeling super artsy, I suggest drizzling a combo of dark and white chocolate on each bite, or writing things like, “Boo!” (I’m not sure how good your chocolate writing skills are, but by all means, go for it.)

Don’t have a mini muffin tin? No biggie. You can always make a regular batch of Rice Krispie treats in a 9”x9” baking dish or cake pan. For some reason I can’t stop thinking about making two 8″ round “cakes,” layering them with marshmallow fluff, and decorating the whole thing like a pumpkin. Internet Halloween is clearly getting to me…

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treat Bites: (Makes 20 bites)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons salted butter
1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows
¼ cup pure pumpkin puree
¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/3 cup crushed graham crackers (from about 2-3 graham cracker sheets), optional
1.5 ounces good quality dark or white chocolate, chopped (I went half and half for dramatic effect, but you do you.)

Preparing your Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treat Bites:

-Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Briefly set aside.

-Melt the butter in a medium Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. When melted add the mini marshmallows and cook, stirring regularly, until the marshmallows are completely melted, about 3 minutes. (Careful not to burn the marshmallows, peeps!)

-Turn the heat down to low and stir in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Turn off the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and crushed graham crackers.

-Grease a spoon with butter or cooking spray (this will make your life so much easier), and spoon the Rice Krispie mixture into the wells of the prepared mini muffin tin.

-Grease a small piece of parchment and use it to level the top of each bite.

-Cover a work surface (or a cutting board) with parchment. Place a wire rack on top. Loosen the bites with a butter knife and transfer them to the rack.

-Time to melt your chocolate. Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring after each one, until completely melted. Using a spoon, drizzle each bite with a little chocolate.

-Let the bites rest at room temperature until the chocolate hardens. (You can pop them in the fridge to speed up the process if you like.) Eat them immediately, or store the bites in an airtight container.