It’s so much easier to decorate treats to look like pumpkins rather than carving them for Halloween. And so much tastier too. Find out for sure when you make our Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats recipe.
For more ways to make this the best holiday, check out all of our Halloween posts.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know that I’m obsessed with making cute treats for holidays. And, of course, Halloween is no different. This time of year, I spend so much time in the kitchen making super cute treats to bring to all the Halloween parties we go to during the month.
One of my favorite tasty treats is this Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats recipe.
These aren’t just the plain Rice Krispies pumpkins where the marshmallow mixture is mixed with drops of orange food coloring then molded into a pumpkin shape. Those cute little pumpkins are adorable, but they actually don’t taste that great. Packing the marshmallow mixture tight enough to hold its shape actually makes the treats taste really stale.
This fun treat starts as classic Rice Krispies treats, then you pipe Jack-O-Lantern faces on each treat using candy melts. It takes a little bit of time and patience, but, I promise you, it’s so worth it.
Pumpkins are a Halloween staple. If you’re about all things pumpkin during spooky season, check out our list of Fun & Easy Halloween Pumpkin Crafts.
Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats Recipe
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Also, quick note: We’re calling these Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies because of how they’re decorated. There isn’t any pumpkin puree or pumpkin flavoring in them. They’re just the classic treats with extra decorations.
Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 12 oz. orange candy melts
- 4 oz. green candy melts
- 2 oz. black candy melts
How To Make Jack-O-Lantern Rice Krispies Treats:
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven (or a similar large pot) over medium heat.
Pour in the mini marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon until they’re completely melted.
Remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Pour the Rice Krispies cereal into the melted marshmallows. Stir until combined.
Pour the marshmallow mixture into a prepared pan.
Quick note: I use a little bit of butter to grease the pan. You could use cooking spray, but I don’t like the taste it adds to the treats, so I don’t use it. You could also use parchment paper or waxed paper, but I don’t for this recipe. It’s easier to decorate on a flat surface and you’ll only get a truly flat side if you put the marshmallow mixture directly into the pan.
Use the wooden spoon to spread the mixture into an even layer in the pan.
Don’t use your hands to push the mixture into the pan. That makes the treats taste stale, even when they’re fresh.
Let the treats sit at room temperature for an hour.
Flip the tray over onto a cutting board. Flip them back over so the flat side is up.
Cut a sliver off the shorter side. Roll it into a log and cut it into 24 pieces.
Cut the treats into 24 equal pieces.
Stick one of those tiny pieces you cut in the top of each pumpkin to be its stem.
Melt the orange candy melts according to the package.
The easiest way to do this is to put the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for a minute. Stir. Heat at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until they’re completely melted.
Use a spoon to pour and spread the melted orange candy melts on the front of the cereal treat.
Continue until you’ve finished all the cereal treats. By the time you get to the last one, the first one should be cool.
Melt the green candy melts according to the package.
Use the back of a spoon to cover the small pumpkin stem’s with the melted green candy melts.
Continue until you’ve finished all of the cereal treats.
Site note: I like making the pumpkin stem this way. However, you could use green M&M’s if that’s easy. Just attach them with a little bit of melted candy melts.
Melt the black candy melts according to the package.
Spoon the black candy melts into a ziptop plastic bag. Cut off a small piece of the corner to make a piping bag.
Alternatively, if you have a small piping bag, you can use that. Most people don’t have one, so this is a way to pipe without the extra cost of buying a piping bag.
Pipe little faces onto all of the pumpkins.
Personally, because I’m extra, I made sure each pumpkin had a different expression, but you could make them all the same if you wanted.
Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats: Frequently Asked Questions
Store any treats in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll be best the day you make them or the next day.
If you’re not going to eat them that quickly, you’ll want to store them in an airtight container or in a freezer safe bag in the freezer. Personally, I wrap them in plastic wrap before putting them in a freezer safe bag, but it’s not really necessary.
You don’t want to store them in the fridge. They’ll end up tasting stale that way.
You can make these ahead of time, like for a Halloween party or trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood, as long as you store them in a freezer-safe bag or container in the freezer. Take them out and store them at room temperature on the day you want to serve them.
Mini marshmallows melt easier, which make these really easy treats. However, if you can only find full-size marshmallows in your store, you can use those. You’d just need a 10 oz. bag of marshmallows rather than 5.5 cups.
Black candy melts are a little hard to find. Not every grocery store in my area carries them. You could use brown candy melts, but you don’t get the carved illusion like a real Jack-O-Lantern. So, it’s worth it to go out of your way to find black (or order black candy melts online). Plus, you don’t use that much, so you’ll have them handy for your next project.
More Halloween Rice Krispies Treats
Believe it or not, these pumpkins aren’t the only Halloween Rice Krispies Treat we have on Drugstore Divas. We have our Frankenstein Rice Krispies Treats and our Mummy Rice Krispies Treats too.
A great way to make all of these at once is to make one batch of Rice Krispies Treats, cut it into thirds, and cut each third into eight pieces. Then, decorate each third one of the three different ways. Doing it that way is an easy way to make a bunch of different treats without all the extra work.
Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats Recipe
It’s so much easier to decorate treats to look like pumpkins rather than carving them for Halloween. And so much tastier too. Find out for sure when you make our Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats recipe.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 12 oz. orange candy melts
- 4 oz. green candy melts
- 2 oz. black candy melts
Instructions
- Pour in the mini marshmallows and stir with a wooden spoon until they’re completely melted.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Pour the Rice Krispies cereal into the melted marshmallows. Stir until combined.
- Pour the marshmallow mixture into a prepared pan.
- Use the wooden spoon to spread the mixture into an even layer in the pan.
- Let the treats sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Flip the tray over onto a cutting board. Flip them back over so the flat side is up.
- Cut a sliver off the shorter side. Roll it into a log and cut it into 24 pieces.
- Cut the treats into 24 equal pieces.
- Stick one of those tiny pieces you cut in the top of each pumpkin to be its stem.
- Melt the orange candy melts according to the package. Use a spoon to pour and spread the melted orange candy melts on the front of the cereal treat. Continue until you’ve finished all the cereal treats. By the time you get to the last one, the first one should be cool.
- Melt the green candy melts according to the package. Use the back of a spoon to cover the small pumpkin stem’s with the melted green candy melts. Continue until you’ve finished all of the cereal treats.
- Melt the black candy melts according to the package.
- Spoon the black candy melts into a ziptop plastic bag. Cut off a small piece of the corner to make a piping bag.
- Pipe little faces onto all of the pumpkins.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 111Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 4mgSodium 49mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 0gSugar 13gProtein 1g
Have you made these Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats yet? Let us know how it went in the comments.
andrea
Saturday 28th of October 2023
these treats are so cute! the kiddos absolutely loved them for Halloween!