Turn pumpkin-shaped cereal treats into these silly Jack-O-Lantern Rice Krispie Treats for Halloween. These cute treats are fun to make and will look great on your Halloween dessert table.
We hosted a pumpkin carving party for Halloween and I served these cute Rice Krispie Treat pumpkin lollipops along with Pumpkin Truffles, Peanut Butter Cookie Pumpkins, and a Jack-O-Lantern Cheesecake.
Our party guests enjoyed eating these treats as much as I enjoyed making and decorating them.
Each marshmallow cereal treat is shaped like a pumpkin, dipped in orange candy melts, and decorated with candy. I gave each pumpkin a unique face and they are all a bit kooky-looking but that's what makes them so fun.
This was my dessert table for our party. It was one of my favorite displays ever! The orange pumpkins looked so great against the black display.
Every room in our house was filled with all things pumpkin. Decorating this year for our party was certainly different from years past.
We usually have parties with gory or scary themes. From our Dead Man's Diner to our Carnival of the Creepy Crawlers and our Zombie party, our guests have come to expect to be freaked out at least a bit.
This year, there was no shrieking or shrinking, just big smiles. Big toothy grins. Just like on these silly jack-o-lanterns.
So, let's make some lollipops.
Ingredients
(makes 12)
¼ cup butter (½ stick)
10 ounces marshmallows
5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
24 ounces Orange Candy Melts - I originally made these using Wilton's Pumpkin Spice Candy Melts. They are no longer available so just use orange candy melts instead.
2 ounces Light Cocoa Candy Melts
2 ounces Black or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts
24 candy eyes (assorted sizes)
optional: white royal icing (Betty Crocker Cookie Icing)
Before you begin, if you don't have experience working with and melting Candy Melts, see my Chocolate Making Tips Page for instructions.
Supplies
silicone pumpkin mold
lollipop sticks or straws
Instructions
Make the Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins.
Grease an extra-large mixing bowl with butter or baking spray.
Pour the cereal into the bowl.
Melt butter and marshmallows on the stove over LOW heat until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted.
Then remove the saucepan from the heat and stir the marshmallows until melted.
Pour the melted marshmallows over the Rice Krispies Cereal.
Stir until well blended.
Grease a silicone pumpkin mold with butter.
Fill the pumpkin cavity with cereal treat mixture.
Press down on the cereal treats to compact them to make them more solid.
You could also fill a greased pumpkin cookie cutter with the cereal treat mixture. Then, lift off the cookie cutter and repeat.
Add sticks.
Unmold the treats and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Melt the orange Candy Melts in the microwave heating them fo 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each, until melted.
Brush a thin layer of the candy melts on the backside of each pumpkin. Set the candy-coated side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Dip the end of a lollipop stick or a sturdy paper straw in the candy melts and insert one into each rice krispie treat pumpkin.
Pop them in the freezer for 3-4 minutes.
Dip the pumpkins in orange candy melts.
Dip the pumpkin treats in the pumpkin spice candy melts.
Allow the excess to drip off.
Add a stem.
Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 6-8 minutes, until hardened.
Melt light cocoa candy melts. Paint some on the stem of each pumpkin using a food use only a paintbrush or pastry brush.
Decorate with a Jack-O-Lantern face.
Melt the black dark cocoa candy melts. Spoon into a zip-top bag. Use it to attach two candy eyes to each pumpkin, then pipe on a smile.
If you want, you can add some white royal icing teeth. Allow the teeth to dry before piping the chocolate smile on around them.
Freeze.
Pop the treats back in the freezer for a minute or two just until all the decorations are hardened.
Storage
Store in an airtight container for up to a few weeks.
Related Recipes
If you have fun making these cute pumpkin rice crispy treat pops, you might also enjoy making these other pumpkin-themed desserts.
Be sure to check out all of my Halloween recipes. You'll find over 100 festive appetizers, dinners, and dessert ideas.
Recipe
Shape homemade Rice Krispie treats into pumpkins then dip them in orange candy melts and decorate them with silly Jack-O-Lantern faces for Halloween.
- ¼ cup butter ½ stick
- 10 ounces marshmallows
- 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
- 24 ounces Orange Candy Melts
- 2 ounces Light Cocoa Candy Melts
- 2 ounces Black or Dark Cocoa Candy Melts
- 24 candy eyes assorted sizes
- 2 tablespoons white cookie icing or melted white candy melts
-
Grease an extra-large mixing bowl with butter or baking spray.
-
Pour the cereal into the bowl.
-
Pour the butter and marshmallows into a medium saucepan and set it on the stove over LOW heat.
-
Heat, stirring occasionally, until about 75% of the marshmallows have melted.
-
Then remove the saucepan from the heat and stir the marshmallows until melted.
-
Pour the melted marshmallows over the Rice Krispies Cereal.
-
Stir until well blended.
-
Grease a silicone pumpkin mold or a pumpkin cookie cutter with butter.
-
Fill the pumpkin cavity or cookie cutter with cereal treat mixture.
-
Gently press down on the cereal treats to compact them just so they hold together. Don't press too hard or your treats will be too hard.
-
Unmold the treats and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
-
Melt the orange Candy Melts in the microwave heating them fo 30-second bursts of high power, stirring after each, until melted.
-
Brush a thin layer of the candy melts on the backside of each pumpkin.
-
Set the candy-coated side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
-
Dip the end of a lollipop stick or a sturdy paper straw in the candy melts and insert one into each rice krispie treat pumpkin.
-
Pop them in the freezer for 3-4 minutes.
-
Dip the pumpkin treats in melted orange candy melts.
-
Remove from the bowl of candy melts and allow the excess to drip off.
-
Set on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 6-8 minutes, until hardened.
-
Melt light cocoa candy melts. Paint some on the stem of each pumpkin using a food use only a paintbrush or pastry brush.
-
Melt the black dark cocoa candy melts.
-
Spoon into a zip-top bag and use it to attach two candy eyes to each pumpkin, then pipe on a smile.
-
If desired, you can pipe white royal icing or melted white candy melts teeth onto the pumpkins.
-
Pop the treats back in the freezer for a minute or two just until all the decorations are hardened.
Store in an airtight container for up to a few weeks.
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Kayla @ The Smart Baker
Oh wow - looks amazing!