Halloween Rice Krispie Treats are a kid-approved dessert perfect for a party made with marshmallows, butter, and colorful candy melts.
Traditional Rice Krispie Treats are an easy, no-bake Bar Recipe that you can easily alter to make an fun treat for the holidays! Try making these with my Oreo Rice Krispies and Brown Butter Rice Krispies for more delicious variations on the classic treat!
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Sabrina’s Halloween Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
My classic Rice Krispies recipe gets a spooky upgrade! The base recipe stays the same with an easy mix of butter, marshmallows, and cereal. But, instead of cutting the treat into squares, I used themed cookie cutters to make them into the shape of bats, pumpkins, and other on-theme options. Then the spooky shapes get dipped in colored candy melts, adding color and extra sweet flavor, and finished with some easy decorations. It’s a quick way to make an extra special Halloween treat!
Chef’s Note: Spooky Party Planning!
If you’re hosting a spooky movie night or Halloween party, you can always let your guests do the decoration. Have the melted candy coating ready for dipping, or you can swap the candy melts for colored frosting. Small tubes of cake decorating gels and frostings are perfect for decorating, plus smaller candy bits are great for sprinkling on top. To round out the Halloween theme, my Halloween Pretzel Hugs and Candy Corn Blondies are two more festive additions for your dessert table.
Ingredients
- Butter: You’ll need 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter for this recipe. As you melt the butter and marshmallows, the butter enriches the recipe and helps to spread the melted marshmallow mixture over the cereal.
- Marshmallows: Ideally, you’ll use fresh marshmallows for this recipe, as they’ll do the best job softening as they melt. However, you can use stale marshmallows if you have them available. Melt the marshmallows completely, and stir in extra butter if needed to soften the mixture.
- Rice Krispies Cereal: This crisp cereal makes the perfect crunchy base for this fun treat. Mix 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal with the melted marshmallow mixture for the perfect sweet and crunchy bars.
- Candy melts: To finish this Halloween version of the crispy treats, add a candy melt coating. The recipe calls for orange, white, purple, and black candy melts. However, you can use green candy melts or other colors depending on what decorating you want to add to the crispy bar treats.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Dutch Oven: The heavy, thick walls of the Dutch oven help distribute heat evenly, which can help melt the marshmallows more consistently.
- 9 X 13 Baking Pan: The 9×13 baking dish is a kitchen staple due to its size and versatility, making it suitable for a wide range of baked and cooked dishes
- Halloween Cookie Cutters: With these cookie cutters, you can create delightful and spooky treats that will surely be a hit at any Halloween celebration!
How to Make
- Rice Krispie Mixture:
Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and mix until completely melted and stirred together.
- Stir in the Cereal
Add the Rice Krispies cereal and mix until completely coated.
- Cool:
Transfer the mixture to a 9×13-inch baking pan and spread it into an even layer. Then, let the recipe cool and set.
- Shape Rice Krispies Treats:
Use your choice of Halloween cookie cutter shapes to cut out the Rice Krispie treats.
- Prep for Decorating
Add the orange, white, and purple candy melts to separate bowls and microwave each on 50% power until just melted. Prepare a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Candy melts:
Dip the tops of the cut-out Rice Krispies into the candy melts. Pick which color to dip in based on the shape—for example, dip, pumpkins in orange, ghosts in white, etc. Let any excess candy melt drip off the treats. Then, place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Decorate
Melt black candy like you did the other three colors, then transfer the melted mixture to a piping bag. The black candy melt adds candy eyes and smiley faces to the Halloween Rice Krispie Treats.
- Let the Chocolate Set
Let the candy melt and harden before serving the Rice Krispie Treats. You can pop them in the fridge or freezer to help them set faster or if it’s warm in your kitchen. Enjoy!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 ounces marshmallows
- 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
- 6 ounces candy melts , orange
- 6 ounces candy melts , white
- 6 ounces candy melts , purple
- 3 ounces candy melts , black
Instructions
- In a dutch oven melt the butter on medium heat then add in the marshmallows and mix until completely melted.
- Mix in the Rice Krispies Treats until completely coated.
- Press the mixture into a 9×13 inch pan and let cool completely before serving.
- Using Halloween cookie cutters like a ghost, bat and pumpkin, and cut out your favorite shapes.
- Add the orange, white, and purple candy melts to separate bowls and microwave each on 50% power until just melted.
- Dip the bottom half of the shapes into the candy melts and let dry on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Dip the ghosts into the white candy melts, bats into the purple, and pumpkins into the orange.
- Melt the black candy melts the same way as the other colors.
- Add the black color to a small piping bag and pipe on eyes and little smiles onto your ghosts, pumpkins and bats.
Nutrition
Can this be made ahead of time?
The cereal bars will be the softest and gooey-ist the first day. However, if you need to prep in advance, you can make them up to 3 days ahead of time. Prepare the Rice Krispies recipe as usual and add the candy melt coating. After letting the coating dry, you can place the treats in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together. They maintain the best texture at room temperature.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Store: This sweet recipe can stay at room temperature for up to 2 days. Put the treats in an airtight container with wax or parchment paper between the layers to keep them from sticking together. They’ll stay fresh and soft, kept in a dry, cool place. You could keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days, but let them return to room temperature before serving.
- Freeze: For a longer storage option, freeze the Rice Krispies recipe for up to 6 weeks. Wrap the treats individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag or airtight container. Then, let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
Frequent Questions
The base recipe for these Halloween treats is the same as any other Rice Krispie treats. You’ll make it with the classic mixture of melted marshmallows and butter over rice cereal. The difference is in how you decorate the bars. After they have time to set, cut them into ghost, bat, and pumpkin shapes using Halloween cookie cutters. This is a much more fun and on-theme option than standard square bars. Then dip the fun shapes into colored candy melts. Using classic Halloween colors like purple and orange, you can finish the festive treats with a delicious addition and fun color to make them perfect for the spooky holiday.
If you’ve ever made Rice Krispies Treats, then you know how easily you can get stuck with a sticky mess on your hands. But you can use a couple of easy tricks to stop the melted marshmallow from sticking to your fingers. The first is to coat your hands in some oil as you shape the Rice Krispies. The marshmallows will slide off the oil, so you don’t have to worry about getting stuck. Alternatively, you could wear gloves. This will keep your hands from getting sticky. However, the marshmallows may still stick to the gloves.
No. To keep the treats soft and chewable, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you’re in a hurry and need the Rice Krispie mixture to set fast, you can refrigerate them while making the recipe.
Yes! The recipe suggests cutting the bars into pumpkin, ghost, and bat shapes for this Halloween treat. However, you can use any kind of Halloween cookie cutter you have. Monsters, Frankenstein, mummies, and spiderwebs are all fun options. Or, if you’re making Rice Krispies for another occasion, you can always follow the same method with different shapes to match the season you’re serving them for.
Variations
- Sprinkles: After adding the candy melt to the outside of the cereal treats, you can complete the recipe with fun Halloween decorations. The original recipe calls black candy melts to pipe on the eyes. But you could also use edible candy eyes or chocolate chips for eyes. Other fun decorations to add are festive sprinkles, edible glitter, and white chocolate drizzles.
- Chocolate Rice Krispies: To make this delicious treat with chocolate flavor, you can replace the classic Rice Krispies cereal with Cocoa Krispies cereal.
- White Chocolate: If you prefer, replace the candy melts in the original recipe with real white chocolate. Although candy melts have a consistency and flavor profile similar to white chocolate, they are not quite the same. For this version, melt white chocolate bars or chips in the microwave. Then, add food coloring to the white chocolate mixture to make whatever color you want for the melted chocolate.
- Mix-ins: When mixing the marshmallows and cereal, you can add fun candy mix-ins like chopped candy corn, M&M’s, colorful mini marshmallows, or candy bar pieces.