Halloween Marshmallow Crispy Treat Pumpkins Food

RICE KRISPIE PUMPKIN TREATS

Steps:

• Melt margarine in large microwave safe bowl. Add marshmallows, and heat again in microwave until soft and fluffy. Put in a few drops of food coloring to achieve desired color. Stir in cereal and mix well. Using lightly greased hands, shape into small handful sized balls. Place onto pan lined with parchment paper and put candy piece in the top for a stem. Pumpkins aren't generally perfectly round, so it makes this a very kid friendly recipe.

PUMPKIN MARSHMALLOWS

Steps:

• Line a 9x13 inch pan with plastic wrap and spray it lightly and uniformly with cooking spray. Set aside. Pour the 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin on top; set aside for 10 minutes.
• Combine the white sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Do not stir once the sugar syrup begins to boil. Heat to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball. Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Mix well.
• Attach the mixing bowl to the stand mixer with the wire whip attachment and start the mixer on low speed. Carefully pour the boiling sugar syrup in a steady stream down the side of the mixing bowl. Increase the mixer to medium-high speed and add the salt. Mix until stiff, shiny, and white in color, about 5 to 12 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally using a rubber spatula.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the pumpkin mixture until combined. Add food coloring, if desired, for a deeper orange color. Return the bowl to the mixer and beat on medium-high speed about 3 minutes longer. Dip a spatula into the marshmallow mixture: the mixture should form a more-or-less continuous ribbon off the spatula into the bowl.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan so that it is an even depth. Let the mixture set at room temperature for at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Sift the cocoa powder, cornstarch, and confectioners' sugar into a pie plate. When the marshmallows have set, turn them onto a work surface and cut them into squares or shapes as desired. Roll each marshmallow in the cocoa mixture to coat all sides (reserve the cocoa mixture for re-dredging if needed). Marshmallows are best served fresh, but they can be stored in an airtight container (unrefrigerated) for about a week or in the freezer for a month. If you store the marshmallows, re-roll them in the cocoa mixture before serving.

RICE KRISPIE TREAT PUMPKINS

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat.
• Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted and combined with the butter.
• Remove from the heat. Add several drops of yellow food colouring, mix it together, then add red food colouring one drop at a time, mixing as you go. Add red/yellow drops until you reach your desired colour. (I used about 4 drops red and 12 drops yellow). Mix well.
• Add the Rice Krispies and stir to combine.
• Coat both sides of your hands with a generous amount of cooking oil or butter, and roll the Rice Krispie mixture into small balls. Set on parchment paper. Add oil/butter to your hands after each ball.
• While the balls are still warm, gently press a Mini Rolo into the top of each pumpkin for the stem and add a green M&M beside it as the leaf. (Tip: If the pumpkins cool before you're finished, use the end of a thick marker or apple corer to make a small indent in the top for the chocolate to sit in.)
• Allow to cool until firm.

HALLOWEEN TOMBSTONE TREATS

Steps:

• In large saucepan over low heat, melt butter.
• Stir in marshmallows until completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Stir in cereal til well-coated. (*Iused 6 1/2 cups because I think they come out less dry.And they hold up better if they have to sit out for awhile). The original recipe called for 7 1/2, but what i used worked out really well!).
• Press into a greased 13x9x2 pan with a buttered spatula. Cool.
• In large mixing bowl, beat cookie dough and flour til well mixed.(*You do have to add the flour, otherwise that store-bought dough is really awful -- very sticky!).
• On a lightly-floured surface, roll dough into a 6" x 16" rectangle.
• Cut into 16 small rectangles. 2 rows of 8. Each one being 3" x 2".
• You can trim tops (2" side)with a paring knife to resemble the top of a tombstone cutting an arch if desired.
• Place each tombstone onto ugreased baking sheets 2" apart.
• *Optional, along bottom edge (bottom 2" side)of each cookie, insert 2 toothpicks halfway into the dough. **If these will be for small children, I recommend not doing this. (My owm alternative directions to follow.).
• Bake cookies at 350º for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.(*Mine took 13-14 minutes.)But mine were probably a little thicker than the original recipe. It had said to roll out and hand-cut each cookie with a paring knife around a waxed paper pattern -- (Cutting them into rectangles from a large rectangle was MUCH easier! And made more sense to me.)Then just simply trim the tops to whatever shape/style you want.
• Remove to wire racks to cool.
• In large plastic ziploc bag, combine water and green food coloring.
• Add coconut, seal bag shut, and shake to coat.
• Toast coconut, set aside. (Optional.)I didn't, it was fine.
• Using black gel, tint frosting gray. (*I used one whole small tube and it was barely gray, but ok.).
• Frost cookies, decorate tombstones with more black gel. (*The black gel for writing didn't work for me! I had to scrape it off, refrost the ones I wrecked, and just used chocolate frosting instead for the writing part. That worked perfectly for me.).
• Cut cereal bars into 3"x2" rectangles.
• Spread with melted chocolate chips. (*I didn't do this, I used frosting instead.)BUT! See further instructions!
• Insert cookies into rice crispy treats sticking the toothpicks down in to hold up the cookie.
• Do this on the edge of one long side.
• *If you aren't using toothpicks, pipe a thick bead of melted chocolate chips on wide edge and hold in place til set. Or do on waxed paper, which is how i ended up doing this, and lay them down with the cookie pressed against it so you don't have to hold it. Refrigerate til set.(30 minutes was all it took.) Remove from waxed paper carefully.
• (*I then opted to use the rest of the chocolate frosting to frost the tops of the exposed rice crispy treats part. Pressed the pumpkin into the frosting, then sprinkled with coconut.).
• Decorate with coconut for "grass", and candy pumpkins.
• Makes 16 "Tombstones".