Halloween Rice Krispie treats

Halloween is coming up and I haven't really made any Halloween-inspired treats yet, except for these white chocolate ghost lollipops.  Part of it is because I have no Halloween parties to go to this year (which I'm quite OK with), and part of it is because I'm not completely sure what a "Halloween treat" entails....usually they're orange, or pumpkin-and-other-Halloween-paraphernalia-shaped treats, or pumpkin flavored, or include Halloween candy.  But I didn't feel the need to artificially color things orange, or make pumpkin flavored things (it's one of my least favorite flavors), or sit there and painfully decorate Halloween-shaped cookies to only have them go to waste -- but I wouldn't put it past me to do that in a few days, after I catch up on some much needed sleep from my crazy week at work, and after I get more into the Halloween spirit.

 

But I digress.  I wanted to make something for the blog that was at least a bit "Halloween-y."  I found a few recipes for Halloween treats - a recipe for homemade candy bars (which I plan on making for my sisters soon), one for some Rice Krispie treats with a bunch of things in them including candy corns (gross, if you ask me), and a bunch of pumpkin desserts.  I had also saved a recipe a year or two ago for candy cups made with extra leftover Halloween candy, but of course I can't find it now.  (As an aside, is there such a think as "leftover" or "extra" Halloween candy?)  

So I came up with a "recipe" of my own, a Halloween Rice Krispie treat with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Reese's Pieces.  I thought about adding some peanuts, some peanut butter, or some Halloween-colored sprinkles, but decided that I'd stick with the Reese's only.  I froze the large peanut butter cups and Reese's pieces, since I didn't want the chocolate to melt too much when I mixed them into the Rice Krispie-Marshmallow mixture.

** Just a thought, but I think these would be good with ANY chocolate Halloween candies...especially Whoppers, Butterfingers, and Twix, to name a few **

Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
(aka Reese's Peanut Butter-y Rice Krispie Treats)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter or margarine
40 Large marshmallows (I used 4 cups of mini marshmallows)
6 cups of Rice Krispies
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, frozen (I used the large ones, and I ended up using 6)
Reese's Pieces, frozen (I could only find a small package, so that's what I used....I always believe that more is better when it comes to Reese's Pieces.)

Directions:

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan - I used a 9 x 9 inch pan because I wanted really thick Rice Krispie treats.  Sometimes I'm a glutton....what can I say?  My preference is Pam, but you could also brush it with some melted butter.

Measure out the cereal.  
Chop the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups roughly; I cut each one into 9 pieces.

Microwave the butter in a microwavable bowl on high until melted (about 45 seconds).
Add marshmallows and toss to coat.
Microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 45 seconds.  I recommend using a nonstick spatula or a spatula sprayed with Pam.

Add the cereal immediately, and start mixing well.
After a few seconds, add the frozen candies.  Continue mixing well, until all incorporated.  Don't worry if the chocolate melts a little, because it will.  OK, maybe it'll melt a lot, but that's still OK.
Press into the greased pan.
Allow to cool completely.