Pumpkin Krispies

When I was growing up, my mom would make my uncles Rice Krispie Treats every year for Christmas, because they loved them so much.  When my uncles got older and got married, she gave their wives the ingredients for their favorite dessert, saying it was their turn to make then now.  So, you can see that it has always been a tradition to make these tasty treats.

This year, instead of making the traditional treats, my niece and I set out to make a pumpkin version.  We made the treats exactly like the box said, though Breleigh was much more interested in eating the ingredients than helping.  When the treats were still in the pan I added some orange food coloring.  I actually went out and bought the Wilton food coloring because I wanted especially orange pumpkins and I didn't think I would be able to accomplish that with the liquid drops.  When everything was bright orange, Breleigh and I molded them into little balls, and stuck tootsie roll stems in the top of them.

Then I wrapped them up in glassine bags and tied green raffia on the top to represent the vine.  They were pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.  But nothing was quite as cute as Maddon enjoying them.

At the end he got a piece stuck to the end of his nose that looked like a giant orange booger.  We could not stop laughing.

Warning:  The kid who helps you cook will inevitably go into a sugar coma and start taking pictures like this:

But it is totally worth the sugar highs and lows to be able to gift your friends these cute sugary beauties!  I hope you try them out!