Loaded Rice Krispies Treats

Happy Halloween Eve! Now that I'm the one giving out candy, I sometimes wish I could give out homemade treats. Nowadays though, people are v. wary and suspicious of anyone giving out homemade concoctions and rightly so. There are so many weirdos out there.

So, I guess I can't give out Rice Krispies treats - I'll just have to eat them myself; what a tragedy.

I love classic Rice Krispies treats but I love these more and they're especially fitting of Halloween. Loading them up with extra stuff is so yummy, especially since the extra stuff includes salt (love sweet and salty as a combination) and crunch and candy.

Ingredients [yields 9"x9" pan]:
¼ cup butter (half a stick)
4 cups mini marshmallows
½ teaspoon sea salt
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
3 cups Cocoa Pebbles cereal
½ cup crushed unsalted pretzels
¼ cup toffee bits
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips
8 to 10 caramels, cut into small pieces
+ vanilla extract (optional)

Start by prepping the extras. Cut up the caramels (I find that scissors are great for snipping the candy into small pieces) and crush up the pretzels. It's good to have everything ready because making Rice Krispies treats is so quick.

To make the treats, start by melting butter in a pan. Once the butter has completely melted, add in the marshmallows and stir around until they completely melt.

I tried adding a little vanilla extract to the treats but to be honest, it didn't really enhance the taste at all so that's why I have it listed as an optional ingredient.

To the melted marshmallows, add the cereal and salt and stir to combine and remove from the heat.

Then, add in the pretzels, toffee bits, caramels, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips and gently stir to combine.

Press the mixture into a 9"x9" greased pan and leave to cool until the marshmallow sets.

Once cooled, turn the treats out and then cut into pieces.

These are so good! They're like the classic Rice Krispies treat except jam-packed with amazingness and they look so much more festive. Even if you won't let your kids eat someone else's homemade treats, you should at least let him/her eat something you've made, right? And these treats are probably a great option. You could even chop up some of the candy bars, nuts, sprinkles, M&Ms, etc. or anything that your little trick-or-treaters have collected and stir those in. (Or, if you're cool and childless like moi, you can make these for yourself; ah the beautiful selfishness of not being a parent!)

Here's the recipe page: