As I sit here writing this post, I’m eating caramel corn and peanut butter cups, getting a head start on my favorite holiday. I’m so happy to know it is officially Halloween! Halloween is magical because you can be anything you want to be, if only for one night. This is made even more magical because of the enormous amounts of candy you get to consume. In honor of the most famous Halloween candy, I made candy corn shaped Rice Krispie treats. These cute treats are flavored with orange and lemon peel, which lends a surprising taste.
How the treats should look in the pan, before cutting
This dessert is both a trick and a treat. Looks like candy corn, but the trick is the citrus flavor. Your friends will be tricked, then delightfully treated. I’ll call these Citrusy Candy Corn Trick or Treats. What a mouthful…a delicious, delicious mouthful.
Citrusy Candy Corn Trick or Treats
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
12 cups mini marshmallows, divided
A few pinches of salt
9 cups rice krispies cereal
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Yellow and red food coloring
1. Coat a 5 by 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter. In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium heat. Add 4 cups mini marshmallows and a pinch of salt, stir until melted. Stir in 3 cups of the cereal and transfer to the pan. Coat a spatula, or your hands, with cooking spray and press mixture into even layer.
2. Repeat step 1 for the next two layers, making sure to clean the pan in between layers, or use a new pan. To the orange layer, add orange zest and yellow and red food coloring to make it orange. Add more than you think necessary, because when the cereal is added it will dull the color. Press into pan on top of the first layer.
3. Repeat step 1 for the yellow layer. To this batch, add lemon zest and yellow food coloring to turn the mixture yellow. Press into pan so you have 3 layers – “white”, orange, then yellow.
4. Allow to cool, about an hour or so. Run a knife around the edges and flip. Cut loaf into 10 slices, then cut each slide down the middle.
5. Mold each treat to a point at the top, so it looks like a piece of candy corn.
Since Halloween is the best holiday around (sorry Christmas and Thanksgiving, you’re old news), I like to be festive any way I can. This include my nails. I’m sharing two Halloween nail art designs that were pretty simple to create and so much fun to look at. I especially like my Frankenstein thumb, so I painted him on both designs. I named him Frank, which is totally normal and pretty cute if you ask me.
The nails on the left use an orange polish with black tips, plus a braided accent nail. It looks complicated, but it just requires 3 colors and some patience. The most helpful braided nail tutorial I’ve found comes from Julep. The nails on the right are inspired by Cutepolish, who is one of my favorite nail artists. The video shows step by step instructions for each nail and the designs are easy to do with the right colors and tools.
To end, I wanted to show off the shirt I bought from Charlavail, which reads ”Never too old for trick or treating”. It’s a nice reminder to bring out your inner child once in a while. So go ahead, eat that candy and dress up like a crazy character. I hope you get more treats than tricks! Have a Happy Halloween!
