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These Halloween Rice Krispie Treats – decorated like pumpkins, ghosts, and other ghouls – are an easy and adorable addition to any spooky gathering!
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
These cute little Halloween Rice Krispie Treats are such a fun twist on the traditional kid-friendly dessert. They’re the perfect Halloween treats for class parties, work potlucks, or any time you need a fun holiday treat. Caramel and sweetened condensed milk gives these sweet snacks a delicious Fall flavor, and dipped in chocolate, these fun Halloween treats add Halloween fun to any occasion and taste absolutely delicious!
Ingredients for these Treats
It’s so easy to whip up a batch of these delicious goodies for a Halloween party. Just a few ingredients and a little creativity is all you need!
- Rice Krispies Cereal – generic brands work just as well
- Butter or margarine – for one batch you’ll need half a stick. I like to double this batch a lot.
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Caramels – Unwrap about 25 caramels for this recipe
- Marshmallows – about 30 large. You can use mini marshmallows as well. One large marshmallow equals about 13 mini marshmallows.
- Melting Chocolate -Purple, orange, green and white, or any other colors you wish to use. You can also use chocolate chips, see below for melting tips.
- Sprinkles, candy corn, or other candies for decorating.
How to Make Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
- Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
- Add Rice Krispie Cereal to a large bowl. I usually use the biggest bowl I have so I have plenty of room to stir in the marshmallow mixture.
- In a large, heavy bottom pot melt milk, caramels, and marshmallows on medium heat. Stir constantly. I am always tempted to turn the heat higher to make everything melt faster, but this will result in hard Rice Krispie Treats! Don’t do it!
- When everything is completely melted, pour the mixture over the cereal and stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread coated Rice Krispies firmly and evenly onto the jelly roll pan. Don’t press down too hard.
- Cool completely. When the Rice Krispies are completely cooled, cut them into 36 squares, or shapes for characters.
Other Rice Krispie Treat Options
I love the Rice Krispie Treat recipe we used for this recipe, but you can use any recipe you’d like! Our Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats are truly a family favorite. For a quick option try our 5-minute Microwave Rice Krispie Treats! Of course if you want to focus all your time on decorating, you can use premade packaged Rice Krispie Treats. I do this all the time!
Some Tips for Dipping Rice Krispie Squares
- Melting chocolate, also called Candy Melts, can be found at Walmart, Michaels or several other craft stores. They come in a variety of colors and they melt into a smooth texture easy for dipping.
- If you are using chocolate chips, add a tablespoon of vegetable shortening for every one cup of chocolate chips when melting. This will give the melted chocolate a smoother, thinner texture for coating the squares.
- To melt chocolate, place into a microwavesafe bowl and heat on medium for about thirty seconds, then stir well.
- Continue heating in 30 second intervals until the chips are completely smooth and melted. The chips or melts will hold their shape until stirred, so it is very important to stir well between each interval.
- Once you’ve dipped the squares you can decorate the Halloween Rice Krispie Treats with any kind of sprinkles or candies. Just make sure you sprinkle before the chocolate cools and hardens.
- Let them dry on wax paper before transferring to another plate. You can also stick them in the freezer to let them harden more quickly.
Ideas for Decorating
Make cute little ghosts, cats, jack-o-lanterns or zombies, as pictured or try some other cute options:
- Frankenstein Rice Krispies Treats – Melt green candy melts and dip entire Rice Krispie treat. Then use a piping bag to draw eyes and a mouth with darker chocolate or black frosting. Your kids will love these little Frankensteins!
- Pumpkin Rice Krispies Treats – Melt orange candy melts and dip the Rice Krispie treat.
- Mummy Rice Krispies Treats – Decorate white chocolate dipped treats with stripes using a piping bag.
Zombie Rice Krispie Treats
This cute zombie with his silly blue coconut hair is a fun Halloween treat. To make this zombie, you will need:
- Green melting chocolate or candy melts: Melt the green candy melts according to the package and have it in a big enough bowl for dipping.
- Shredded coconut: Place ½ cup of shredded coconut in a bowl and add one drop of blue food coloring. Mix it together and add more blue food coloring one drop at a time until it reaches the right shade of blue.
- Candy eyes: You can find candy eyes at most craft stores or in the Halloween section at the grocery store.
Dip the entire Rice Krispie treat in green candy melts first then dip the top portion in the blue coconut. Add the eyes and it’s a fun spooky treat. You can also easily turn this treat into a Frankenstein monster or use different colors to make witches.
Purple Cat Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
It’s not Halloween without a black cat! We made this cat purple to see all of it’s fun features, but you can always change it up with black. To make this purple cat, you will need:
- Purple melting chocolate or candy melts: Melt the purple candy melts according to the package and have it in a big enough bowl for dipping.
- Knife: Cut out a triangle shape on the top of the Rice Krispie treat to create two cat eats. The best part is eating the triangle you won’t be using.
- Candy Eyes: Found at most craft stores or Halloween sections of the grocery store.
- Sprinkles: We used black sprinkles for the whiskers and a green circle sprinkle for the nose.
Cut the triangle out for the ears and dip the entire Rice Krispie treat in purple candy melts. Add the eyes, whiskers and nose before it starts to set.
Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Rice Krispie Treat
This jolly jack-o-lantern is a silly Halloween treat. To make this pumpkin you will need:
- Orange and green melting chocolate or candy melts: Melt the orange candy melts according to the package and have it in a big enough bowl for dipping. Melt a smaller amount of the green candy melts and have it ready with a spoon for drizzling.
- Chocolate chips: We used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can also use mini chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips to decorate the face.
Dip the entire Rice Krispie treat in orange melting chocolate and place on waxed paper. Add chocolate chips for the eyes, nose and mouth to create a Halloween Jack-o-lantern. Drizzle green melting chocolate side to the side on the top.
Ghost Halloween Rice Krispie Treats:
These white Halloween ghosts are simple, spooky and easy to make. You will need:
- White melting chocolate or candy melts or white chocolate chips: Melt the chocolate in a bowl according to the package.
- Chocolate chips: We used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use mini or milk chocolate chips.
Dip the Rice Krispie treat in the white melted chocolate leaving a little plain Rice Krispie treat on the bottom. Place on waxed paper and add two chocolate chips for the eyes.
When I make Rice Krispie Treats, they HAVE to be soft. One way I make sure they don’t harden is by only lightly pushing them down in the pan. If you pack them into the pan, they will harden as they cool. To ensure I don’t end up with half the mixture on my hands, I spray my hands lightly with cooking spray. Another option is to put plastic wrap over the treats and push through the plastic wrap.
More Sweet Treats to Try
Looking for some more holiday treats that will set you apart from the rest? Our Candy Apples, Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties, and Skeleton Charcuterie Board make great Halloween treats. Try some of these simple, fun recipes:
- April Fool’s Day Pranks
- Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
- Easy Chocolate Truffles
- Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle
- Twelve Days of Christmas Treats
- Hamburger Cake
- Graham Cracker Cookies with Coconut
If you are looking for a simple Rice Krispie Treat recipe, try our 5-Minute Microwave Rice Krispie Treats!
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
Equipment
- 12×18 inch pan
Ingredients
- 9 cups Rice Krispies Cereal generic brands work just as well
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine ½ stick
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 25 caramels unwrapped
- 30 marshmallows large
- White milk, or semi-sweet chocolate for dipping, melted (optional).
- Sprinkles or mini-chocolate chips for decorating optional.
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients. Spray a jelly roll pan (12 inches x 18 inches) with non-stick cooking spray, or lightly grease using butter or margarine. Measure the 9 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal into a large bowl.
- In a heavy pot, melt butter, milk, caramels, and marshmallows on medium heat, stirring constantly.
- When marshmallows and caramels are completely melted, pour over the cereal and stir until well blended.
- Spread coated Rice Krispies firmly and evenly onto the jelly roll pan. The mixture will be sticky. I have found the easiest way to do this is to lightly butter my fingers, or spray them with non-stick cooking spray, and press the mixture into the pan. Cool completely. When the Rice Krispies are completely cooled, cut them into 36 squares, or shapes for characters.
For Halloween Characters
- Insert a lollipop stick or popsicle stick in the bottom of each shape. Dip the shape in white chocolate and place on waxed paper. Quickly add decorations before chocolate hardens. Let chocolate cool and harden. Characters can be wrapped in decorative bags or cellophane, or kept in an airtight container.
For Decorative Squares
- Dip a corner of each square in melted chocolate and place on waxed paper. Sprinkle seasonal sprinkles on chocolate. Allow chocolate to cool and harden before serving or storing in an airtight container.
Did you leave out the butter in the instructions? Or am I missing it somehow?
You melt the butter in with the marshmallows.
These are so cute! Saving these to make for the holiday with my niece and nephew – I know they’ll love them!
I just love the ghost on a stick idea, my kids will enjoy making it
I saw these in Facebook and decided to give them a try since I needed to make a snack for my son’s soccer team. These tasted amazing because of the caramel and the condensed milk, but they didn’t set up as well as I’d hoped. They were still falling apart after several hours of setting. Not sure if it was something On my end or what. Oh well, the kids loved them and so did I.
It could be a difference in the brands of condensed milk and caramel used, I’m not sure. Next time you make them, add another cup of Rice Krispies or more if needed. This should help them set up quicker. You could also try putting the pan in the fridge to help them set up quicker. I’m glad you liked them!
What is a cube of butter? Are you talking a 1/2 a stick of butter? Or a 1/2 a cup of butter?
Thanks!
Yes, sorry! 1/2 cube is the same as 1/2 stick 🙂
Does 1/2 “cube” of butter mean 1/2 of a stick of butter? I just want to make sure to get the right amount….. Sounds yummy. I think my hubby will love these!!!
Yes, sorry… 1/2 cube = 1/2 stick… so it would be 1/4 C. of butter. 🙂
Thanks for posting this. Quick, cheap, easy and all kids will love it.