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This recipe for Easy Gluten Free Halloween Rice Crispy Treats feels a bit like I’m cheating really. Cheating because it’s so simple and I’ve been making these for years. They’re quick and easy to make, they’re easily gluten free and dairy free too. I told a porky; when I say I’ve been making these for years – the Spooky Marshmallow Rice Crispy Ghosts idea was gifted me by a lovely follower Katie aka Go with Katies Gut on Instagram. I’ll share her photos further down. Thank you for the inspiration Katie x
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Skip to the good bit
- How to make Rice Crispy Marshmallow Treats?
- Top Tips – how not to get stuck (literally!)
- How to add food colouring
- How do you make a rice crispy pumpkin shape?
- Are Rice Krispies gluten free?
- Can you make these marshmallow treats dairy free?
- Can you make these Halloween Rice Crispy Treats vegan too?
- Feeling creative? More ideas for Easy Halloween Rice Crispy Treats
- Other recipes that you may want to try this Halloween.
- Easy Halloween Rice Crispy Treats Recipe
How to make Rice Crispy Marshmallow Treats?
STEP ONE: weigh out the marshmallows and butter into your largest non stick pan.
STEP TWO: melt gently on the stove until all the marshmallows have dissolved into the melted butter.
STEP THREE: add your weighed out gluten free rice cereal and get stirring!
STEP FOUR: keep the pan on the lowest heat to prevent mixture from going hard and get your work station ready – preparation is KEY!
Top Tips – how not to get stuck (literally!)
I mention about about getting your work station ready. You will need cling film (plastic wrap) a necessary evil here I’m afraid. I hate the stuff and its awful for the environment but it make this process so much easier.
Have a bowl of warm water at the ready to keep wetting your hands and utensils. This prevents any sticky disasters.
Have a baking tray ready covered with non stick paper for your marshmallow crispy treats to rest (make sure you can fit this into your fridge later).
If making the ghost cutter crispy treat make sure you grease the cutter each time (so have a little bowl of oil handy for this too.
As mentioned above, keep your mixture in the pan on the stove on the lowest setting to make sure the mixture doesn’t harden and become impossible to work with.
How to add food colouring
This may seem a bit of a daft thing to mention but if like me you want to make several different shapes you don’t want all of your marshmallow crispy mixture to be bright orange or green or whatever. I make the rice crispy ghosts first and then add a colour to make my marshmallow crispy pumpkins.
I use food colour gels so to make things easier I add a decent sized blob to half a teaspoon of water and mix to loosen then add this to the marshmallow crispy mixture and gently stir to combine. Because you will have left your pan on the low heat this shouldn’t be an impossible task.
How do you make a rice crispy pumpkin shape?
This was totally made up on the spot. Normally people would check out Pinterest I guess or Google it. I just worked with what I had and made it up as I went along and I have to say I’m really pleased with myself!
You follow the same principle for the 3D mini ghost treats and fill a vessel to create a workable shape. In this case I upgraded the espresso cup to a small metal pudding bowl (I have a set of 4 for things like my mini Sticky Toffee Puddings).
I line with clingfilm, fill to the top, release from the mould and twist the clingfilm to seal. Next add elastic bands or string (bands are so much quicker) to encourage a pumpkin shape. These then need to be chilled and you finish with a line of chocolate in each dip to accentuate the shape and top with a stick of angelica for the stalk. You can use fondant icing if you can’t source angelica, I had leftovers from my Creamy Dairy Free Tutti Frutti Ice Cream.
Are Rice Krispies gluten free?
I’m glad you asked. No Kellogg’s Rice Krispies are not gluten free because they contain BARLEY malt extract and whilst some extracts are okay this is not one of them. The name ‘Krispies’ is how this marshmallow treat gets its name but I wince a little when I see gluten free Marshmallow Crispy Treats with a ‘K’ because it can imply that Kellogg’s are okay – just me???
So this begs the question what Rice Crispy cereal is okay for these treats? Here are a few you may be able to get local to you. Always read the packaging and check for may contains.
Notice something? That’s right not one of them is called ‘Krispies’, that’s because that word is trademarked. NOW can you see why I shudder a little each time I see ‘Krispies on a gluten free recipe!
Can you make these marshmallow treats dairy free?
You can absolutely make these Gluten Free Halloween Rice Crispy Treats dairy free as well simply by swapping the butter for a plant based alternative. I ALWAYS use Flora Plant Butter in my baking, it’s not the cheapest but it’s a solid dairy free block and having a solid black of fat is so important to the structure of free from baking.
Can you make these Halloween Rice Crispy Treats vegan too?
Okay…how vegan do you want it to be? You might find recipe developers say they you can switch the marshmallows out for vegan ones i.e. marshmallows that do not use gelatine in the ingredients. However, there’s one more stumbling block to this recipe.
Many cereals are fortified and few realise that Vitamin D3 is derived from animals so you need to find a gluten free rice cereal that in not fortified. For example, the Marks & Spencer cereal pictured above is not fortified and is labelled suitable for vegans.
Feeling creative? More ideas for Easy Halloween Rice Crispy Treats
While I was making these I was thinking of all the other shapes and forms you could mould the marshmallow rice crispy mixture into. Really you could let your imagination run wild I’ve had a look for some additional inspiration for you and here are a couple I think would work brilliantly with this recipe and a few tweaks to food colourings and decorations. The first two images are the ones I promised by Katie with a different shaped ghost cutter, love her cute plate too!
Other recipes that you may want to try this Halloween.
I have a few other Halloween and autumn harvest inspired recipes on my blog. Take my pumpkin pie recipe. I find that pumpkin pie can be a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. My family love it and it never lasts long at all. My sister and her boys would run for the hills if I presented them with a slice!
I’ve trusted this recipe since I was a teenager (about 10 years ago). It’s a Mrs Beeton recipe and all I did was tweak it a little to make it gluten free for Bethany. More recently I worked hard to make an identical tasting Vegan Pumpkin Pie – spoiler alert, I succeeded.
I’ve also got my gooey Wagon Wheels, perfect for kiddies Halloween Parties and for the adults, why not make your own dairy free Pumpkin Spice Bailey’s.
Easy Halloween Rice Crispy Treats Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Easy Halloween Rice Crispy Treats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 300 g marshmallows vegan if necessary
- 120 g crispy rice cereal not Kellogg's
- 80 g butter or butter alternative I use Flora Plant Butter
To decorate
- 100 g milk chocolate dairy free
- angelica optional
- edible glitter option
Instructions
- Heat the marshmallows and butter alternative in a large saucepan on a very gentle heat, stir occasionally with a silicone spatula and don’t leave unwatched.
- While you’re waiting for the mallows to melt, prepare your work station with cling film squares, a bowl of warm water, a lined baking sheet and some oil for greasing.
- Once the mallows have completely melted (the mixture will go all fluffy) you can add the rice crispies stirring quickly to mix. TOP TIP: I keep the heat turned down as low as possible now to keep the mixture workable.
To make the 3D mini ghosts
- Using a wet dessert spoon, scoop the mixture into the moulds/espresso cups/egg cups and press down gently.
- Gather the edges of the cling film and twist to close and tease out of the mould. Place on a place and repeat until you've made enough mini ghosts.
To make the 2D cookie cutter ghosts
- Grease the cookie cutter with some oil and spoon some of the mixture into the centre of the cutter (placed on a prepared baking sheet).
- With wet fingers, press into all the corners and once full gently lift the cutter to reveal your ghost shape. Repeat until you've made enough 2D ghosts.
To make the pumpkins
- With the remaining crispy mixture, add some orange food colouring. I use a watered down food colour gel, but you can use a few drops of liquid colouring. Go easy to begin with and add more colour if necessary.
- Using a lined bigger mould (a mini pudding tin or tea cup) repeat the process you did to make your mini 3D ghosts above and twist the ends of the cling film to seal.
- Now take a rubber band and tie it around the moulded ball of crispy mixture. repeat as shown until you achieve a pumpkin shape.
- Once you have all your shapes pop them into the fridge for 20+ mins to harden.
To decorate
- To decorate your ghosts you simply melt a little dairy free chocolate and pipe little eyes and mouths. The pumpkin is finished with a line of chocolate piped into the impressions you made with the rubber bands. I then add a little stick of angelica for the stalk and just because I have a quick spray of edible glitter for some shine!
Nutrition
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*disclaimer: I use affiliate codes on my website, the vast majority are to Amazon. If you click on any of the links or images in the post and make a purchase my family will benefit from a small % of that purchase at no extra cost to you.
For full transparency, in 2020 I made my first £25, and in 2022 I reached my next £25 (Amazon don’t transfer the money until you reach £25). Recently I got paid a whopping £27.10 for 2023.
So to date I have made £78.58 since I first started the scheme in 2017. It won’t pay the bills, that’s for sure but it does help to pay for ingredients or little treats to cheer me up!
How far in advance could I make these please and how should they be stored,?
These types of treat are very versatile when it comes to storage and use-by-dates. I’ve made these and they’ve still been fine 4 days later. To store you have options depending on how you’d rather they came out texture-wise. Harder: leave in the fridge in a Tupperware container Softer (easier to bite): keep in a cool place out of sunlight in a Tupperware container. Have fun making them Frances.
This happens to me all the time! Anyone else have a kid who sneaks marshmallows for a snack and then leaves the bag open?