Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats

I'm gonna say something that isn't going to make me any friends. But I just need to get it off my chest. I love pumpkin. Seriously. I adore it. As soon as there's the first hint of cool weather and changing leaves I will begin putting pumpkin into everything. Cupcakes, oatmeal, curry and soup. But, there are two things that I don't think should be paired with pumpkin. First, coffee. Here's looking at you pumpkin spice latte. I don't understand why you're so hip & cool. Maybe I'm just a purist but vanilla and chocolate are the only flavors I really want mixed with my coffee flavored things. The second combination I just can't get behind is pumpkin & chocolate. It just feels off for me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn down a free pumpkin chocolate chip muffin but you won't ever see me making one.
Last week there were dozens of bags of Dandies on sale. They had just gone out of date, but I knew they would be totally find for melting into rice crispy treats. So I bought six bags. I stumbled upon a pumpkin rice krispy treat at the Sweet Life, and decided there was no sense in making a single batch when I had so many Dandies to spare. So I doubled it, left out the chocolate, and make some little changes based on the partial can of pumpkin I had left after making a pie.


Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats
tweaked in the most minor of ways from The Sweet Life

8 cups rice cereal
5 tbl Earth Balance
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground gloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 bags dandies

Line a 9x13" pan with parchment or wax paper. Pre-measure the cereal and add it to your largest bowl. In a heavy bottomed stock pot, melt Earth Balance. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, and spices. Stir until distributed evenly. Add marshmallows and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until the marshmallows are mostly melted. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the cereal and press mixture firmly into the pan. Let cool for one hour before slicing.


These rice crispy treats were very delicious and a total piece of cake. They would make a nice non-traditional addition to a Thanksgiving dinner table or as a snack anytime in the next few weeks. I feel like this recipe would also be terrific if you used sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin, added a cup of chopped of walnuts and some mini marshmallows to pay respects to my favorite casserole. Have you heard that Dandies are coming out with mini marshmallows?!