Kellogg's Rice Krispies Challange #3 - Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treats

Team Phoenix (Wendy, Ashley, Jax, and Kristyn) are so pleased to present our Fall entry for the Rice Krispies Making Memories Challenge. For this challenge we were given the challenge to create a spooky Halloween display, along with a Rice Krispies recipe that can double as a craft activity with kids, perfect for a costume party with the little ones. We worked long and hard to come up with a delicious recipe that would be fun for kids and very practical to execute at a party for children.

We are so excited to present our Rice Krispies Caramel Apple treats with real apples, spices, and caramel bits right inside. These treats are delicious on their own, but dip them in caramel and add your favorite candy or sprinkles and you are taken to a whole new level!

Serve these treats on a spooky spider plate for the complete Halloween experience! Fun place cards for guests "Noah Pulse," "Doug M. Upp," "Myra Mains," and "Stella Live" really set the mood for this fun and spooky party.

Rice Krispies Caramel Apple Treats
Yield: approximately 12 servings
Ingredients: 
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 10 ounce bag of marshmallows
1 ½ cups dehydrated apples
2 individual serving size packets of Apple Cider drink mix
1 1/2 cup caramel bits or caramel squares cut into small chunks
6 cups Kellogg’s Rice Krispies®
Popsicle, lollipop, or other sticks
Caramels for dipping the apples
Assorted cookies, candies, and sprinkles for decorating

Directions – Preparing the Treats

• Before you begin cooking, rough chop 1 ½ cups of dehydrated apples into small chunks. Dehydrated apples are located next to the raisins at the grocery store. Make sure the dehydrated apples and caramels chunks are approximately the same size.
• Heat 4 Tbsp butter or margarine in a sauce pan over low heat.
• Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
• Stir in 2 packets of Apple Cider drink mix.
• Remove from heat and stir in 6 cups of Kelloggs Rice Krispies®.
• While the mixture is still hot, add the dehydrated apples and caramel chunks.
• Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, tightly pack balls of Caramel Apple Treats around your stick. Make sure your hands are clean and greased well to avoid sticking.
• Rest your treats, stick side up on a sheet of wax paper or greased cookie sheet
• Refrigerate the treats until it is party time.

Directions – Dipping and Decorating

• Heat up a bag of caramels on the stove-top according to the package instructions.
• Depending on age and kitchen experience, you can let your child dip the caramel apple treats in the caramel or you can give some assistance.
• Before the caramel sets up, have your child roll their caramel apple treat in various candies, sprinkles, or crushed up cookies. You can go crazy and incorporate your families favorite treats into this recipe.
• Eat and enjoy

Plain, caramel dipped, or dipped in candies or crushed cookies. They are all delicious!

Part two of the challenge is creating a spooky Halloween scene. We decided that instead of a formal dessert table we would incorporate the caramel apple fixings right into the table where the kids will be making their treats. We have got the different apple toppings in cute candy jars with Halloween faces on each jar. The apples that are ready to be dipped look beautiful sitting on a tiered tray in the middle of the table.

 It was just too hard to decide on one Halloween  themed Rice Krispies recipe so we made a few extras to incorporate into the table setting. We rounded out our party with some Rice Krispies candy corn treats and cute little Rice Krispies treat grape spiders. Rice Krispies Crunchy Skeleton Bones are pictured above as well.

Here's a close-up of our candy corn Rice Krispies treats, and grape flavored Rice Krispies treat spiders. You can see some of our fixings too. Green sprinkles in a Frankenstein jar and white chocolate chips in a cute ghost jar.

We hope you celebrate this fall season with us and make your own Caramel Apple Rice Krispies treats. Whether you make them with your kids for an after school snack or have your own Halloween party, we can guarantee and kids and adults alike will love these Caramel Apple Rice Krispies treats!

Stay tuned to each of our blogs for more information on how to enter a $100 Visa gift card giveaway! We also hope you will join us for a live chat over at the Motherhood on October 13 at 1:00pm Eastern.

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Rice Krispies Challenge #2: Summer Pastimes & Stuffed Peanut Butter Pops

It's that time again!! We are SO THRILLED to share our display for the Kellogg’s™ Rice Krispies™ Making Memories Challenge.

This challenges theme was:

FAVORITE SUMMER PASTIMES

We decided that one of our fondest Summer Memories was having a Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale.

What kid hasn't had a lemonade stand and loved it? Especially with this custom Lemonade stand we made from scratch.

For our main recipe we were thrilled to come up with something not only ORIGINAL and KID-FRIENDLY, but something SUPER DELICIOUS!

What's great about goodies on a stick is it really minimizes the mess, which is always a BONUS!

Speaking of bonuses, check out the INSIDE of our treat! They are stuffed with white chocolate peanut butter cups. They are beyond delicious.

Here's how you can make these UNIQUE and DELICIOUS pops...

Rice Krispies Stuffed Peanut Butter Pops

yields: approximately 24 pops

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 7 cups Kelloggs Rice Krispies
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• White chocolate peanut butter cups
• White Chocolate Almond Bark
• Long Lollipop Sticks

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour Kelloggs Rice Krispies into a large bowl.
2. Bring peanut butter, sugar and corn syrup to a boil on medium heat.
3. Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and stir making sure all cereal is lightly coated.
4. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
5. Let your kids grab a handful of Rice Krispies mixture and add Peanut Butter cup to the center and roll into a ball.
6. Insert stick to the center of the ball and press around. Do the same for all pops.
7. Melt white chocolate bark in a pan on low heat stirring constantly.
8. Drizzle white chocolate over the pops and let cool.

It was so much fun to join forces in building a lemonade stand and creating all sorts of YUMMY Rice Krispies goodies for the table.

Our Bake Sale included:

•Carnival Lemonade

•Rice Krispies Treats

•Chocolate Scotcharoos

•Rice Krispies Pinwheels

•Gluten Free Lemon Bars (Using new Gluten Free Rice Krispies)
•Rice Krispies Ice Cream Cones

Each member of our team has agreed to share detailed instructions on how to make all of the projects on the stand. Stay tuned to all of our blogs over the next week and a half so you can learn how to create the ultimate Lemonade Stand and Bake Sale too! 

Each goody is linked to the blog it will be posted at.

Wednesday, July 13: Rice Krispies Ice Cream Cones, Carnival Lemonade

Thursday, July 14: Lemonade Stand Printables

Friday, July 15: Chocolate Scotcharoos and Rice Krispies Treats

Monday, July 18: Rice Krispies Pinwheels

Tuesday, July 19: Constructing a Lemonade Stand

Wednesday, July 20: Gluten Free Rice Krispies Lemon Bars

Now it is time for the really exciting part. 

Each member of our team is giving away a 

$100 Visa gift card.

Here are all the ways you can enter:

1. Like Aly&Ash & Jacquilyn Avery Photography on Facebook.
{Already do? Just remind me!}
-1 entry-

2. Like Kellogg's Rice Krispies on Facebook

-1 entry-

3. VOTE for Team Phoenix by Liking Kellogg's Rice Krispies on Facebook and then LIKING each of our team's pictures. 

It will be the same pictures that are in this blog post.

-4 entries total. 1 for each picture that you "Like"-

4. Follow me on Twitter (Jax Avery)
-1 entry-

5. Follow my Blog with Google Friend Connect.
Already do? Just remind me!
-1 entry-

7. Tweet, Facebook or Blog about this Giveaway.
-1 entry-
(tweet: I entered to #win a $100 #giveaway from #RiceKrispies with @jaxavery ends 7/20. Enter here: http://alyandash.com )

**Please leave a separate comment for each entry along with your
email address.**
Each person on my team will also be giving away $100,
so be sure to check out their blogs for more chances to win.

Ashley - Cute as a Fox
Jacqui - Aly & Ash
Kristyn - Lil Luna
Wendy - Around My Family Table

Giveaway ends at Midnight Eastern on July 20th. The winner will be announced on July 21, 2011. In the meantime, you can head over to the Rice Krispies Making Memories Circle on The Motherhood on Thursday, July 14th at 1 PM ET where there will be a special LIVE chat with all the different teams and a Dietitian.

Our whole team hopes that you are inspired to get in the kitchen with your kids and start making memories!

GOOD LUCK!

Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 6/14/11 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 7/26/11. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/RKGiveawaySummer.pdf. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: The Motherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com.

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Rice Krispie Treat Decor Balls & Live Video Chat

 Ok so before we get to the deliciousness that is edible decor, let's talk VLOGGING shall we. 

  Today I experienced the sheer terror of a live video chat on The Motherhood . I was all confident and feeling good until I heard the words, "Jax you're on in 3-2-1..."

Picture immediate rush of nervousness, extreme face reddening and complete blank brain! Y'know blank except the chanting, "Oh my heck! Oh my heck!" I honestly just started talking and lost all previous memory of the "script" I had been practicing for days. And of course I didn't have notes in front of me because of said previous confidence and the worry that I'd end up looking down and reading it vs. "connecting" with the viewers. 

To demonstrate this point queue the word: Postpartum...WHAT??? This word comes out of my mouth, I hear it ring in my ears and I just about died right then and there. Why I was talking about having a baby I have NO idea! And I pretty much didn't remember anything else I said until watching it back a few hours later. So yeah, I'm not totally against trying it again but Aly&Ash won't be switching to a vlog anytime soon, I can guarantee you that! I'm just way to much of a dork! Ha-ha! 

So you totally want to see it don't you...alright fine! 

CLICK HERE 
(p.s. video is on a continuous broadcast loop and probably won't start at the beginning when you play it! Just FYI)

And now that you're done laughing at me let's talk about how totally awesome Rice Krispies edible decor is!

 

Rice Krispie Treat Decor Balls 

...not just for decoration!

 As part of our Kellogs Rice Krispie Making Memories East Challenge our team decided that 100% of our table decor should be edible! My project served as the centerpiece to our table, it looked  beautiful, tasted delicious...and was super easy!! This project is so versatile I could see myself using it again and again! Kids birthdays, Halloween...cause seriously who doesn't love Rice Krispie Treats!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine or butter
7 cups Kelloggs Rice Krispies
1 lb mini marshmallows
 Food coloring

Directions:

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large sauce pan on low heat.
   
2. Add 1 lb mini marshmallows and stir constantly to avoid burnt marshmallows.
3. Add food coloring after the marshmallows are completely melted and stir until uniform in color. (You can adjust the amount of food coloring based on your color preference.)
4. Remove from heat and stir in 7 cups of Kelloggs Rice Krispies
5. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until the Rice Krispie treats are comfortable to handle. You want them to be warm so they are easy to work with.
   
6. Coat your hands with butter. If the Rice Krispies start sticking to you, add some more butter to your hands.
7. Form the Rice Krispie/Marshmallow mix into round balls. Try not to use too much pressure when forming the balls, you still want that light airy chewy goodness!
8. Place in glass canister of your choice and voila! Pretty and tasty!

*** Now since the large scale of our project and other things to make I made a separate batch for each color...but that would be A LOT of decor balls! So unless that is your goal you could definitely split up the recipe for different colors. 

 Wanna check out how to make the rest of our edible amazingness? Ashley from Cute as a Fox has already posted a tutorial for her incredible Topiary HERE and below is a schedule of upcoming tutorials!

Monday April 18 - Wendy : Flower Arrangements
Tuesday April 19 - Kristyn : Happy Easter Banner
Wednesday April 20 - Ashley : Easter Basket

Also don't forget to vote for us on facebook! We need your "likes" to help us win!

Click HERE to vote! Voting ends April 20th

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Rice Krispies Making Memories Challenge #1: Easter

I am so delighted to share our Easter display for the Kellogg’s™ Rice Krispies™ Making Memories Challenge. When our team started brainstorming about our project, our main focus was creating a recipe that our children could make with us. Not just watch from the sidelines while we made it. This challenge is not just about making a delicious Rice Krispie treat, but getting in the kitchen with our kids and making lasting memories.

We really feel great about the recipe we have created to share with everyone. We know that these chicks are just as fun to make with your kids as they are to eat!

Chewy Gooey Rice Krispie Chicks
yields: approximately 24 chicks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine or butter
7 cups Kelloggs Rice Krispies
1 lb mini marshmallows
Yellow Food coloring
mini chocolate chips
Candy for beaks such as candy corn, jelly beans, or chocolate covered sunflower seeds
Pretzel sticks or twists for legs
Buttercream frosting

 

Directions:

1. Melt 1/2 cup margarine or butter in a large sauce pan on low heat.
   
2. Add 1 lb mini marshmallows and stir constantly to avoid burnt marshmallows.
3. Add about 10 drops of yellow food coloring after the marshmallows are completely melted and stir until uniform in color. You can adjust the amount of food coloring based on your color preference.
4. Remove from heat and stir in 7 cups of Kelloggs Rice Krispies
5. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until the Rice Krispie treats are comfortable to handle. You want them to be warm so they are easy to work with.
   
6. Spray your hands with non-stick spray or coat with margarine. If the Rice Krispies start sticking to you, add some more non-stick spray to your hands.
   
7. Take small handfuls of Rice Krispie treats and form into an flattened oval or rounded triangle shape to form the chick's body
8. While the chicks are still warm, decorate the chicks according to your preference. We used:
   
• mini and regular chocolate chips for eyes
• candy corn, jellybeans, or chocolate covered sunflower seeds for a beak
• pretzels for legs or feet.
9. While the chicks are setting up, use food coloring to color some buttercream frosting yellow.
10. Using a grass piping tip(#233), pipe little tufts of hair on each chick.
    

We had so much fun getting together and creating all kinds of different chicks. They were big, little, and everywhere in between. You can really let your kids creative genius run wild.

 Each chick was a little different and had it's own personality.

The second part of the challenge was to create an event where we might serve our Rice Krispie treats. We decided to challenge ourselves and make everything on our dessert table out of Rice Krispies. We used only Rice Krispies and food safe materials when creating our display. From edible Easter basket grass to Rice Krispies sprayed with food color spray for vase filler, we really mean that it is ALL edible.

The Rice Krispie balls on the topiary are held on with toothpicks, so you can just pluck one off and eat it!

Each member of our team has agreed to share detailed instructions on how to make all of the projects on the dessert table. Stay tuned to all of our blogs over the two weeks so you can create the ultimate Easter dessert table too!

Cute as a Fox - Rice Krispies Easter Basket and Rice Krispies Topiary

Around my Family Table - Rice Krispies Flower arrangements

Aly & Ash - Rice Krispies "decor" balls

Lil' Luna - Happy Easter banner

In the meantime, you can head over to the Rice Krispies Making Memories Circle on The Motherhood. Friday, April 15 there will be a special live video chat with all the different teams.

I will also let you know when voting begins on Facebook. You get to help decide which team wins! We will definitely need your support.

The $100 visa card giveaway is going on HERE. You have until April 10th to enter!

Our whole team hopes that you are inspired to get in the kitchen with your kids and start making memories!

Disclosure: I am working with Rice Krispies and TheMotherhood and have received a stipend for participating in this project.

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Rice Krispies Making Memories Challenge

I am so excited to announce to everyone that I have been selected as one of 16 Rice Krispies Brand ambassadors from all across the country. We will be working in teams of four to participate in the Rice Krispies™ Making Memories Challenge. We will making different themed recipes throughout the course of the year. We will compete against the other teams to determine who has the best recipe.

I want to introduce you to the Phoenix team:

Ashley
Kristyn
Wendy
Jax

The first challenge is an Easter themed recipe and display. We are already hard at work to make our recipe fantastic!

Each one of us will be giving away a $100 visa gift card to celebrate the Rice Krispies™ Making Memories Challenge. Come back on April 4th to get all the details and enter the giveaway!

Disclosure: I am working with Rice Krispies and TheMotherhood and have received a stipend for participating in this project.
THE MOTHERHOOD MAKING MEMORIES KELLOGG’STM RICE KRISPIESTM BLOGGER GIVEAWAY
Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 03/28/11 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 04/12/11. For complete Official Rules, go to http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/EasterGiveawayRules.pdf. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: The Motherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com.
®, TM, ©2011 Kellogg NA Co.

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6 comments | Posted in: Rice Krispies