Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treats

Hello friends!

So last week I know I told you there would be whoopie pies...but they ended up being such a massive failure that I swiftly spiraled into "woe is me" world and trust me, it was not pretty.

I am saving you from what was the worst pity party blog post ever.

So when life gives you the whoopie pie blues, it means it's time to get back to basics with one of my favorite fixes: rice krispie treats

Boring, you say? Too basic perhaps? But these are awesome and covered in caramel and taste like apple cake.

So, let's call it back to basics but with an upgrade. :)

I first realized you could mix cake mix into rice krispie treats when Rutgers Student Bakers held the biggest, most badass bake sale Rutgers University has ever seen. For detials check it out here. One of the more exciting items we had were red velvet rice krispie treats, courtesy of cocoa krispies and some red velvet cake mix.

But these are warm, spicy, cozy, all those wonderful adjectives I keep utilizing in my October posts.

It took a whole lot of self restraint to not eat this entire gooey caramel hot mess straight out of the pot. But patience is a virtue, and one that was happily rewarded in a few hours. Not to mention the treats doubled as a fragrance enhancer for my entire apartment.

I get to stuff my face AND my apartment smells like caramel cake. I'm feeling better already.

So if you're having a tough day, or this week appears to be a longer one than usual, spend a few minutes mixing these up. Take your mind off you work for a few moments, and reward yourself for all the hard work you do with a little Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treat.

Happy Baking!

Caramel Apple Rice Krispie Treats Via Mother Thyme

12 tbsp butter
1 10oz bag mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cups Caramel Apple Cake Mix
1 tsp vanilla
6 cups rice krispies cereal

caramel sauce, prepared as per back of package instructions (comes with cake mix)

1. Melt butter in large pot over medium/high heat. Add marshmallows and cook until smooth.
2. Whisk in vanilla and cake mix until well incorporated. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in rice krispies cereal.
4. Pour half of mixture into a foiled and greased 9x13 inch cake pan. Drizzle half the prepared caramel sauce over top. Cover with rest of rice krispie mixture. Drizzle rest of caramel sauce over top.
5. Let cool for approximately 2 hours, then cut into squares and serve.

Birthday Cake Fudge

Hello all,

I told you I had to satisfy all the craving that have built up since I hurt my leg, and I have to amdit that after all of the sweets at Rutgers Day, I was regretting not taking any fudge home at the end.

I mean seriously, who doesn't love a giant piece of fudge?

Rutgers Student Bakers' favorite fudge is a cookies 'n cream recipe, but I wanted to try one I've had pinned on my Pinterest boards for months: birthday cake flavored. Yum.

So I finally got myself to stop drooling over my keyboard and get to work. I even had this great idea to use one of these pans:

to make equally-sized, easy-to-make fudge pieces. It's actually a silicone brownie pan from Wilton but I'm sure they won't mind if I MacGuyver it to my own delicious purposes.

I have to admit though, I do wish I had tried this one out with the baking club, or at least with a buddy, When she writes to "move quickly", she's not kidding. This fudge started to harden as soon as I turned off the heat. Attempting to turn half of it blue was a bit too much for me, but I managed to get it all into the pan and covered with, what else, rainbow sprinkles.

Phew. Now the good news is that my idea worked and the little bits of fudge came out perfectly from the silicone pan, and are adorable. The bad news? What the kitchen looked like minutes after I got all of it into the fridge to cool.

I've never seen so many dirty pots/pans/silverware. Sigh. It's times like these when I wonder what I would give to have a dishwasher up at college.

But after I salvaged the kitchen I rewarded myself with a taste, and it was like smooth, creamy, sugary perfection. I could've used even more cake mix in the recipe but really, these are quite addicting as is.

These would be a fabulous birthday gift for anyone with a sweet tooth. Or, you know, for yourself...it's someone's birthday somewhere out there...

Happy Baking!

Birthday Cake Fudge Via Mrs. Bettie Rocker

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter/margarine
1 (5oz) can evaporated milk
1 (7oz) jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 (12oz) bag white chocolate chips
1/4 cup yellow cake mix powder
1 tsp vanilla
blue food coloring (optional)
rainbow sprinkles (optional)

1. Grease/foil one 8in or 9in square baking pan, or use a silicone baking pan greased with cooking spray.
2. Add margarine, sugar, and evaporated milk to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and let boil for a full 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Add fluff, white chocolate, cake mix, and vanilla, and stir continuously until all the chocolate has melted and the consistency is uniform.
4. Moving quickly, pour half of the fudge into a heatproof bowl and dye it blue (or whatever color you want).
5. Fill pan with blue fudge first, then the remaining white fudge on top, pulling a knife through to marble (if you want, I always like layers.) 
6. Cover top of fudge with sprinkles and let cool to room temp before storing in fridge for 2 hours to harden.