Spooky Rice Krispy Treats

Rice Krispy Treats are one of my favorite desserts for a crowd: they're cheap, relatively healthy, can be made in minutes, and always result in an empty pan. I stick to the classic recipe, more or less. You'll need 4 cups of FRESH mini marshmallows (or 40 large, which increases the melting time), 6 cups of Rice Krispies (I think it's worth it to splurge on Kellogg's; leave the generic on the shelf), half a stick of butter, and a very full teaspoon of vanilla. You'll also need a heavy pot, a wooden spoon, and a greased 13x9" pan. Keep some butter handy to grease your fingers during a later step. 

 Melt the butter over medium heat.

 Add the mini marshmallows…

 …and stir until they're melted.

 Add the teaspoon of vanilla (which should be in a mise en place bowl, so you don't need to fumble around with the vanilla bottle, the teaspoon, etc.).

 Add the Rice Krispies, remove from heat, and stir until evenly coated.

 Dump the mixture into the greased pan. You can use the knife from cutting the stick of butter in half earlier to remove every last bit of the mixture out of the pot (without scraping the pot, of course). Grease your hands and press the mixture flat into the pan.

 While the mixture is very sticky and still a bit soft, stud the surface with royal icing eyeballs, or any other decorations. You can also tint the marshmallows with food coloring at the same step when you're adding the vanilla. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over the pan to keep the mixture chewy until you're ready to serve (this step is especially important if you live in a dry climate).  

Royal Icing Eyeballs Version 3

 I thought you'd like to see yet another way to pipe royal icing eyeballs (previous versions are here and here). Start by sticking a parchment square to a flower nail with a dab from a glue stick.

 Load a round #12 tip onto a bag containing stiff consistency white royal icing. Hold the tip at a 45 degree angle to and just above the surface and pipe a ball. Move the tip along while decreasing pressure. Stop pressure and pull the tip away.

 Touch a fingertip to a dusting pouch and tap the end smooth.

 Repeat the process for a second eye, making sure the two are touching.

If you are piping a lot of them, you may want to tape a piece of parchment paper to a cookie sheet instead of using a flower nail. 

 When the icing is completely hard, draw in some pupils with a food-safe marker like the AmeriColor Gourmet Writer. I think these would look really cool positioned on some sort of haunted house cake, peering out of a black window or through the bushes. They can also be used to add all sorts of personality to any small dessert like cupcakes.

Royal Icing Eyeballs

 Royal icing eyeballs are a great way to give any dessert more personality. You can even buy them ready-made by Wilton:

But, of course, I think it's way more cool to make your own. All you'll need is stiff consistency white royal icing, a round #12 tip, parchment paper, and a dusting pouch filled with a 50/50 mix of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Hold the tip just above the parchment, squeeze out a "kiss" of icing, stop pressure and pull the tip away. Touch your fingertip to the dusting pouch and then tap down the peak. The icing should settle down into a smooth, rounded disc. 

 You'll also need food-safe markers like AmeriColor Gourmet Writers. When the icing is rock-hard, you can start drawing the eye details on it. 

 I like to start with the red veins. My secret to making them purposefully random is to draw wavy, stylized versions of the letters I, V, and Y (ivy!).

Make a green (or whatever color) circle in the middle…

 …then outline it in black…

 …and finish it off with a pupil. You should put these eyes in all sorts of unexpected places, like on pancakes or on a dollop of whipped cream on hot cocoa!