Halloween Treats: Jack O' Lantern Pops

Halloween is just around the corner and I needed something for the bears to handout to their classmates at preschool. I didn't want to make something I've seen before but I also wanted to make something that took little time, could be make in bulk and looked great. I had one of those light bulb moments and came up with these super easy and fun Jack O' lantern rice crispy treat pops. Read on for step by step directions and photos. 

Start by gathering your ingredients:

• 6 cups rice pops (Rice Krispies)
• 10 oz white marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 1 bar of dark chocolate
• 1 package Royal Icing
• 1 bag of pretzels 
• 15 cake pop sticks
• Orange food colour gel
• Green food colour gel
• 2 x 12 hole cup cake pans 
• 3 x piping bags
• 1 x fine round icing tip (I used wilton tip 4)
• 1 x leaf tip (I used wilton tip 352)

Step 1: Place rice pops in a large bowl and set aside. Melt butter and marshmallows in a medium saucepan over medium to low heat, stirring frequently. Once melted add in orange food colouring gel and stir until incorporated. Start with a very small amount of food colouring and add more to achieve your desired colour. Remove from heat and pour the marshmallow mixture over the rice pops.

Step 2: Spray your cup cake pans with cooking spray and spoon rice crispy mix into each hole and press firmly. Place in the refrigerator and allow to harden. This should take around 30 minutes. 

Step 3: Remove the rice crispy treats from the cup cake pan. They should easily pop out. Push a cake pop stick into one end.

Step 4: Melt dark chocolate over a bain marie. Using a fine small piping tip, fill a piping bag with the chocolate and pipe a Jack O' Lantern face onto the rice crispy treat pop.

Step 5: Place pops back in the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to harden up. This should take around 15 minutes.

Step 6: While the pops are in the refrigerator, mix up your royal icing following the directions on the package.

Make sure to add the green food colouring gel to the icing. Start with a little food colouring and add more until you achieve your desired colour. Remove the pops from the fridge. Break off the ends of the pretzel sticks and insert them into the top of the pops. These are the pumpkin stems. 

Step 7: Using your fine round piping tip, fill a piping bag with  half of the green royal icing and pipe looping lines on top of your Jack O' Lantern, around the pretzel stem. These are meant to look like vines. 

Step 8: Using your leaf tip, fill a piping bag with the remaining green royal icing and pipe on two leaves at the base of the pretzel steam. 

Step 9: You can slip a paper straw over the cake pop stick, to add an extra decorative finish, but not at all necessary. To finish them off before handing out, place each pop in a clear cellophane bag and secure with ribbon. 

That's it! Easy, quick and cute :)

Happy Halloween!