Even though most retailers and coffee shops seemed to have bypassed November and moved straight onto December and Christmas, I plan to eat pumpkin right through pie leftovers on Black Friday. Thank you very much! I’m not quite sure when Christmas season started right after Halloween, and Thanksgiving became the red headed step-child, but I’m not a fan. Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year!

So anyway, I wanted to make some treats for a team meeting at work because we were having more people actually in person than usual. One of my teammates recently learned that she needs to stick to a gluten free diet, so I decided to go the gluten free direction because I feel bad that she never gets to snack with us anymore.

Rather than try to adapt a gluten recipe, I wanted to make something that is gluten free to begin with. The obvious choice? Rice Krispie treats! And if that wasn’t enough of a crowd pleaser to begin with, let’s add pumpkin!

These were definitely a crowd pleaser! When I was looking for recipes online I initially found several using pumpkin spice Jello instant pudding mix rather than pumpkin puree. While I’m not so opposed to that method, my grocery store didn’t have the flavor. I didn’t have the time to shop around, so I went with a recipe that actually just used pumpkin and pumpkin spice. It totally worked, plus it was probably a little better to use pumpkin rather than a pudding mix.

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

Adapted from Bake Love Give, yields about 20 bars depending on size

Ingredients

• 4 Tbs butter
• 1 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows (plus a little extra if you like them extra gooey)
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (a little extra if you want to turn up the spice)
• 6 cups Rice Krispies (Gluten Free if you want to be strict gluten free)
• 5 oz. white chocolate chips (melted for drizzling)

Method

1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. Stir to combine and turn off heat.
3. Add Rice Krispies and extra marshmallows if desired. Stir until well combined and spoon into 13 x 9 baking pan to cool. Alternatively you can portion out the batter with an ice cream scoop or into cupcake molds.
4. Once treats have cooled, melt the white chocolate chips in microwave for 30 second intervals. Make sure you don’t burn it! Use a fork to drizzle it over the treats for a little extra je ne sais quoi!

I ended up also making flourless chocolate cookies, obviously gluten free, and obviously fantastic. Both of these hit the spot!