Caramel Apple Rice Krispy Treats

Please tell me I am not the only one who recently embarrassed myself with post Halloween candy shopping. Anyone? Because I was totally that person. You know who I mean. The person you see hovering around the sales rack at the grocery store and you wonder if they're all there. That person = Me. 

So I made a trip to Walmart a day or two after Halloween expecting big things. I mean I was ready to stock up on the candy galore. What did I find? Nothing. No seriously, nothing. The only candy they had remaining was about 200 bags of Dum Dums, a few individually packed Sixlets, and Nerds. And to top it all off none of them were even on sale. Only the costumes and decor were. Really Walmart? Lame.

So I went home in defeat. Looks like my candy binge wasn't happening this year. Then came today. I was on a grocery shopping trip for the basics (milk, bread, cereal, hot fudge, cool whip—no wait how did those get in there...?) when I passed the Sale/Clearance rack in the back of the store. It was Loaded with Halloween candy.

Oh my gosh. I zeroed in. I left my little babe and shopping cart forgotten in the middle of the aisle. My grocery list went out the window. 

Unfortunately the sale rack was located right in front of this door where employees were coming in and out of every 2 seconds to restock shelves. They must have thought I was crazy. I was hovering over that candy for a good 20 minutes—they passed me at least 30 times. I was tempted to pull one aside to say "Look buddy. I'm going to be here for awhile so can you guys just hold off for 15 minutes so I can ponder my purchases in peace?!" 

Next some lady was trying to get all up in my candy business. She was checking it out over my shoulder, no doubt trying to snatch up the goods. I was mentally saying, "Take a hike missy, I called dibs.” I decided to be classy though and simply box her out, football style. I assume she got the hint because she finally walked off after a few loud sighs.

Finally able to shop in peace I made my decisions. I got about a 2 year supply of candy corn (39 cents a bag... how could I say no?) A jumbo sized Almond Joy/Coconut M&M's mixed bag (No I don't really like Almond Joys. But I love the blue color of the M&Ms so I convinced myself it was a good buy.) Reese Peanut Butter Cups (Nuff said.) Reeses Pieces. (Nuff said x2.) Caramel Apple Milky Ways (I can't explain my excitement over these. Unfortunately there was only 1 bag left otherwise I might have broke the bank on them alone.) And some other miscellaneous goodies (because I am sure by now you are sick of reading all this...)

Anyhoo, once I was able to take a step back from the situation I realized that I probably just humiliated myself. Who knows how many people walked by me thinking, "that poor girl…" I would have gone through the self checkout but there was a line. So I did the next best thing and grabbed a bag of frozen veggies to hide my ridiculous candy stash underneath. All else I could do was avoid eye contact and pray I didn't see anyone I knew.

Ahh, I eventually made it home with my goods. And concluded that it was worth the embarrassment. Because that's where these delicious morsels of candy apple goodness originated from. The gooey pieces of Caramel Apple Milky Ways (best purchase ever!) really takes them to another level. These things leave a mark. In a good way.

Well, until next year. After Halloween candy shopping. It does things to you.

Caramel Apple Rice Krispy Treats

4 Tbsp butter
6 cup marshmallows
1 tsp caramel extract
1/2 tsp apple pie spice (here's a simple homemade version)
6 cup krispies
15-20 chopped Miniature Caramel Apple Milky Ways
Caramel for dipping (make life easy and use these... there's a story for you below**)


Pour the rice krispies and Milky Ways in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are mostly all melted (this will take a few minutes--low and slow is key for perfect texture) then stir in the caramel extract and apple pie spice.

Once fully melted, take them off heat and pour over the rice krispies. Stir lightly to combine. Dump everything into a greased 9x9 pan. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then with greased hands go in and flatten the top. Allow them to cool about 20 minutes. 

Once cool melt your caramels per package instructions. Meanwhile cut your rice krispies into squares or circles. Dip krispies into melted caramel and lay on a sheet of wax paper to dry. Enjoy! 

**So I decided to get all Suzy Homemaker and make homemade caramel. I did a basic sugar/butter sauce and boiled it down... and down, and down, and down... um I forgot about it. So by the time I rushed back to the stove it had reach that hard ball stage of candy making... which is great except I wasn't trying to make candy, I was trying to make a caramel sauce. Because I'm stubborn I decided to try a second time. I don't even have a reason why I failed here, it just didn't work.  I ended up with a lot of hard caramel all over my counter, all over my pot, all over my face, and nothing to dip my caramel apple rice krispy treats in. Do yourself a favor. Buy those caramel bits from the store. You can thank me later.