These Crisp Candy-Corn Treats Are a Halloween Delight

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Like giant candy corn candy, these cereal treats are sure to delight—and they're fun and easy to make.

Martha Stewart

Updated on October 10, 2023

Yield:

Two Halloween must-haves—candy corn and cereal treats—make one festive sweet. The trick to these crisp candy corn treats is that we color the marshmallow-cereal mixture with yellow and orange food coloring and spike these colored layers with lemon and orange zest to add bright unexpected flavor. The other fun part is that they are molded into their signature candy corn shape rather than cut into squares like most cereal treats. They’re so good you won’t want to save them for October 31st—make a batch this weekend and see how fast they go.

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Ingredients

Cooking spray
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
12 cups miniature marshmallows, divided
¾ teaspoon fine salt, divided
9 cups crisp puffed-rice cereal, divided
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Yellow and red food coloring
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions

Prepare pan; melt butter and marshmallows:

Lightly coat a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter over medium. Add 4 cups miniature marshmallows and 1/4 teaspoon fine salt; stir until melted.
Stir in 1/3 of puffed rice cereal and transfer to pan:

Stir in 3 cups crisp puffed-rice cereal and immediately transfer to pan. Coat an offset spatula with cooking spray and firmly press mixture into an even layer.
Repeat, tinting mixture orange before adding cereal:

Rinse saucepan. Repeat step 1 twice: To second batch, add orange zest and enough yellow and red food coloring to tint marshmallow mixture orange before adding cereal, then press into pan.
Repeat, tinting mixture yellow before adding cereal:

To third batch, add lemon zest and enough yellow food coloring to tint marshmallow mixture yellow. Press third batch into pan.
Let set, release from pan and cut:

Let set 2 hours (or overnight). Run a small knife around edges of pan and invert loaf onto a cutting board. With a serrated knife, cut loaf into 10 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise.
Mold each into shape:

Using your hands, gently mold each treat into a candy-corn shape.