Cinnamon Rice Crispie Treats

Fall is here! All those fall flavors are back in style and I thought I would put a new twist on a classic recipe to make it more appropriate for the season.

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Cinnamon Rice Crispie Treats
3 T butter
5 1/2 C marshmallows (I used the mini ones)
6 C of Rice cereal
3 T Cinnamon
1 C Melting chocolate (optional)

Melt the butter completely in the microwave and mix with the marshmallows in a large bowl. Add the 3 tablespoons of cinnamon and mix well.

Transfer the mixture to a pot and cook on medium until all of the marshmallows have melted. Immediately add in the rice cereal and mix thoroughly.

Transfer the mix to a greased pan and mold them to the desires shape (simply pressing and packing them down to the bottom is fine.)

Optional: Melt the melting chocolate per its instructions, and spread over the top of the treats

Let them cool completely and them cut into the desired shapes. Enjoy!

Baker's Tips:
-For the melting chocolate, it really depends on the brand that you buy. I used Wilton's melting chocolate which is to be microwaved for 1 minute and then at 30 minute increments until it reaches the desired texture. I found that 1 minute and 30 seconds did the trick. Be careful, some brands may turn to powder if you heat them for too long.

Apple Pie Filling Cupcake

Being a college kid, I buy things in bulk; I figure it will be cheaper that way. However, then you end up with leftovers thinking, "Now what am I going to do with this?" That was me yesterday with some apples that had been sitting in my fridge for who knows how long. I google searched for some cupcake recipes using apples that I didn't really like. So, I ended up modifying a vanilla cupcake recipe I found on food.com as well as a flour based frosting recipe I got off of tastykitchen.com


I give you the Apple Pie Filling Cupcake

(makes 12 standard cupcakes)

Apple Pie Filling
1 large apple
2T cinnamon
1/3C brown sugar
1/2T butter

Batter
1 stick of butter (1/2C) - room temperature
1C sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4C milk
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2C flour

Frosting
5T flour
1C milk
2 sticks of butter (1C) - room temperature
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1T cinnamon

Frosting:
The first thing your going to want to do is add the 5 tablespoons of flour into into 1/4 cup of the milk one tablespoon at a time. Mix thoroughly in between so that you don't get any lumps. Then, add the rest of the milk to the mixture until smooth.

Put the milk four mix in a sauce pot and on about medium on the stovetop and whisk it continuously. You want a thick paste to be made out of this. Once you get a pretty thick paste (and I do mean thick) take off the heat and set it to the side. This mixture needs to be cooled COMPLETELY before moving on.

Add the one teaspoon of vanilla into the flour milk mixture and stir. In a separate bowl whip the butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add the flour mix and a tablespoon of cinnamon. Set aside to frost later (I suggest the fridge)

Apples:
Peel the apple and chop it into small chunks. Then, add all of the ingredients in a sauce pot and cook on medium until apples are soft and mushy. Set aside.

Batter:
*Preheat the oven to 350F and place cupcake foils into your cupcake pan*
Whip together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. And the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, whisking in between. Add the apples you have cooked; drained of as much of the juices as possible. Set the extra juice aside.

Add the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. Then add the milk.

Spoon the batter into cupcake foils and bake for 25 minutes.

After your cupcakes have cooled, ice them however you like and then drizzle the leftover apple cinnamon juice on top. Enjoy!

BAKER'S TIPS
1) Cook the flour milk first, as it takes a while to cool. You can then cook the apples and bake the cupcakes. Make the frosting while they are baking.
2) Be very careful with the butter for the frosting. If it is too warm it will start to separate. It will still taste great, but it might not look the best.
3) this cupcake has a very thick texture to it. If you want a light cake, I suggest adding another teaspoon of baking powder and not filling in the foil as much.

check out http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2010/03/a-tasty-recipe-thats-the-best-frosting-ive-ever-had/ for the original frosting recipe and http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-vanilla-cupcakes-178370 for the original cupcake recipe


Please leave comments! How did yours turn out?