Pumpkin Spice Cheerio Treats

I don't know what it is about the fall season that makes me want to bake my little heart out, but once October rolls around I spend more time in the kitchen than any other month. And no, I'm not whipping up masterful chef-inspired dinners for my hard-working hubby, but rather fun and festive treats for my sweet little Bear. Luckily Zach is a great cook, and enjoys whipping up a yummy meal, so we're not totally SOL. 

Bear wanted to make "pumpkin food" several weeks ago and Zach dreamed up these pumpkin cheerio treats. They're easy, delicious, and perfectly festive through Thanksgiving. They also add a cuter element to a party dessert table than the typical cookies, brownies, etc. They were a hit at our house, as most things with sugar are, and we can't wait to make them again for our Halloween party next week.

Pretty cute, huh? They hold their shape well, too- we saran-wrapped a plate of the treats overnight and they didn't fall a bit by the time we devoured them the next day. We used Pumpkin Spice Cheerios to give them some good ol' fall flavor, and because I'm obviously obsessed with PS everything, but you could easily use regular Cheerios if your gang doesn't like the taste of pumpkin. You know, if your gang is crazy. 

The Halloween Peeps are not necessary but do help give the treats their pumpkiny orange coloring. If you can't find these in a store (ours came from H-E-B) or just have regular marshmallows on hand, add in a little orange food coloring once your marshmallows and butter have melted and it should do the trick.

For the pumpkin stems, we took some pretzels and broke them into pieces then stuck them into the not-yet-dry Cheerio balls. Bear loved helping with this step and he did a great job! I've also seen this done with Tootsie Roll stems; get creative and use whatever you have on hand!

Indredients:
6 cups Pumpkin Spice Cheerios cereal
4 tablespoons butter
8 oz. Marshmallows (about 3/4 bag)
1 pkg. Marshmallow Pumpkin Peeps
12 pretzels
Wilton green decorating gel

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
2. Add Marshmallows & Peeps and stir constantly until melted.
3. Remove from heat and mix in Cheerios.
4. Form small balls into the shape of a pumpkin. (tip- add a non-stick cooking spray like PAM to your hands before forming the balls. this will make the task much easier and less messy).
5. Break pretzels into pieces and stick one piece into each pumpkin while it's still warm.
6. Once pumpkin is firm and room-temp, use decorating gel to add on "leaves". (I did two leaves per pumpkin)

Enjoy!

The weather has been glorious in Houston this weekend (finally!) and we have been spending as much time outside as possible. Yesterday our neighborhood had its annual Fall Festival and we spent the entire three hours there- pretty sure Bear would've stayed three more hours if we could have. There were 6 bouncy castles, booths with games and prizes, sno-cones, cotton candy, BBQ, and lots of crazy kiddos. Much fun was had by all and Bear slept until 11am this morning. Pretty safe to say he fall festival'ed hard.

Hope you've had a great weekend and enjoyed some beautiful weather, too!
xo, Britt