pink lemonade krispy treats

Does anyone else love to shop the clearance section after a holiday? I’m kind of obsessed with it. To be fair, Geoff is just as into it as I am. He’s always thrilled that my birthday is only five days after Valentine’s Day, so he can usually score a bunch of super cheap Valentine’s stuff to give me! (You’d think I’d be annoyed about that, but I love Valentine’s Day so much that I don’t even care.) Anyway, we’ve done a couple of rounds of post-Easter clearance shopping, and one of the things I picked up was a pink lemonade cake mix. Geoff looked at me like I was crazy when I grabbed it, because it’s well known at our house that I am completely incapable of baking cupcakes from a mix. Ever wonder why all the cupcake recipes on my blog are from scratch? As much as I like baking from scratch, the real reason is that I couldn’t make cupcakes from a boxed mix to save my life. Invariably, I mess them up to the point that they are inedible. I think last time I made them, the batter rose and spread so much that the cupcake pan looked like it had a sheet cake on top of it. (Yeah, don’t ask me how…)

Anyway, back to the cake mix. I’ve been seeing all the pink lemonade flavored stuff at the store for the last month or so, and trying to dream up something great to make with it. Pink lemonade happens to be one of Geoff’s favorites! I decided on these rice krispy treats after being inspired by these cake batter krispy treats from How Sweet It Is (one of my very favorite blogs!). I love how sweet and tart they are, and they’re such a pretty color for spring! I’m sure they’d be great with any flavor of cake mix!

Pink Lemonade Krispy Treats
inspired by How Sweet It Is

4 tablespoons butter
1 10 ounce bag mini marshmallows
2/3 cup pink lemonade cake mix (or any flavor you like)
5 cups rice krispies cereal
1/2 cup pink candy melts

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir until marshmallows are melted. Stir in cake mix. Remove from heat and gently fold in rice krispies. Pour mixture into a lightly greased pan, using a 9 x 9 for thick squares or a 9 x 13 for thinner squares. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt the candy melts in a small bowl in the microwave. Start with one minute at 50% power, then heat for 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in between, until candy is melted. Spoon melted candy into a ziploc bag, and snip a small piece off the corner. Drizzle over cooled rice krispy treats, and let harden. Enjoy!