Even though the years of hardcore trick-or-treating are long behind us, we never face a poverty of candy around Halloween time. By whatever means, you manage to get your hands on treats—A LOT of treats. You cherish this saccharine horde, that is, until the day right after Halloween when the novelty of the holiday has worn off and you’re left with a sickening amount of pure sugar. Luckily, the merit of candy goes beyond what it is singularly, and you’ll find clever, delicious uses for it as an addition to other creative confections! If you’re already over your sugar comma, then here are a few creative ideas of things to do with the remainders of your treat treasure or with the bounty of cheap candy that stores are desperate to get rid off post-Halloween.
1. Starburst-Frosted Sugar Cookies
These are super cute, and probably the simplest reconceptualization of the candy. Plus, aren’t they beautiful? The recipe only uses one starburst per cookie, but I would consider using two or three for the sake of maximized cookie-coverage.
Another simple recipe that more so utilizes the candy as a garnish than an ingredient, but nevertheless delicious! You can sprinkle the nerds on or dab the frosted cupcake in a bowl full of nerds for a really fun and colorful decoration.
Sounds kind of interesting, no? It might be nice to have the zesty, “fruity” flavor (being really generous in calling Skittles fruit, here) in the form of fudge. It might be like the candy-bar version of the multitudinous treat.
4. White Chocolate Candy-corn Blondies
Candy-corn is that thing you crave until you actually have some candy-corn; inevitably, there is a fair amount of leftovers. Many agree that it tastes like pure, chewy sugar, but maybe you’re into that. Even if you can’t stomach handfuls of the little nibbles on their own, dispersing them within a buttery blondie and amongst creamy white chocolate chips sounds quite palatable.
This is basically a garbage pail in the best possible way. It’s a good way to use the widest possible assortment of Halloween candy, especially the mini versions. Reese’s cups? Yes. Malted milk bars? Why not? Peanut, pretzel, almond, or any and all varieties of M&Ms? Sure, the whole mother load! The possibilities are infinite!
1. Reese’s Cheesecake Brownies
Chocolate and peanut butter, or what I like to call: nirvana. Reese’s has perfected this combination to an art form, and this recipe not only includes Reese’s cups, but pieces too as well as straight peanut butter and chocolaty goodness.
1. Assorted Candy Bars Rice Krispie Treats
Rice krispies are a classic, but the inclusion of candy kicks it up a notch. This is also a great grab-bag option for a hodge-podge of leftover candies, particularly those bags with an assortment of different chocolate bars. Just imagine taking a bite of chocolate and caramel and nougat (from a Snickers) and the next one being flaky peanut butter (from a Butterfinger) and it all being crunchy-crispy goodness.