Don’t Let Leftover Halloween Candy Scare You – Try These Delicious Recipes

We don’t have any forbidden foods at our house. I keep a little candy or chocolate in the pantry year-round, and the kids know where to look when they’re craving something sweet.

But beginning around Halloween, I have to keep my permissiveness in regard to sweets in check. Halloween rings in a long season of a sugar rush that doesn’t end until after Christmas. That said, I’m also not one to throw away an excess of Halloween candy.

Parents handle their kids’ bags of Halloween candy in many creative ways. Some allow their kids to pick 10 or 20 pieces and give the rest away. Some let the kids have a piece every night after dinner until the bag is empty. Others find a charity to give it to, like organizations that give candy to those in the armed forces serving overseas.

It seems like my kids love counting, swapping and looking at their candy as much as they love eating it. They often trade with each other or make a pile of rejects for my husband and me. When they were little, I would have them organize their candy into categories and make bar graphs of their haul.

Inevitably, we always end up with leftover candy. Sometimes it’s candy they like but that they’re sick of after a week or so. And sometimes, there’s a big pile of candy none of my kids particularly like. With these piles, I take the candy to make something sweet.

Take away the candy to make something equally sweet? It might sound a little crazy, but this is a good time to bake and then freeze treats that can be tucked into lunchboxes or set out for a birthday party or playdate. You’ll be so glad to have something fresh baked that’s ready to go in your freezer.

Here are some ideas for using that leftover Halloween candy.

Snickers bars are especially good in these brownies.

Candy Bar Brownies

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (about 30 mini) Snickers bars chopped, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Mix sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix butter, eggs and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl. Add butter mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir batter until well mixed.
3. Pour half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Top with half the candy bar pieces. Spread remaining batter on top, covering candy completely.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until edges are brown and center is set, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove brownies from the oven and spread remaining candy bar pieces on top, lightly pressing them in while the brownies are still hot. Let brownies cool completely before serving, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Halloween candy, like M&Ms, Kit Kats, Rolos or mini Reese’s cups work well in this mix.

Halloween Trail Mix

• 1 cup salted cashews
• 1 cup pecan halves
• ½ cup shelled, salted pistachios
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ½ cup dried pineapple chunks
• 1 cup leftover Halloween candy pieces

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well!

We love these cookie bars using leftover Halloween candy. Your premium leftovers are best for these bars. Think Butterfinger, Reese’s cups, Snickers and M&Ms. This recipe comes from the Together as Family blog, where you can find lots of kid-approved recipes.

Leftover Halloween Candy Cookie Bars

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole-grain old-fashioned oats (not quick oats)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cups chopped leftover candy bars

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and oats.
3. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar until fluffy looking and light in color, 2-3 minutes. Add in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk. Mix together well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until combined. Add the chopped candy bars and combine.
4. Press the batter into the prepared pan. Press a few additional chopped candy bars on top of the dough for a pretty presentation. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. The bars will still look pale and slightly underdone in the middle. That’s OK. Don’t overbake or the bars will be dry!

Leftover M&Ms are perfect in these popcorn bars. I was happy to find this recipe with all the taste of a popcorn ball, but without the mess of forming the balls.

Popcorn Bars

• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 1 (10-ounce) package large marshmallows
• 8 cups popped popcorn
• 1 ¼ cups miniature M&Ms
• ¾ cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)

1. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add corn syrup and marshmallows. Cook and stir over low heat for 3-4 minutes or until smooth. Add popcorn and stir until coated. Stir in M&Ms and peanuts.
2. Spread in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Natalie Mikles is a mom of three – 12-year-old twin girls and an 11-year-old boy. She writes about food, sharing recipes for busy families and picky eaters. She has been recognized for her food columns as well as features on families and issues affecting local children. She loves pizza and movie nights with her family.