Leftover Halloween Candy Tips
Here are some tips for using all of that extra Halloween Candy!
- To prevent sugar shock, have a big bag of popcorn waiting when everyone comes back from Trick or Treating. It’s easy to fix and will counteract some of the sweet stuff.
- You can freeze candy up to a year in the freezer.
- Don’t forget to buy discounted Halloween candy for Christmas stockings and parties. Most kids don’t care if their Christmas candy is orange and black or if it has silver and gold wrappers instead of red and green.
- Use leftover Halloween candy in Christmas baking and for making gingerbread houses.
- Use grated or chopped chocolate in place of chocolate chips in cookies.
- It is easier to cut candy into pieces if you freeze it first.
- Break Butterfinger candy bars into peanut butter cookie dough.
- Sprinkle chopped chocolates on a white or chocolate frosted cake or use them to top ice cream and cheesecake.
- Mix leftover chopped chocolates into cake mixes.
- When making cupcakes, decorate the tops with one Hershey’s kiss or a mini candy bar.
- Pour some leftover candy into a basket or pretty bowl to give to someone for a special gift.
- Even a Christmas bag full of an assortment of candies would be a gift that would delight anyone – kids, adults, co-workers or neighbors.
- When making apple butter, instead of your usual spices use 1/2 cup red cinnamon candies and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon for every 10 cups apples and your regular amount of sugar.
We talk a lot about what to do with leftover candy but don’t forget you can also do nothing with it but eat it! 
…my favorite thing! Stockpile bags of candy to use for school parties, birthday parties and so on. In my case, I have a huge candy jar I keep full for when the grandkids come to visit. I can go through pounds of it that way. It keeps forever so don’t feel that you have to hurry and use it.
Jill
From Karen:
After the kids are done halloweening, I grab 24 candies for each child (I have 4) to save for a countdown to Christmas instead of buying the calendars in the stores. I usually keep them in a bag but you can get the kids to decorate shoe boxes or stick the candy to a calendar with tape.
Here are some leftover candy recipes for you to try:
Stained Glass Cookies
Cut a hole in the center of rolled out sugar cookie dough. Place a hard colored candy into the center. Bake as usual. The candies will create a stained glass look.
Candy Bar Milk Shakes
1 cup mini candy bars, chopped
2 cups (1 pint) ice cream (chocolate or vanilla)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 1/4 cups milk
Chop candies in a food processor. They are easier to chop if they are partially frozen. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until blended. This makes a thick shake. Add 1/4 cup milk for a thinner shake. Makes 2 milkshakes.
Chocolate Chip Candy Bar Cookies
45 mini Hershey’s candy bars
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
Preheat oven to 325°. Chop candy bars. Cream butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Fold in candy bar pieces. Scoop batter onto a greased cookie sheet with a teaspoon. Bake 9-11 minutes until golden. Let rest on cookie sheet 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely. Makes 2-3 dozen.
Photo By: i eated a cookie
Hi
I love to read your newsletters and subscibed to it. The use of Halloween candies is very good.
i just have to remind you the importance of cleaning teeth after eating candies. They can cause cavities on teeth. So it is important for the kids to eat some crunchy fruits like apple, or veggies like celery after having the candies to clean the teeth from the left over sugar on teeth. Eating cheese just before brushing at night is very effective also. Since dental treatments are very expensive, it is nice take preventive measures. Brushing and flossing everyday can save a lot of money in my opinion.
I am sending a portion of the kids’ haul to my son’s 1st grade teacher to use in her “prize” box. You can also donate those happy meal toys. I can attest to the fact that teachers always appreciate the help.
Yes, we send a lot of stuff like that too! Usually I can find small toys for the teachers at yard sales for new for pennies. I grab them up when I find a good batch!
a (very slightly) healthier way to use up some mini candy bars (HEY — there’s fruit in there!)
Candy Apple Salad
Freeze mini snickers or other mixed chocolate covered type bars (mars, milky-way, etc.) Break into small pieces.
Cut up apples (peeled or unpeeled, whichever way your kids will eat them) into small cubes.
Fold apples and candy into a container of whipped topping (e.g. cool-whip)
You can “flavor” 4-6 apples with just one or two candy bars. Or you can “flavor” a dozen candy bars with one or two apples
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Denise,I love caramel and apples so I bet this would be really yummy with snickers kind of like those fancy caramel apples that have been dipped in all kinds of things. Since my apple tree is over producing this year I will have to try this. Thanks.
OK, who REALLY has leftover Halloween candy!!
Yep! That’s what I want to know! We never have any left to make these great recipes!
I save some of the kids’ candy and use it to decorate gingerbread houses for Christmas.
We keep the suckers and a few other candies in purse and car for emergency wait times. If we find ourselves stuck ‘in the waiting place’. It can help pass the time!
That’s a great idea on the suckers! I used one today while getting tags on our new car. I didn’t have it but they had one there. I might put them in my purse!
I broke down and actually bought a few candies this year. We don’t get children as we live on a dark street so I just gave up on them a few years ago. We have 3 children next door so we bought some reeses peanut butter cups and a box of doritos nacho chips. Woopie we had one child.
I guess the food bank will get about 60 bags of nacho chips to put in the food hamper.
The reeses things I will keep in the fridge.
Next year anyone who shows up will get a can of coke.
Actually, the Coke was a great idea…an older gentleman in our area used to give them out to the few trick or treaters he had, and my kids loved it…after all that walking they were thirsty!
[...] it first!). If you do have a lot left over and are not sure what to do with it all, you might look here or here for some [...]
I save Halloween Candy to give out to ittle kids who dont get much during the year. I give it to them on Thanksgiving and Christmas if not before. Soem kids get very littleand are proud to get it. Candy can also be frozen to use in recipes for up to 1 year.
Take left over candy to the nursing homes. They enjoy it very much.
http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/ Check your zip code to see if dentists or orthodontists in your area will buy it from you (they do here in AZ). It gets shipped to military overseas
Demetria beat me to it. Several of our local dentists (CA) will “buy” your Halloween candy.
We end up with leftover Halloween candy when we get fewer trick or treaters than expected. I have used it (especially Butterfinger bars) to make cookies that I then took to work. Got the candy used up and out of the house fast!