I know, I know, it seems crazy that some Trick or Treaters might not eat the entirety of their Halloween haul. But I think we can all admit, besides the awesome chocolate and chips, people throw some really whack stuff into Halloween bags. I’m talking about those gross, super hard molasses candies, boring suckers and inferior chocolate bars. Fret not, friends! I’ve come up with a brilliant solution for all your leftover crap candy!
Step 1: Beg, borrow and steal
Step one is carefully watching your child do the dump and separation. The best part of Halloween after all, is coming home to a nice, warm house and pouring all your candy onto the living room floor to separate.
Carefully watch how your child separates their candy. For sure there’s going to be a pile of rejects for trade. This is not the candy for you to personally to consume. No, you do not want the worst of the lot. You want the good stuff. As a parent it’s your right. As a sculptor of young minds, it’s your duty to teach your youngsters first hand about taxes. Carve out 10% of your faves right then and there, or else ship the ungrateful ghouls off to bed.
After you’ve had your fill, it’s time to make plans for the reject candy. You could show up at your dentist the next day and participate in their candy buy-back program. Better yet, I’ve heard women’s shelters and places that take families in crisis like the Children’s Cottage, use such candy as treats for new arrivals. Then there’s selfish me. I use those D-list leftovers to get a leg up on my Christmas prep.
Step 2: Bling out a gingerbread house
Yes, Christmas will be here before you know it. And all that lame candy nobody wants is just what you need for decorating gingerbread houses. Anyone who’s bought those pre-baked gingerbread house kits before knows they don’t come with nearly enough candy. They give you, like, maybe a few peppermint wheels and a bunch of random hand candies that taste terrible.
Behold! In your child’s Halloween bag, there’s a whole world of pretty confectionary just waiting to be upcycled. Any kind of hard candy makes for fancy roof decoration. A mini Mr. Big or Coffee Crisp is the perfect chimney. Licorice morphs into festive trim along the gingerbread windows and doors. You just can’t use candy corn. It’s way too holiday specific. Besides that, the possibilities are endless, really.
Step 3: What to do with extra Halloween candy and chocolate?
But wait, my tips don’t end there. There’s only so many Coffee Crips and Mint Aeros you can use to sufficiently pimp out a gingerbread house. Melt those bad boys down on the stove. Throw in a little bit of butter. If you’re so inclined, you can add peanut butter or marshmallows. Once it’s all melty, dump it over cereal. You’re making fancy Rice Krispies treats with all that leftover Halloween chocolate!
Use Cap’n Crunch, Golden Grahams or any other cavity inducing cereal if you wanna be super popular. Pretty much any cereal will do. It’s an easy baking project you can involve the ankle biters in. And if you totally screw it up, nobody will care. There’s plenty of A-list Halloween candy to console yourself with.
What do you do with your extra Halloween candy?
These are all awesome ideas! I especially like re-purposing for a gingerbread house.
Mint aero. What?! Say it isn’t so… I am thinking of making oatmeal surprise cookies with some valentine hearts leftovers…just sayin
Ya, not a chance that any chocolate bars will go uneaten at this house. But, great idea using the candy for gingerbread houses.