PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE
With drug store shelves lined with massive bags of candy starting in August, numerous costume and pumpkin carving parties, trick-or-treating (going with the kids or just handing it out), spooky movie nights, and more, it’s not hard to end up with TONS of leftover candy by the end of Halloween. We’re all about that sugar rush in October, but as the weeks after the spooky holiday go by, we get less and less interested in our candy stash. Rather than just pawning it off on friends and coworkers or (the horror) throwing it away, we’ve curated a list of 40 recipes to give all that candy new life—even dreaded candy corn 😈.
One of our absolute favorite things to do with leftover candy is to turn it into desserts and treats for the holidays that come after Halloween. Hear us out: Outside of their miniature, Halloween-themed packaging, candy is candy is candy, and no one will be able to tell you used leftovers. Need a sweet treat for Thanksgiving? Turn candy corn and M&Ms into adorable turkey cupcakes or Oreo turkeys. Want something fun for Hanukkah? Make our sugar cookie dreidels, then fill them with any small candy like M&M's, Nerds, or Skittles. Need a Christmas-y activity everyone can enjoy, from kids to adults? You guessed it, we’re talking gingerbread houses. They’re an incredible way to use up a ton of different types of candy, so get creative.
If you’re not looking for holiday-specific recipes, we’ve got you too. Turning chocolate Halloween candies like Reese’s, Twix, Snickers, and Butterfingers into other desserts like cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, and bars is a no-brainer, and we’ve got recipes for all the best versions. More of a fruity candy fan (or perhaps not, since you’ve got all these candy leftovers 😉)? Try turning them into our stained glass cookies, Starburst edible slime, Skittles vodka slushies, or Starburst Jell-O shots. These recipes are as much fun to make as they are to enjoy (perfect for the kids inside us all).
Ethan Calabrese
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Cookies n Cream Brownies
If you ask us, Cookies 'N' Creme candy bars are highly underrated. Not in the least because, as it turns out, melting them down makes the perfect frosting for fudgy brownies. Did we mention there are also WHOLE OREOS stuffed inside? 😏
Ever wished you could have a Snickers Bar... in cheesecake form? Well, today's your day! This outrageous cheesecake has a creamy milk chocolate center and is topped with plenty of caramel and roasted salted peanuts. Oh, and Snickers, obviously.
It's not that traditional Rice Krispies Treats aren't good—they're just a little boring and safe. These are the opposite. They're surprising and delicious in a way that everyone, including purists, will love.
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE
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Monster Cookies
The origin of the name "monster" cookies isn't clear, but it may refer to the fact that they're like Frankenstein's monster—made up of a combination of the parts of many other cookies. We love 'em because you can really throw anything into the dough, even leftover Halloween candy.
Miniature Hershey bars are definitely one of the more bummer chocolates to get around Halloween. What's not a bummer? Turning them into this s'mores skillet cookie that you can enjoy all year long, no fire pit required.
You can turn a chocolate cupcake into a cute little turkey with leftover Halloween candy decorations like candy corn, M&M's, and pretzels. These are so easy to make and will definitely win the hearts (and mouths) of all of your Turkey Day guests.
Love sugar cookies but hate decorating them? These are for you! Simply fill cookie cut outs with hard candies like Jolly Ranchers, then bake. The candies will melt then turn soft and chewy after cooling, adding a bright pop of color to your holiday dessert table.
For this cake, we traced our number on the back of an empty cereal box to used it as a stencil—trust us, it's very doable! As long as you top it with a fun assortment of candies (even the less desirable non-chocolate ones), it'll look adorable no matter what.
Decadent doesn't even BEGIN to describe these blondies. Try them with any variety of chocolate candies (we bet Heath bars or Twix would be great too!).
Building a gingerbread house from scratch might sound like a huge undertaking when you can just reach for a kit—but it's not! Add a couple of particularly Christmas-y candies (like peppermints or candy canes) to the mix, and you can breathe new life into any leftover Halloween candy as various parts of your house. Get creative!
Infusing vodka with Skittles is wonderfully easy. The hardest part, which is also kinda fun, is sorting out the Skittle colors. Once you have your rainbow organized, it's only a matter of letting the candies sit in the alcohol overnight. The next day, you'll have a variety of colorful alcohol ripe for cocktails, like these fun slushies.
Why choose which of your favorite candies to eat when you can eat ALL of them atop brownies? Trash brownies are the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy because you can top them with whatever you like! Just make sure you keep something crunchy in the mix—we recommend potato chips.
Sitting on a pile of leftover M&M's? Separate out the red and green ones (or blue and yellow for Hanukkah, red, black, and green for Kwanzaa...) for these blondies! They're super-festive, and no one will suspect the candy is from Halloween. 😉
Still got leftover Halloween candy by the time Hanukkah rolls around? Make these sugar cookies! You can use your favorite homemade sugar cookie dough or follow our lead and use a couple store-bought logs. These work with any small candy, from the mini M&M's we used here to Nerds or Skittles, so have fun with it.
Fantasy fudge is shortcut fudge that is just as good as the real thing. Our two favorite things about it are that 1) it's quick to make and 2) it's totally customizable! Not only can you use any chocolate you like, but you can also choose whatever mix-ins you want. This fudge can take it all, even the weirdest of leftover Halloween candies.
Decorating an Oreo to look like a turkey is much easier than it seems, and is a great way to use up leftover candy. Don't have candy eyes? Get creative and use leftover Reese's Pieces or M&M's. Hot tip: White chocolate hardens quickly, so make sure to have everything else ready to go when you start melting your chocolate!
We have a real soft spot for our Reese's stuffed brownies, but when we're craving a cookie and peanut butter (and chocolate, ofc), these blondies are the solution.
Slime... that you can EAT? It's all possible thanks to Starbursts. We went for pink, but feel free to experiment with your favorite (or not so favorite) flavors.
The textural contrast between the flaky peanut butter filling and soft, chewy blondies is out of control. If you're not a Butterfingers fan already, you will be after you make these. Prefer caramel? Our Rolo stuffed blondies are just as good.
We love using grape gummy bears for this recipe, but feel free to experiment with different flavors or shapes! Gummies absorb a surprising amount of booze, so expect them to double in size.
Looking to get a little crafty with your Thanksgiving dessert this year? These pumpkin turkeys are just the thing. Easy to make and extremely adorable, everyone will love them! Plus, you'll get to snack on the scraps before your guests arrive. 😉
These cookies might look plain on the outside, but the inside is exploding with peanut butter and chocolate goodness. It really is what's on the inside that counts.
When you have an excess of peanut butter cups from trick-or-treating, the most logical thing to do is to stuff them into a giant skillet cookie cake and top it with ice cream... right?
Reese's peanut butter cups can really do no wrong, but we get it, sometimes you just can't eat another one. Turn them into fudge instead and gift it to friends and loved ones for the holidays instead. Everyone loves a Reese's, and this treat makes them extra special.
Using a store-bought graham cracker crust and caramel means this baby comes together FAST. You do have to let it set up for 6 hours, so save a few Twix bars as a snack while you wait.
Since Skittles-infused vodka was such a hit, we decided to see whether Starburst could be used to sweeten vodka. Jackpot! Using red or pink candies gives vodka the blush color you'd expect from a Cosmo, so we went for that cocktail, but feel free to try it out in your favorite drinks. Try all the flavors at once for an overall fruity flavor, or separate them out to see which you like best.
Inspired by Rice Krispie treats and Trash Bark, these are everything you could possibly crave in one salty, nutty, chocolatey bite. They've also got a crunchy-chewy thing happening, which no one can resist. Stick with the marshmallows and the chips, then feel free to swap in or out any chocolate candies you've got.
Have a surplus of pink Starbursts? Turn them into Jell-O shots! Hot tip: to achieve that iconic pink color, you only need about 1 tablespoon of Jell-O mix. Anymore, and the color gets too dark!
