After the trick-or-treating is over, figuring out what to do with all of that leftover candy is a daunting task. The last thing anybody wants is all of that sugar sitting in a basket somewhere just waiting to be eaten-talk about derailing any sort of healthy lifestyle. And if you do leave it sitting around, who's going to keep the kiddos away from it?
If you want to be green about it, we have some sweet ways to put that candy to work by recycling it with these tasty recipes.
Snickers Cheesecake
Crust:
• 24 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
• 3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 regular-size Snickers bars, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce, optional
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, optional
Preparation
1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mist a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap bottom and sides with 2 large foil pieces. Pulse cookies in a food processor until crushed. Pulse in butter. Press into an even layer in pan. Bake until firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Make filling: Place a roasting pan filled with 1 inch hot water on oven's center rack. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar; beat for 1 minute. Beat in eggs. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice and cornstarch.
3. Sprinkle Snickers over crust. Pour batter into pan; place in water bath. Bake until cake is set around edges but still jiggles in center, about 55 minutes.
4. Remove cake from roasting pan; remove foil. Place cake on a rack to cool. Cover and chill until firm, 4 hours or up to 1 day. When ready to serve, drizzle top with caramel sauce and top with chopped peanuts, if desired.
Candy Corn Fudge
• 1 7-oz. jar marshmallow cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 cups candy corn (about 12 oz.)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
• 1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped, optional
• 1 oz. white chocolate, chopped, optional
Preparation:
1. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil; butter foil. Combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk and butter in a large, heavy pan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 235°F on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and stir in candy corn, chocolate chips and peanuts, stirring until chocolate melts. Immediately transfer to foil-lined pan and smooth top until even. Chill until set, at least 2 hours.
3. In separate bowls over pans of simmering water, melt semisweet and white chocolate, if desired. Using forks, drizzle both chocolates over fudge. Cut fudge into squares.
Almond Joy Brownies
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 snack-size Almond Joy bars
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch baking pan with foil so it overhangs 2 sides by 1 inch. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove bowl from heat; let cool slightly.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar and eggs. Stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla, then flour mixture. Transfer batter to pan. Set Almond Joy bars on top, pressing lightly.
4. Bake until just set, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.
Peanut Butter Cup Pie
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 20 miniature peanut butter cups, chilled, coarsely chopped
• 1 9-inch prepared graham cracker crumb pie crust
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
1. Let ice cream stand at room temperature until slightly softened, about 15 minutes. Place ice cream and peanut butter cups in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Transfer ice cream mixture to prepared crust and smooth with back of wooden spoon. Place pie in freezer.
2. Combine heavy cream, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until cream holds soft peaks.
3. Remove pie from freezer and smooth whipped cream over ice cream. Freeze until whipped cream is firm, then cover lightly with plastic wrap and freeze until pie is firm, at least 3 hours and up to 1 week.
4. To serve, let pie stand on counter to soften for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with hot fudge sauce on side, if desired.
Candy Cake
Cake:
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups finely chopped chocolate candies such as Snickers, Almond Joy or Reese's peanut butter cups
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Icing:
• 4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
Preparation:
1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Sift 3 cups flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, toss candies with remaining 1/2 cup flour.
2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light, 3 minutes. Add yolks one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Beat in 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of milk. Repeat, ending with flour mixture. Do not overmix.
3. In a clean, dry bowl using dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Stir candies and 1/3 of egg whites into batter. Fold in remaining whites. Spoon batter into Bundt pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold cake.
4. Make icing: Place chocolate in a bowl. Warm cream in a pan over medium heat until just boiling. Pour over chocolate, let stand for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Let cool slightly. Pour icing over cake, allowing excess to drip over sides.
Be sure to check out these other recipes:
• Milky Way Pudding
• Candy-Coated Caramel Apples
• Chocolate Strawberry Licorice
There's gotta be an idea here for re-purposing all of your candy leftovers.
Related: Sweet! Easy Apple Desserts for Fall
What do you do with leftover Halloween Candy? Will you be trying one of these delicious recipes?
