Get Creative With Extra Halloween Candy

Too much of a good thing? Here are four ideas if you have more post-trick-or-treating sweets than you expected.

The season of ghouls and ghosts is behind us now (we hope you enjoyed Halloween!) but, as you take down your decorations, you’re probably still enjoying the holiday’s parting gift—the sweets.

Whether you’re sharing your child’s treats or only a few costumed kids came knocking this year, you may have more candy than you’re used to at your house right now. Though it’s tempting to eat it all at once, you may want to refrain from that (there are downsides to a sugar rush, after all)—or you may want to put it all to good use. Try one of these sweet options:

Get baking. Put a twist on your favorite cookie recipe and add chopped-up candy bars in place of the chocolate chips. And you needn’t limit yourself to cookies—add candy to brownies or blondies for extra sweetness. (We recommend chopped Snickers bars in your favorite blondie recipe—the caramel melts perfectly!) For an oven-less option, small pieces of candy sprinkled on fresh popcorn make snack time special.

Take a hike. Clearly the best part of trail mix is the M&Ms. You can make your own trail mix with the chopped candy of your choice to create your ideal sweet-and-salty hiking snack. Try swapping out the classic peanuts and cashews with more seasonal options such as walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.

Try the freezer. Most candy freezes well, if you’re just looking for a way to preserve your treats (and keep them out of sight to reduce temptation). But some candy freezes deliciously: York Peppermint Patties almost resemble mint ice cream when frozen, and frozen Skittles become pleasantly brittle.

Give back. If you don’t want to eat the candy yourself, consider donating individually wrapped and unopened treats to local food pantries and shelters. Candy also can be sent to U.S. armed forces members through Operation Shoebox or Halloween Candy Buy Back 2024. You can drop off candy for Treats for Troops at the Veolia North America office in Paramus. In many cases, dental offices (particularly pediatric ones) will collect unopened candy and donate the pieces to those organizations or similar ones, so be sure to call yours and ask!

How was your Halloween? Show off your best costumes and all your fun by tagging us on Instagram @bergenmagnj!