What to do with leftover candy once Halloween is over

As a kid, coming back from trick or treating, all I wanted to do was dig through my stash and discover all the goodies that I had accumulated during the evening. However, after the makeup had been wiped and the costumes stored away, most of the time, the big plastic pumpkin I used as a bag would stay in my closet for months and the candy would eventually get thrown in the garbage.

As an adult, I don’t trick-or-treat anymore, but, that doesn’t stop me from wondering “What can you do with leftover Halloween candy?” Toss it, melt it down, bake with it, crush it on your cutting board and sprinkle it in your coffee?

As it turns out, there are various and very creative things you can do with leftover candy, and here are a few that I have discovered.

Pack it in the freezer
Honestly, I don’t why I didn’t do this as a kid since my mother had a habit of freezing everything. Most types of candies can be frozen easily. If you’re not sure which types can and cannot be frozen, just do a quick search on the Internet to discover what types of treats handle the cold better.

Send it away
Now this is something that I discovered while researching this article. You can send leftover Halloween candy overseas to sweeten the tooth of our troops. There are a few non-profit organizations that accept donated treats; the most common ones are Opreation Shoebox and Operation Gratitude.

Reuse it
There are a dozen of ways you can repurpose your leftover candy by baking it, melting it down or adding it to your favorite baked concoctions. Do you have some left over peanut butter cups? Add them to your favorite chocolate chip cookie or brownie recipe. Do you find that you have one too many peppermint patties? Grind them up on your wooden cutting board and add them to your favorite coffee. You can also reuse small candies like Smarties or Nerds as cupcake decorations.

So before you decide to toss out your child’s Halloween bag that is full of candy, take into consideration some of the suggestions listed here. Who knows, you might create a new recipe by mixing the candies with foods you might have never considered before. Let your imagination run wild and see what you can come up with!

For more ideas on how to reuse Halloween candy, check out some of these recipes.