What to do with leftover candy

Here are some tips for using all of that extra Halloween candy!•To prevent sugar shock, have a big bag of popcorn waiting when everyone comes back from Trick or Treating. It's easy to fix and will counteract some of the sweet stuff. • You can freeze candy up to a year in the freezer. • Don't forget to buy discounted Halloween candy for Christmas stockings and parties. Most kids don't care if their Christmas candy is orange and black or if it has silver and gold wrappers instead of red and green. • Use leftover Halloween candy in Christmas baking and for making gingerbread houses. • Use grated or chopped chocolate in place of chocolate chips in cookies. • It is easier to cut candy into pieces if you freeze it first. • Break Butterfinger candy bars into peanut butter cookie dough. • Sprinkle chopped chocolates on a white or chocolate frosted cake or use them to top ice cream and cheesecake. • Mix leftover chopped chocolates into cake mixes. • When making cupcakes, decorate the tops with one Hershey's kiss or a mini candy bar. • Pour some leftover candy into a basket or pretty bowl to give to someone for a special gift. • Even a Christmas bag full of an assortment of candies would be a gift that would delight anyone - kids, adults, co-workers or neighbors. • When making apple butter, instead of your usual spices use 1/2 cup red cinnamon candies and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon for every 10 cups apples and your regular amount of sugar. We talk a lot about what to do with leftover candy but don't forget you can also do nothing with it but eat it! …my favorite thing! Stockpile bags of candy to use for school parties, birthday parties and so on. In my case, I have a huge candy jar I keep full for when the grandkids come to visit. I can go through pounds of it that way. It keeps forever so don't feel that you have to hurry and use it. One reader, Karen, says, "After the kids are done Halloweening, I grab 24 candies for each child (I have 4) to save for a countdown to Christmas instead of buying the calendars in the stores. I usually keep them in a bag but you can get the kids to decorate shoe boxes or stick the candy to a calendar with tape." Here are some leftover candy recipes for you to try: Stained Glass Cookies Cut a hole in the center of rolled out sugar cookie dough. Place a hard colored candy into the center. Bake as usual. The candies will create a stained glass look. Candy Bar Milkshakes 1 cup mini candy bars, chopped 2 cups (1 pint) ice cream (chocolate or vanilla) 1/2 cup chocolate syrup 1 1/4 cups milk Chop candies in a food processor. They are easier to chop if they are partially frozen. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until blended. This makes a thick shake. Add 1/4 cup milk for a thinner shake. Makes 2 milkshakes. Chocolate Chip Candy Bar Cookies 45 mini Hershey's candy bars 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 3 cups flour Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop candy bars. Cream butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Fold in candy bar pieces. Scoop batter onto a greased cookie sheet with a teaspoon. Bake 9-11 minutes until golden. Let rest on cookie sheet 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely. Makes 2-3 dozen. Recipes and ideas by Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam, who publish the website LivingOnADime.com and are authors of the "Dining On A Dime Cookbook: Eat Better Spend Less."

********** Published: October 27, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 28