Here's What To Do With All That Extra Halloween Candy

Handing out candy on Halloween like hosting a party where you have no idea how large the guest list will be. In preparation, all you can do is buy as much candy as you can afford and hope you don't run out. Sometimes, however, you may find that no one shows up at your door because the weather is bad or your zip code has recently been downgraded on the secret trick-or-treaters' telegraph. Okay, more candy for you! If it's past 9 p.m. and your doorbell's been silent all night, you might as well turn off the porch light, turn on a horror movie, and dig into your stash. If you wake up from your sugar coma and find a few bags left, it's time to start planning other ways to use the leftover candy.

Depending on what kind of candy you bought, we may have a few recipes suitable for the situation. Sour Patch Kids, believe it or not, make a pretty awesome brownie topping, kind of like Little Debbie Cosmic brownies with a sweet-n-sour twist. In fact, just about all leftover Halloween candy can be used to make brownies – yes, even candy corn. If you have leftovers of this polarizing holiday treat, however, a better use for them might be as an ingredient in homemade candy corn ice cream.

If you've bought too much Dum-Dums or Neccos, the good news is, these hard, dry candies may well last until next Halloween. (Neccos have been around since 1847 and still taste like they rolled off the assembly line before the Civil War). Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do with either one, but gummy bears are a whole other thing. You can use them in edible science experiments, learn a tasty (yet slightly creepy) lesson in genetics, or soak them in booze to make rummy bears.

Chocolate candies may be the most popular Halloween treats, so you're to be commended for your kindness if you bought a few bags of mini Hershey bars, Kit Kats, or Twix. Your generosity will be rewarded since chocolate candies are also the easiest to repurpose. Chop them into pieces and use them instead of chocolate chips to make delicious Snickers oatmeal cookies, peanut butter cup banana bread, and M&M pancakes. You can also take a page from Cold Stream Creamery's playbook and mix chopped candy bars into softened ice cream. If you're more of a McFlurry or Blizzard fan, you can make a copycat of either treat by beating the chopped candies in a stand mixer. You could also stir them into a milkshake and pile some more on top — sure, crazy shakes give serious last-decade vibes, but Halloween candy's all about nostalgia.