According to a popular penny pincher newsletter, you can turn all of that leftover Halloween candy into Christmas presents! Their number 1 suggestion is…..”use it to make flavored vodka”

Hmmmmmm…..not sure I want little floaty Snickers chunks in my next martini, but I’ll bet this would work really well with Jolly Rancher candies! Here’s the story:

Halloween candy gets pretty tiring after a couple of days. Here are some ideas for using it up.

1. Homemade flavored vodka
Some candies dissolve beautifully in vodka, creating “infused” booze. If you plan on making flavored booze for holiday presents or parties, now is the time to start. Besides candies, you can add coffee, rosemary, cinnamon, pepper, citrus fruits, or dried flowers. I’ll bet that Wether’s Originals dissolved in vodka make for some tasty shots.

Here’s the link to a page that has recipes for infused liquers & other homemade gifts.

2. Baking and sweets
Many candies melt in the heat of the over, leaving you with a wonderfully gooey treat. Here are some possible recipes:

Biscuits filled with tootsie rolls
Cookies with peanut butter cups
Candy corns chopped up and added to candied yams
Crushed Jolly Ranchers and Dummies on top of challah bread
Brownies with “fun size” chocolates
Popcorn balls with pretty much anything
Butterfinger cake
Peppermints (the red and white kind or Peppermint Patties) mixed into hot chocolate or coffee for a cheap mocha
Use as an ice-cream sunday topper
Freeze until summer, and add to homemade ice cream
3. Cooking
Sweet and sour sauce (any sour candy will work)
Pixie sticks for a porkchop glaze (red or white wine, vinegar, pixie sticks, salt)
BBQ chipotle sauce with Smarties or Red Hots
4. Crafts
If candies get stale and seem rather inedible, consider using them for fun arts and crafts.

Make Halloween wreath for next year
Candy garlands or ornaments for the Christmas tree
Mosiacs
Candy necklaces
Decorate the holiday gingerbread house
Christmas cards and gift wrapping decoration
5. Bribery/Doling
If you are swift enough to grab your kids’ candy while they sleep, it can be doled out for MONTHS as bribes. Need the leaves raked? Two Hershey’s kisses per bag (not adjusted for inflation, that’s what I used to get paid). OR, just slowly dole out a piece a day in kids’ lunches. My parents used to throw it in our Christmas stockings, too along with nuts and persimmons.

6. Donate it
Nursing homes, doctor’s offices, women’s shelters – everyone loves candy, and spreading the sweetness can be a great way to avoid gorging on it all yourself.

7. Send it to overseas troops
Not so much for chocolate (which doesn’t travel well), but other candy is appreciated as a part of care packages for the troops (US only, not sure about other nations’ deployments).

8. Take it to the office
Adults are sometimes able to restrain themselves a little bit more than kids – share those sugary goodies with coworkers.

9. Keep some in the car for emergencies
I keep a small stash of sugary candies in my car. I’m diabetic, and every now and again, I go into insulin shock, meaning that I need to eat something sugary, fast. Car candy has been a saving grace a number of times. Also, you never know when you’ll be trapped in the car for hours with no food or water – candy can be a welcome distraction or sustenance if caught on a moutain pass during a rock slide or the freeway behind a massive accident.

10. Make an Advent Calendar, Pinata, or Holiday Centerpiece
The countdown to Christmas used to be one of my favorite things about the holidays. Alpha Mom has some really great ideas for decorating during November (she counts down the month of November with her adorable advent calendar).

I’m still looking for a bbq sauce recipe that uses smarties or red hots, but here’s a cookie recipe that uses leftover candy!

Halloween Candy Cookies
*courtesy Relish Magazine*

Ingredients
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups chopped candy bits
(such as Butterfingers, Baby
Ruths, Heath Bars, Reese’s
Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers,
jelly beans, M&Ms, Lifesavers)

Instructions
1. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugars together with a mixer until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Stir in candy bits.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Drop dough by tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Nutritional Information
Per cookie (using jelly beans): 100 calories, 4g fat, 20mg chol., 1g prot., 17g carbs., 0g fiber, 120mg sodium.