Make these chocolate leftover Halloween candy cookies
- Kim Simons
- October 24, 2023
- 3 mins
- Kim's Kitchen
- chocolate halloween recipes
Originally published at: https://www.riverreporter.com/stories/make-these-chocolate-leftover-halloween-candy-cookies,121996
Wondering what to do with the mountain of leftover Halloween candy?
By the time you read this, another Halloween will be lurking in the shadows right around the corner.
And chances are, you’ll have some time and/or money invested in preparing for it. That means that we’re buying more scary costumes. More ornate decorations. More Halloween party hats and supplies. More savory snacks. And of course, more candy.
That’s always been the driving force of Halloween—the candy.
I grew up in Liberty, NY. Halloween was always a huge deal in our close-knit neighborhood. (My mother, who lives in the house I grew up in, will tell you that it still is.) Just about every residence within six blocks of us was decorated to the max. And just about everyone living there happily handed out candy.
Of course, we all knew who handed out the best candy—the full-sized bars. Those houses were always hit first because nobody wanted to take a chance that they’d run out before we got there. There would be time to grab the fun-sized variety a little later. (And I won’t say anything about the one or two places that handed out apples.)
This isn’t to say that pranks weren’t pulled. Remember how retailers would suddenly stock shaving cream in a prominent spot at the front of the store a bit before October 31? It seems that you can’t have treats without tricks.
Still, even though there were some spoilers who would grab the householder’s bucket and empty the entire supply of goodies into their own bag, most of my memories of Halloween feature much more fun than fear.
One of the highlights was coming back home after successfully filling our plastic pumpkins and pouring the loot of the evening out on the kitchen table. When my kids were younger, they would gather up their candy in front of them and begin bargaining with each other as if they were playing poker.
“I’ll raise you two fireballs for that Kit-Kat.”
“No way! It’s four fireballs and a Reese’s, or there’s no deal.”
“Four and a Reese’s? That’s too high.”
“You’re forgetting that this is a full-size Kit-Kat.”
Another memory I have? Wondering exactly what to do with the mountain of leftover Halloween candy. After all, there comes a time when even the kid with the biggest sweet tooth says, “Yeah, I can’t eat any more of that right now.”
And there are only so many Snickers bars that a mom can sneak for herself.
That’s why I decided we could put together these Chocolate Leftover Halloween Candy cookies as our project for this month. They are easy to make, and you’ll be surprised at how much leftover Halloween candy you’ll be able to put to productive use.
Chocolate Leftover Halloween Candy Cookies
Turn your leftover Halloween candy into soft, chocolate cookies with pressed-in candy pieces on top. Easy to make and great for freezing.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Choose your candy.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Melt butter and set aside.
- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Mix butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. Gradually pour into the flour mixture.
- Slice the candy bars into smaller pieces, suitable for adding to a cookie.
- Roll dough into 2-inch balls and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Flatten dough slightly, then press Halloween candy pieces into the top.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies are puffed.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
And who doesn’t love the heartwarming smell of baking cookies in the fall? An added suggestion: why not freeze a few batches of cookies as well? That way, you can take them out when you feel like it, and have a little bit of Halloween all year!
So, go right ahead—buy those costumes. Put up those decorations. Get set to flip on that porch light and hand out those treats to the little monsters that invade your space once a year.
And don’t worry about that leftover candy, because now you have a foolproof plan for handling it.
