Creative Halloween Candy Pairings & Uses

While some of us will be dishing out the sugar-filled goods this Halloween, others will be out to chaperone their little ones who are on the receiving end of tricks and treats, the million (or this year, billion, with that Powerball jackpot) dollar question is what do we do with all the leftover and acquired candy that will be sitting in the house?

We can help!

Candy and Booze Pairings That Go Quite Nicely Together

Last year, the experts over at Wine Enthusiast gave us a pretty awesome list of halloween candy and the boozy beverage that best complements, so I went straight back to the source this year again.

Not only are they enthusiasts, but they seem like experts when it comes to pairing sugar content and flavors together for the perfect candy/beverage combination. Reminding us to keep in mind the textural components of the candy, the sugar content, and obviously the taste and makeup of the candy itself. Some of their suggestions include:

Kit Kats with Ruby Port 'to complement the light, fruity flavors of the milk chocolate coating.'
Starbursts (all colors) with “wines with ripe stone fruit and melon notes, the vibrant acidity keeps the wine and the candy from being sickly sweet.'
Snickers apparently goes nicely with Sauternes, but comes with a pretty hefty price tag for that particular type of wine.

Halloween Candy Recipes That Win

If you'd rather enjoy the Halloween candy sans booze, that's okay too, there's some great ways to utilize the candy stash in creative baked goods, like Snickers stuffed Rice Krispie treats. You can even save the candy corn to make turkey cupcakes for Thanksgiving, or stash some essentials away to add to your gingerbread house creation later this holiday season. If you somehow landed an abundance of Jolly Rancher candies, take things to the next level with stained glass cookies featuring the Jolly Ranchers as the center.

You can also pick out some candies that might mix well in your favorite store bought trail mix, or even get fancy and make your own at home, yes, from scratch.

During the height of COVID during Halloween 2020, we used our leftover Halloween candy to work on counting and sorting by color and shape (think M&Ms or Skittles)....and then ate the learning tools as a prize for completing the assignment, win - win.

Hopefully you are now prepared with a list of uses for all the goodies that you'll have around the house, and now know what treats you should be looking for (read: stealing) from your kids trick-or-treat bags.

LOOK: How Halloween has changed in the past 100 years

Stacker compiled a list of ways that Halloween has changed over the last 100 years, from how we celebrate it on the day to the costumes we wear trick-or-treating. We’ve included events, inventions, and trends that changed the ways that Halloween was celebrated over time. Many of these traditions were phased out over time. But just like fake blood in a carpet, every bit of Halloween’s history left an impression we can see traces of today.