We’re a nation divided when it comes to how we view having an abundance of candy in the house after Halloween. Some of us see it as a seasonal jackpot, and others see it as a seasonal nightmare.

I’m somewhere in the middle, but that’s because I have a few ideas for dealing with the leftovers. Besides scarfing it all down over the next few days, that is.

Alternate Uses for Halloween Candy

1. Take it to the office and then avoid the break room until it’s gone. In my old office, lots of folks brought in the leftovers, and we embraced our inner 6-year olds as we ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the wider selection. It was usually all gone by early afternoon. (There were a lot of us.)

2. Chop it up and store it in a fridge container for use as yogurt or ice cream toppings. (If you’re a calorie watcher like me, a tablespoon or two is sufficient!)

3. Toss it in the freezer and treat yourself to a single serving every now and then.

4. Use it for the upcoming holidays, either as stocking stuffers or in your holiday baking (recipes at the bottom of this post).

5. Conduct science experiments. You’ll find some really cool things to do–I mean, for your kids to do– over on Science20.

6. Find out if any of your local food banks or other civic organizations accept candy. Some will accept it and use it in holiday baskets.

7. Donate it to soldiers. Operation Shoebox (currently experiencing a bandwith issue) will include candy in care packages for military personnel.

Recipes for Leftover Halloween Candy

First, a couple from my personal file:

Banana Boats – We used to make these at Girl Scout camp. They’re super simple and not entirely devoid of nutrition.
- Slice an unpeeled banana down the middle, but not all the way through.
- In the opening, press a chopped mini candy bar (or two), marshmallows, or whatever and then pop it in the oven or the microwave long enough to get gooey. (You can also wrap in foil and put on a campfire to melt, but I never happen to have a campfire in my backyard.)
- When gooeyness is achieved, grab a spoon and enjoy the warm banana/melty-chocolate goodness.

Halloween Candy Bark – Another super simple solution.
- Line a 9-in pan with parchment paper, bringing it up the sides.
- Chop up leftover candy pieces and set aside.
- Melt 8 oz of dark or white chocolate bark in the microwave or in a double boiler.
- When the chocolate melts, stir in the chopped candy pieces and any other mix-ins you want: broken pretzels, nuts, dried fruits, marshmallows, etc.
- Pour the mixture in the prepared pan and refrigerate until set. Then you just break it up into pieces.

The candy bark would be great for packaging into holiday treat bags. Here are a few recipes from other people’s files that would also make great holiday gifts:
Skittles Meringues (Real Simple) – 100 calories for 2 cookies!

Granola Blondies (No Wealth But Life) Use Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups AND Reese’s Pieces in a recipe that’s otherwise pretty healthy.

Candy Corn Chocolate Truffles (My Man’s Belly) – I’m going to have to go buy candy corn, but I’m willing to do it to try this recipe.

Candy Corn Brownie Pizza (cdkitchen)

Candy corn fudge (MyRecipes)

You get the idea. With a little creativity, almost any recipe can be adapted to make use of your excess Halloween candy. So much better than throwing it away.

My Halloween candy is headed for the freezer. I’m hoping there’s some left for Valentine’s Day next year.