5 Treats to Make with Halloween Candy

Children consider their stash of hard-earned Halloween candy sacred, so the concept of leftover candy is a fantasy in a lot of households. Before making any of these desserts, stock up on extra candy in advance, or hit the post-trick-or-treat sale aisles. Store-bought cake, frosting and brownies can be used as timesavers, or you can make your own. Do frost the cake and brownies yourself, because the frosting needs to be wet for the toppings to adhere properly.

By Jackie Alpers

This chocolate cake covered entirely with Halloween candy is a real showstopper. The amount of candy needed will vary depending on the size of the cake used. It will take about 4 cups of candy to cover a two-layer 8-inch round cake. Organize all of the candy into piles so you know how much you have of each kind to work with. You can cut some of the bigger candy into pieces for variety.

Refrigerate the Halloween candy for at least 15 minutes so it doesn't squish when you push it into the cake. Slather your cake with a thick layer of chocolate frosting, as shown previously. Then, starting at the bottom, gently press on candy either in a pattern or randomly, and accent with sprinkles. If necessary, dab a bit of extra frosting onto the back of bigger pieces to make them stick. The orange and black bats used on this cake came in the Halloween Decorating Kit from Williams-Sonoma. The Halloween Classic Mix with tiny ghosts and jimmies were from Bake It Pretty.

Don't be afraid! The creepy feeling that you are being watched is coming from these brownies. Frost brownies with your favorite icing, then press on pieces of candy and sprinkles. You will need: one batch of prepared brownies, Halloween candy, frosting and sprinkles. The brownie above (with a bit of an Angry Birds vibe to it), was decorated with Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses, a mini Snickers cut in half and a Tootsie Roll. Eyeball candy attached to two almond M&M's with a dab of frosting bring these treats to life.