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Stash some of that Halloween candy for baking even sweeter treats later.
By JANET K. KEELER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2001
Be brazen when your black-caped kitty cat returns from door-to-door candy scavenging tonight. Wrestle the goody bag from his arms, then comb through the bounty like a bargain hunter at a Nordstrom shoe sale. Don't hesitate, or the best candy will be eaten quicker than you can say "Show me the Bit-O-Honey."
Like taking candy from a baby, eh, Mom?
Before you set out on a guilt trip about ruining Cat Boy's Halloween fun, remember this: There will be enough candy in that bag to launch your darling into orbit until Thanksgiving. The truth is, says the National Confectioners Association, 73 percent of adults admit to eating their children's Halloween candy. So rather than fill up on 3 Musketeers and Sugar Babies tonight, why not save them to cook with later? A little Halloween for Christmas dessert or even in Valentine's Day cookies is hardly the folly of a diabolical mom.
Your wee one will still sample the spoils, just in the weeks and months to come. Before the days of clickers, e-mail and cell phones, we knew it as delayed gratification.
Grab the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to use in a sinful cheesecake and the "fun-size" Milky Ways that can send an ordinary cake out of this world. Candy corn? Add them to your Rice Krispies treats, of course. Heath Bars? Grind and mix with rich chocolate mousse.
The gum? He can keep the gum.
Wrapped chocolate candy stays fresh for 10 to 12 months if it is stored in a cool, dry place. Longer than that, it's edible but will likely be chewy or hard. Also, as chocolate ages, the fat and and cocoa begin to separate, and a harmless, white chalky coating, called "bloom," covers the surface.
Freezing chocolate won't lengthen its life span, says Tricia Bowles, spokeswoman for Nestle Confections & Snacks, a division of Nestle USA. In fact, it will hasten the white bloom.
"Though the bloom won't hurt you, we don't recommend you eat chocolate that has it," she says. "The chocolate just won't taste like what you bought it for. It'll be a little flatter, not as creamy."
Hard candy won't benefit from freezing either. Its shelf life is also about 10 months to a year.
(Candy brought home by trick-or-treaters should be tightly sealed. Discard any unwrapped, unsealed or homemade treats.)
There are many ways to incorporate candy into cookies, cakes and other desserts. Chop plain chocolate bars such as Hershey or Nestle and add them to chocolate chip cookie dough. Crunch up Butterfingers or use the BBs and add to peanut butter cookie dough. Crushed Butterfingers produce a mosaic when baked on top of cookies.
Place a gummy worm or two on sugar cookies, homemade or store-bought dough, and they'll melt during baking. Make a hole in the uncooked dough and fill it with Life Savers, Jolly Ranchers or other hard candies. They'll melt, too, and turn your cookies into stained glass windows.
Cake mixes and store-bought frosting are also ready for your creativity. Add crushed hard candy -- here's where you can use those green lollipops -- to vanilla cake mix. Chocolate bar pieces will deepen the flavor of chocolate cake mixes. Sprinkle chopped Nestle's Crunch bars over a frosted cake. Brownie mixes can also be embellished; for instance, Snickers bits add chocolate and nuts.
Scones have come a long way since their simple birth in Britain. Chocolate chip versions are sold at many bakeries and coffee bars. Why not add Dove bar chunks or bits of nutty PayDays to homemade dough? They would also taste yummy in muffins.
Caramel or chocolate with a soft center will melt and possibly stick to the baking sheet when mixed with cookie dough. The best way to cook with these types of candies is to wrap them in an elastic dough, such as puff pastry, to prevent the goo from leaking.
So don't feel bad about absconding with some of the booty. Your creativity will keep Cat Boy licking his sticky paws for months.
-- Information from Scripps Howard News Service was used in this report.
3/4 cup shortening (part butter or margarine, softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
21/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
About 6 packages of colored Life Savers (or gummy worms, Starburst candies)
Mix shortening, sugar, eggs and flavoring. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough 1/8-inch thick on lightly floured board. Cut into desired shapes, using cutter of two sizes to obtain cutouts, or design your own pattern. Place cookies on aluminum foil or parchment paper covered baking sheet. For larger cookies, transfer rolled shape to the baking sheet before cutting out designs. Place whole LifeSavers candy in cutouts. Small cutouts may require that the Life Savers be broken into smaller pieces (place between wax paper and tap lightly). Fill cutouts with candy until it is just level with dough.
Bake 7-9 minutes or until cookies are very light brown and candy is melted. If candy hasn't spread within cutout design, immediately spread with spatula.
Cool completely on baking sheet. Gently remove cookies.
Makes about 6 dozen 3-inch cookies.
Variation: Leave unbaked cookies whole and sprinkle gummy candy or crushed Life Savers atop the dough and bake as usual.
-- Source: Scripps Howard News Service.
1 8-ounce can Pillsbury crescent dinner rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 snack size candy bars (Milky Way, Snickers, Almond Joy or $100 Grand)
Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons powdered cocoa
2/3 teaspoons milk-colored sprinkles, optional
Separate dough into 8 triangles. Cut each candy bar in half crosswise. Place one candy piece on the widest side of each triangle. Roll up, starting from the candy end. Pinch edges of dough together to seal. Dip one side in melted butter. Pace rolls point-side down in ungreased muffin cups (preferably nonstick). Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool slightly.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa and milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.
Variation: Use can of Pillsbury large-size croissant rolls and fill with a whole candy bar.
-- Source: adapted from www.recipegoldmine.com.
13 fun-size Milky Way or 8 (13/4 ounces) Milky Way bars
2 sticks softened butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
21/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt candy bars and 1 stick butter over low heat. Beat remaining butter and sugar in bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add flour and baking soda, alternating with buttermilk. Stir until smooth. Add melted candy and mix well. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until top springs back (top will be dark). Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.
Frost when cool with Milky Way Icing.
-- Source: Scripps Howard News Service.
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
6 tablespoons milk or cream
1 13/4-ounce Milky Way candy bar
Combine brown sugar, flour and milk in pan. Stir constantly until it boils.
Boil for 1 minute; add candy bar. Remove from heat and beat well. Cool and frost.
-- Source: www.recipegoldmine.com.
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
6 mini Heath bars, finely ground
1 cup baking cocoa
2 tablespoons dark rum
Chill a mixer bowl and beaters. Combine the whipping cream, baking cocoa, confectioners' sugar and rum in chilled mixer bowl.
Beat at low speed with chilled beaters. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form, scraping the bowl occasionally; do not over beat. Spoon into a mixing bowl; sprinkle with the candy bar.
Serve immediately or freeze, tightly covered, in individual serving dishes. Makes 10-12 servings.
-- Source: www.creativechocolatesofvt.com
2 cups ice cream (vanilla or coffee flavors work well)
4 fun-size candy bars (Milky Way, Mars, Snickers, 3 Musketeers) or 1 regular sized bar.
1 tablespoon milk or cream
2 tablespoons toasted almonds (optional)
In a small saucepan, combine chopped candy bar with milk or cream. Melt over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Pour sauce over ice cream and top with nuts, if desired. Serves 2.
-- Source: www.fabulousfoods.com.
11/2 packages graham crackers, crushed
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
32 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
5 jumbo eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whipping cream
8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped into pieces or 24 mini cups, quartered
Melted chocolate, optional
Mix first three ingredients and pat into a 10-inch springform pan.
Cream the cheese until light. Add sugar and beat some more. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each. Mix in cream, vanilla and cornstarch. Stir in the candy, saving 1/2 cup for topping.
Pour into crust and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until outside edge is firm and middle is still soft. (Keep a pan of water in the bottom of the oven as the cake is baking to keep the humidity high and keep the cake from cracking.)
When the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edge. Cool for several hours, then top with more chopped Reese's and drizzle with melted chocolate.
-- Source: MasterCook.
1/2 cup butter
10 cups Rice Krispies
9 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups mixture candy corn and Indian candy corn
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
Melt butter and marshmallows; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, mix Rice Krispies, candy corn and miniature chips together. Add marshmallow mixture to cereal mixture; stir quickly to combine.
Spread on a large buttered pan; press with buttered hands. Refrigerate and cut into squares.
-- Source: Adapted from www.about.com.