The costumes have been shed and the sugar highs have finally died down. Now, you're just left with Jack-o-lantern buckets filled to the brim with tempting sweets. Not in the mood to tell your kids they can't eat candy for dinner a million times? Then the next step is to find a way to use up your assortment of chocolate bars and sour gummies. Thankfully, there are dozens of fun recipes out there that will allow you to enjoy your extra candy without leaving it out on the kitchen counter for the next few weeks. Which one will you try making? 

Crazy Halloween Blondies 

These bars are a delicious mashup of pecans, M&M's, candy corn, pretzels, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and caramel toppings. An equal mixture of sweet and salty, Nancy Heishman's blondies will impress dessert lovers of all ages. Just grab the necessary candy and add it to her blondie bar batter. Pop it all in the oven for 20 minutes and presto! It's like Halloween magic. 

Harvest Snack Mix 

Who doesn't love a great festive popcorn recipe? Marlene Harguth concocted the perfect snack for any fall movie night, and it calls for some of your extra candy corn and chocolate. Combine pretzels, nuts, sunflower kernels, butter, cinnamon, and cloves, then bake it in your oven for about fifteen minutes. Once it's done, add your remaining ingredients and toss to combine before enjoying an irresistible movie snack. 

Trash Bark  

If you've got some chocolate, peanut butter, potato chips, pretzels, and M&M's, then you've got everything you need to whip up a batch up this crunchy treat. Lauren can show you how to prep the dish in under ten minutes over at Delish. Be careful, though: this bark is pretty difficult to stop nibbling on once you start. 

Halloween Candy Cake 

This might be one of the most time-consuming desserts on this list, but it's also one of the most impressive. You can easily wow guests with this funky creation by Cookies and Cups, and it'll use up a good portion of your leftover sweets. Plus, it looks more complicated than it is. You can use a boxed cake mix, then top the whole thing with orange frosting (storebought or homemade) and decorate with your favorite candies. Make sure to snap a photo of your masterpiece before you dig in! 

Candy Brownie Trifle 

I know I said that the Halloween Candy Cake was impressive, but let's not overlook this bad boy. Any trifle looks amazing, but this candy-packed trifle is downright gorgeous. You'll need whipping cream, white sugar, a brownie mix, and at least three cups of chopped chocolate bars. The entire dessert can feed up to sixteen people according to its creator, Karlynn at The Kitchen Magpie, so make sure to share with plenty of people. 


Remember, if you decide not to bake one of these scrumptious desserts, you can always donate your candy to others! Operation Gratitude sends care packages of candy to soldiers overseas and the Ronald McDonald House gives unopened candy to families with severely ill children.

Whatever you do, don't just toss the candy. Make sure someone enjoys it!