What To Do With Leftover Halloween Candy

November1

What to Do With Leftover Halloween CandHere's what to do with all that leftover Halloween Candy! Cook with it, share it or send it to the military!

When I was a kid, Aba let all of us keep every single thing in our trick-or-treat bag.

My brother Gary had an uncanny way of parceling out his candy and then teasing the rest of us later on with his sweet riches. In fact, he’d make his Halloween candy last until Christmas… his Christmas candy last until Valentine’s Day… and his Valentine’s Day candy last until Easter… but then he would go into a dry spell and we’d all laugh.

But I digress.

I know there are a lot of you (the good parents) who don’t want their kids sitting on 6 pounds of creamy chocolate, rich gooey caramel, chewy sweet nougat, or crunchy peanutty peanuts.

So here’s what you can do to whittle down that pile of Halloween candy (you are going to let them have some of it, aren’t you?). My tips on what to with leftover Halloween Candy:

Freeze It

Divide candy into different categories (bars, hard candies, jelly candies, etc.) and put it in different Ziploc freezer bags. Once this task is accomplished, you’ll be able to use it in coming months for:
Thanksgiving: Decorate Turkey Day Dinner place cards with M&Ms and hard candies.
Christmas: Create fantastic Gingerbread Houses decorated, of course, with Skittles, licorice and Tootsie Rolls.
New Year’s Eve: Thaw the candies (especially the candy bars) and fill a piñata.

Share It

If you want to get the candy out of the house, giving it away is a great idea. Decide how much of the loot the kids have to give up and then let them decide which pieces to share. Before you donate, call ahead.
Nursing Homes: Rather than giving the home one large bag, divide the candy into several sandwich-size Ziploc bags. Also, think about taking the candy to a nursing home in an under-served part of town.
Women’s Shelters: Smaller bags are a good idea here, too, especially since some shelters allow younger children to stay with their mothers.
U.S. Military: There are several organizations that facilitate these donations to American Soldiers, but Mama’s favorite is Operation Gratitude. Make sure the kids write a little note thanking the servicemen for their dedication and courage.

Cook With It

How do you make a calorie-bomb cookie even more decadent? Stick a candy bar in the middle and decorate the top with even MORE candy!
Candy Bar Ice Cream Shakes: Chopped-up candy bars, milk, ice cream and a blender. Need I say more?
Cupcake Surprise: Drop a candy bar mini (those teensy-tiny candy bars) into the center of each cupcake before baking. Decorate the top with M&Ms.
Chocolate Dipped Everything: Melt chocolate bars and then dip strawberries, dried apricots and marshmallows… and then roll them each in chopped up Pay Day or Butterfinger candy bars.

A few other ideas

1. Hide most of the bag and dole it out to the kids as you see fit… school lunches, rewards for jobs well done, or heck, just because it’s Friday.
2. Take it to the office.
3. Use it as gift wrap. Wrap a gift with plain paper and tape on candy bars or candy packets.

So, let’s be honest here. How much candy did YOU eat BEFORE Halloween or while you were handing it out to the trick-or-treaters? Mmm-hmmm…. I thought so.  THAT’s why you’re so desperate to get rid of it!


 

Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever

April22

The secret to the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever is the coffee and chocolate combo that adds a delicious depth of flavor. Mama's High Strung

When I was a kid, I wouldn’t eat coffee cake because I thought it was made from coffee… (what kid likes coffee?)

Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?The secret to the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever is the coffee and chocolate combo that adds a delicious depth of flavor. Mama's High Strung

Well, after 17 years as a journalist, five kids and too many late nights, you’ve got to believe I love coffee. And to drive home the point, here’s a recipe for coffee cake actually MADE with coffee.

And it is amazing.

The coffee and chocolate combo offers a delicious depth of flavor. I also used sour cream in this recipe, which makes for a rich, dense cake, perfect for holding the pecan and brown sugar swirl in the middle.

Even better… this is a totally gluten free recipe, made with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I also tested it using All-Purpose flour, so you’ll get the same perfect results with either type of flour.

Hamilton Beach® FlexBrew® 2-Way CoffemakerOne other thing… this recipe calls for a ½ cup of brewed coffee, so I used the Single-Serve side of my Hamilton Beach 2-Way FlexBrew® Coffeemaker. When I was ready to serve the cake, I brewed a large pot of coffee on the Carafe Side. My pals at Hamilton Beach sent me the FlexBrew® Coffeemaker to try out… it’s great being able to make a big old pot of coffee OR a just a cup!

So here’s my recipe for the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever… made with coffee. Funny how things sometimes come full circle.


 

Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies

February5

 These gluten-free Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet. I've also got some tips on how to make perfect meringue every time!

These Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet… just like being in love! 

Deliciously rich chocolate blended with almond butter holds the two cloud-like meringue cookies together. Oh, and they are gluten-free!

 These gluten-free Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet. I've also got some tips on how to make perfect meringue every time!

 

 These gluten-free Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet. I've also got some tips on how to make perfect meringue every time!

I tinted the meringue for the Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies with food coloring and added raspberry flavoring. Cherry, strawberry or even vanilla would pair nicely with the chocolate almond filling.

You’ll fall in love with these little bites of heaven. Get the recipe here! 
 These gluten-free Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet. I've also got some tips on how to make perfect meringue every time!

 

 

Homemade Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

November15

Homemade chocolate cake makes me swoon. Homemade chocolate cake with cherries… well, that’s a whole other rodeo.

Homemade Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake-Mama's High Strung

 

Make this tempting Chocolate Cherry Cake in a Bundt pan so that when you cut into it at the table… voilà! Beautiful cherries will come spilling out. The cherry pie filling (please, don’t judge) keeps the cake moist.

Oh, and this cake has a secret ingredient: I used freshly brewed coffee to really punch-up the dark chocolate taste.

This is really an easy cake to pull together. Melting the chocolate is probably the most difficult part of this “dump” cake recipe.

So make this recipe tomorrow after you buy the ingredients today… and then saddle-up for the rodeo.

 

If you’re obsessed with Cherry Pie Filling like me, you’ll love these recipes:

Cherry Pie Ice Cream 

Cherry Pie with Vodka Crust

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Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com