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!

I’m a Texan, so there’s one thing you should know about me if you don’t already: I take my chili very seriously.

I make good old-fashion Texas Chili. This means NO BEANS and NO ONIONS ever… unless you want to serve them on the side. (Frankly, I don’t think beans should be in the same room with Texas Chili.) Some Texans say you shouldn’t even add tomatoes (sauce or whole), but I think it adds a little depth to the chili if you add just a little (but just a little).

One thing that separates Texas Chili from those other poseurs you might find is the meat. Texas Chili always uses cubed meat… doesn’t matter if it’s beef, venison, pork or alligator, the meat is never ground.

To thicken the chili, use masa harina (Mexican corn flour) to make a “slurry.” Making a slurry is important so you don’t have little flour balls floating in the chili. To make a slurry, whisk together 1 part masa harina, with 2 parts liquid from the chili. Stir the slurry into the cooking chili until it’s as thick as you like.

So, neighbor, how long has it been since you’ve had a big, thick steaming bowl of REAL Texas Chili? Well, that’s too long!

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Los Americanos stole my holiday… but I’m not angry, I’m thrilled.

I’m talking about the “Day of the Dead,” of course. Or what in Latin America, and particularly in Mexico, is known as Dia de los Muertos. Traditionally, this holiday is celebrated on two days, November 1 and 2. For Latinos, it’s a time of prayer and reflection focused on remembering friends and family who are no longer with us.

When I was growing up in west Texas, every year on the day after Halloween, my parents would load up my nine brothers and sisters (Catholic + Hispanic = NINE) and head to the cemetery for lunch and a visit with the relatives. Relatives, mind you, who were dead.

I learned not to mention this to my predominately white classmates because, well, they wouldn’t have understood. It was the late ‘60s and racism was fairly rampant where I grew up. I wasn’t about to let them know that I was going to a graveyard for a picnic.

And then… things began to change.

Slowly at first… then, in a tidal wave. The Latino population of this country grew increasingly larger, and became more politically, commercially, and socially powerful. And, suddenly it seemed as if Latinos were EVERYWHERE.

Hispanic writers such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Oscar Hijuelos and Isabel Allende were falling off the bookshelves. Latino athletes, such as David “Big Papí” Ortiz and Pedro Martinez, were the new stars of baseball, America’s pastime. Bill Richardson ran for President! (Heck, it was even cool to have a bootie, like Jennifer Lopez!)

And the broader acceptance of Latinos and their culture has influenced everyone’s perception of Day of the Dead… which is both good and bad.

First, the bad. In this country, over the past 20 years or so, Day of the Dead has become a part of Halloween, and in the process, become a bit commercialized, too. I’ve seen Day of the Dead inspired costumes for children, Day of the Dead beer and even Day of the Dead rubber duckies (what?)! Occasionally it’s even incorrectly referred to as Mexican Halloween.

But don’t get me wrong… I’m more than happy to share the Day of the Dead, because it means that Americans are finally becoming more familiar with real Latino culture. (And that’s the “good.”)

Yes, I know the United States has been struggling with a huge Latino immigration issue. That’s not what I’m talking about right now.

I’m looking at what has happened with the Day of the Dead celebration as the gradual mainstreaming of Latino culture into the melting pot that is the United States. People now see sugar skulls and understand that it’s not creepy, but part of a Latino culture… even if they don’t quite get it.

So come on… glom on. That’s how we get past what divides us.

There are ghosts flying around my kitchen.

Halloween starts the deluge of sweet treats and eats in my home,* and I’ve finally come up with the best cutout cookie recipe ever! These are so buttery and delicious, I know this will become my go-to cookie recipe for the holidays. The secret is to use superfine sugar!

Since I was making the cookies from scratch, I turned to Wilton to help me make everything else easier.

I’ve always struggled to get the thickness of these cookies just right, so I really liked using the Rolling Pin Guide Rings. You slip the rings on  either end of the Rolling Pin and roll out the dough to a perfect ⅛-inch thickness.

I used the Royal Icing Mix to give the cookies a smooth, glossy finish. This is such an easy way to make your cookies look like they came from a fancy-do bakery! The finishing touch? The fun Candy Eyeballs and Black Icing Color I used for the mouth. I ordered these items on line, but you can also find them at Michael’s and other craft stores.

So, go ahead and let the ghosts fly in your kitchen! Don’t forget to print or bookmark this cookie recipe… you’re going to love it for all of your holiday cut-out cookies!

*That’s actually a lie. There are always sweet treats and eats in my home because I have a wicked sweet tooth. 

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