Leftover candy recipes make good use of extra Halloween sweets
BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON World Scene Writer
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
10/31/12 at 5:23 AM
A full bag of candy signals a successful Halloween.
In some households, that candy is gobbled up in a matter of days.
But in others, it lingers until the first signs of spring.
So if leftover candy isn't a contradiction in terms in your home, you might be looking for fun recipes that offer tasty, alternative ways to eat your Halloween sweet treats.
We asked some local food experts about their favorite candies and what they would do with the leftovers. Here's what they said:
Chef Devin Levine, executive chef for Savor Catering by SMG, said that when his children were little there was often an abundance of chocolate candy around Halloween.
So, just for fun, he would experiment with some of it, battering and frying some of the tiny chocolate candies.
"I remember taking the bite-sized Butterfingers and Snickers and dipping them in a batter and frying them," Levine said. "Anything, Heath Bars, Milky Way, Musketeers ... they get all gooey inside. They are great."
And because Halloween is so close to Christmas, Levine also stockpiled candy to use it as decoration on gingerbread houses.
"There was always a lot of excess candy from parties at the club," Levine said, referring to when he worked more than 30 years at Southern Hills Country Club.
Stacey West-Feather, a food blogger and home cook from Jay, said she ran across the perfect recipe to transform the candy corn that her children do not like into a homemade Butterfinger-type candy bar.
"If you microwave the candy corn and then add peanut butter, it seizes up and becomes flaky like a Butterfinger," she said. After making the crunchy inside, you dip it in melted Hershey bars.
"My kids love Butterfingers, so this is perfect," she said.
As far as her favorite Halloween candy, West-Feather said she loves the popular Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Chef Michael Minden said his favorite thing about Halloween is the day after.
Minden, chef and owner of Michael V's restaurant, said he goes to several stores to shop the candy sales.
"I get all of the 50 to 80 percent off Snickers Bars and Hershey bars, and that is what I make cheesecakes out of," Minden said. "And I make a Snickers Brownie Pie, and it is awesome."
This Halloween, Minden said that he's also looking forward to making homemade candy corn from a recipe by Alton Brown that ran in the Food Network magazine.
"It looks so easy, and it is supposed to taste better than what you can buy," Minden said.
As far as his favorite candy, Minden said that he would choose Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He hasn't eaten a lot of candy since he suffered a heart attack, but Minden says he goes to the gym five days a week so he can indulge himself with few pieces as a special treat.
With four kids at home, Jennifer Jones said candy doesn't stay around long enough to be called leftover.
Jones, the award-winning baker who owns Icing on the Top bakery downtown, said her favorite Halloween candy is the soft pumpkins that taste like candy corn.
And they can be the perfect decoration for cupcakes. Jones likes to make the ghosts out of bubble gum and cover them with fondant. She places the pumpkin beside it and uses icing to make green grass.
Crushed chocolate candies also make a great topping for cupcakes and can be cooked inside the cakes.
"I have used those little chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and baked those inside chocolate cupcakes," Jones said.
Here are a couple recipes from the cooks, as well as a few others that might inspire creative experiments with candy.
CHEF DEVIN LEVINE'S BATTER-FRIED MINI CANDY BAR BITES
1 dozen mini candy bars - Snickers, Milky Way or Three Musketeers
1 1/4 cup flour, more for dredging
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup seltzer
Vegetable oil, for frying
1. Freeze the candy bars for 30 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in seltzer and let batter rest for 10 minutes. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer or deep saucepan.
3. Dredge candy bars in flour, then coat evenly with batter. Working in batches, fry until golden and puffed all over, turning if needed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
HOMEMADE BUTTERFINGERS
1 bag of candy corn
1 16-ounce jar of peanut butter
1 bag of milk chocolate chips
1. Place candy corn in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Now heat on high for 30 seconds and stir; repeat this 4 more times until candy corn is completely melted. When melted, stir in peanut butter.
2. Line an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper and pour mixture in. Smooth and cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
3. While that is in the freezer, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Remove pan from freezer and cut into small rectangular bars. Dip each bar into melted chocolate and then place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet until set up. Store in an air-tight container.
- adapted by Stacey West-Feather, tulsaworld.com/whatscookinstacey
CHEWY BUTTERFINGER COOKIES
makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
1 large egg
8 fun-sized Butterfinger candy bars, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl and set aside. With an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in egg until just combined.
2. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in Butterfinger pieces by hand. The dough will be very thick. Drop by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool and serve.
WHITE CHOCOLATE CANDY CORN BARK
1/2 pound white chocolate, chopped
1 cup miniature pretzels
1/2 cup candy corn
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
2. Heat the chocolate in a double boiler or medium heatproof bowl set over (but not in) a saucepan of simmering water, stirring often, until melted and smooth.
3. Spread the chocolate in the prepared pan and sprinkle with the pretzels, candy corn and dried cranberries. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
4. Remove the bark from the pan and break into pieces.
DARK CHOCOLATE CANDY BARK
8 ounces dark chocolate, melted
1/3 cup chopped candy bars of your choice (I used Reese's and Three Musketeers Caramel)
1/2 cup candy corn
1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. Pour the melted chocolate in the prepared pan; tilt the pan to make sure the chocolate spreads evenly. Sprinkle pretzels and candy corn on top.
2. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, then remove from the pan and break into pieces.
CANDY BAR PUDDING
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped candy bars
Whipped cream, optional
1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt. Whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. While whisking the yolks constantly, add in about a cup of the hot milk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the pan, whisking constantly. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the pudding.
3. Refrigerate the pudding until set up, at least 2 hours. Before serving, stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chopped candy bars, then divide the pudding between 5 serving bowls. Top with the remaining candy bars. Top with whipped cream, if desired.
- adapted from All You magazine
Original Print Headline: Candy cooking
Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Chewy Butterfinger cookies sit on a bed of candy corn. CHRISTOPHER SMITH / Tulsa World
Levine
West-Feather
Candy corn bark works well with white or dark chocolate. CHRISTOPHER SMITH / Tulsa World
Minden
Jones
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