Holiday Planning & Ideas Halloween Halloween Recipes Halloween Treats & Desserts Use Up Your Leftover Halloween Candy in These Sweet and Spooky Recipes By Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan Kelly is a former associate digital food editor for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on September 22, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos jenifoto/Getty Images No matter how you celebrate Halloween this year—in person, by handing out candy to dozens of trick-or-treaters, or virtually, with online gatherings and mailed treats—there's always going to be some Halloween candy leftover. Rather than forgetting about it in a cupboard, try giving your leftover candy a new life with one of these creative and delicious recipes. Start with our kid-friendly Mini Triple-Treat Cupcakes. Mini peanut butter cups and candy corn are hidden in the center of peanut butter cupcake batter, and the resulting surprise is a bite-sized treat that the whole family will enjoy. Another recipe that your kids can actually help create are our Crispy Cereal Treats. Inspired by classic Rice Krispies treats, little ones can mix in their leftover chopped chocolate bars, nuts, or any other sweets they have left from Halloween. Add chopped graham crackers and chocolate for a s'mores-inspired treat. Looking for a classic? Everyone's favorite Halloween candy—M&Ms—are used in these Chewy Caramel Mystery Cookies. Their chocolate crunch and colorful exterior make these cookies popular long after Halloween, too. Of course, it's not Halloween without candy corn and inevitably, there's always lots leftover. Make use of the quintessential white, orange, and yellow candy in our Candy-Corn Sugar Cookies. The festive confection also dresses up regular sugar cookies for a seasonal spin. These Halloween-inspired desserts are so enticing that you'll want to bake them all throughout November (and you may just want to stock up on a few extra bags of fun-sized candy bars in order to try your hand at the recipes here). 01 of 12 Mini Triple-Treat Cupcakes Candy corn is the quintessential Halloween treat, so why not make the holiday last a little longer (and use up your stash) by making these mini cupcakes? Peanut butter cupcakes are topped with chocolate peanut butter cups, then baked for a spooky good dessert. View Recipe 02 of 12 Crispy Cereal Treats Kirsten Francis No tricks here! If you have leftover white or dark chocolate bars, chop them up and mix them with the rice cereal for Berries-and-Cream or Cocoa Nutty varieties. View Recipe 03 of 12 Easy Fudge Bites Alpha Smoot Leftover Halloween chocolate can be used in these devilishly decadent fudge bites made with unsalted butter, mini marshmallows, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Roll them in whatever toppings you have; it's an opportunity to use up treats like chopped candy pieces, chopped peanuts, or a dusting of cocoa powder. View Recipe 04 of 12 Jack-o'-Lantern Faces Aaron Dyer How adorable are these festive cookies inspired by Halloween jack-o'-lanterns? Use leftover butterscotch candies for the filling. View Recipe 05 of 12 Chewy Caramel Mystery Cookies A trio of leftover Halloween candies—caramels, chopped miniature candy bars, and coated chocolate candies such as M&Ms—can be used in these soft and chewy cookies. View Recipe 06 of 12 Candy-Corn Sugar Cookies Give classic sugar cookies a startling sweet twist by pressing a single candy corn into the center of each cookie. This recipe comes together oh so fast—in just over 30 minutes, you can dig in! View Recipe 07 of 12 Shortbread Candy Bars Do you have several varieties of Halloween candy leftover? Top shortbread bars with melted chocolate then a sprinkling of other sweet treats. We used chopped peanut butter cups and assorted chocolate candies—we dare you to try other combinations. View Recipe 08 of 12 Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies Chocolate and peanut butter is an irresistible duo. If you have too many miniature peanut butter cups after Halloween, then use some to upgrade peanut butter cookies—a single mini PB cup is pressed in the center of each ball of dough before baking. View Recipe 09 of 12 Chocolate-Spot Cookies David Prince Who wouldn't want to take a bite of these scary good chocolate cookies? Black and orange coated candies are folded into the dough for a spine-tingling crunch. View Recipe 10 of 12 Wicked Witch Cupcakes GENTL & HYERS Something wicked this way comes! Halloween cupcakes are decorated with sugar cones, black licorice laces, candy corn, and mini M&Ms (a great way to use up leftover candy from trick-or-treating!) for a bewitching dessert. View Recipe 11 of 12 Invisible Pops Sang An Now you see me, now you don't—clear lollipops made with corn syrup and sugar are adorned with a variety of candies and seeds, such as candy corn, pumpkin seeds, or chopped licorice. View Recipe 12 of 12 Spider Cupcakes Sang An These creepy crawlers may send a shiver up your spine, but we promise they're sweet as can be. Black sanding sugar, cinnamon candies, mini marshmallows, and black licorice are used for decorating. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit