Top 5 things to do with leftover Halloween candy

The 2013 Trick-or-Treat season has come to a close, and in all likelihood, your household has leftover Halloween candy — perhaps quite a BIT of leftover Halloween candy. What to do with it? Here are a few ideas:

• Send it to our troops: Check with organizations such as Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox for how to donate leftover candy to members of the military.

• Bake with it: Recipes using Halloween candy as an ingredient in cakes, cupcakes, brownies and other treats abound. The BettyCrocker.com web site has an entire slide show titled Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes.

• Freeze it: Most candy, especially chocolate-based candy, freezes pretty well. Drop the mini-bars into zip-type bags for some additional protection.

• Donate it: Check with your local nursing homes or women’s shelters or food banks or the local Ronald McDonald House for donation possibilities.

• Use it for other purposes: Colorful hard and gummy candies can be used to make candy necklaces; gumdrops and Life Savers can be used when making a garland for your Christmas tree.

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