We can't lie -- the best part of Nov. 1 is the fact that you can get truckloads of Halloween candy for dirt cheap prices. We fully expect you to down bags and bags of it in the coming days -- and we certainly won't hold it against you! -- but make sure you get a little extra, because there is a ton of awesome baking you can do with leftover candy.
Even the duds that nobody likes, like Smarties and candy corn, lend themselves pretty well to cakes and other homemade sweet treats! So get thee to the store and make off like a bandit with as much discount candy as you can carry. We like to call this grown-up trick-or-treating.
1. Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake With M&M's
We adore the salty pretzel crust, but if you have a ton of leftover Kit Kats lying around, you can line them up vertically for a stunning (and easy) crust like this one.
2. Halloween Cake Pop Eyeballs
If you didn't get enough of Halloween spookiness, you can relive the night with these creepy eyeball cake pops, topped with your favorite chocolate candy.
3. Candy Corn Cupcakes
These adorable cupcakes are the perfect use for candy corn if you are one of those people who hates it but got a bunch of it for Halloween. If you DO like candy corn (bless you for it), feel free to garnish the crap out of your cupcakes like so.
4. Leftover Halloween Candy Cookie Bars
Cookies live their best lives when they imitate brownies! The best part of this one is that you can use pretty much any chocolaty candies that you have on hand. The sky is the limit here.
5. Sweet Tart and Pixie Sticks Cake
If you are over the age of five, there's a chance you don't quite appreciate Smarties and Pixie Sticks as much as other candies. Turn them into this stunning cake to unlock their full potential. If you really want to go over the top with these, we have a feeling that strawberry or rainbow Twizzlers would be delicious to line the crust this way, or, if you really want to get a sugar rush, sprinkle a few Nerds or Pop Rocks on top.
6. Candy Sushi
Does it get any more adorable than this? All you need is a rice crispy treat base and whatever candy tickles your fancy. Go wild!
7. Halloween Bark
Love candy corn or hate it, you might be surprised at how much you love this Halloween bark. But, of course, if you do hate it, you can throw just about anything else in the bark in its place, and it'll still be delicious.