Does any of
this sound familiar:
1) So,
Halloween was a week ago and despite your best efforts to control yourself
and slowly eat through your leftover candy, a lot of candy still
remains.
2) Your kids
have picked all of the fruity candies out of their Halloween candy and what is
left is pure chocolate deliciousness of which you do not want to partake.
If you have
candy still left from Halloween (or like in my case, stocked up on half priced
candy after Halloween), I have the perfect recipe for you to re-purpose the
candy into something even yummy-er than before.
This year with my “leftover” candy, I made Halloween Candy Bars. The bars are made by covering a shortbread
cookie crust with caramel (like a Twix bar without the chocolate coating) and then
pressing all different types of candy, treats, and snacks into the
caramel. There you have it. Simple, easy, but ohhhhh so good!
Do you have
any Halloween candy remaining? If so,
how do you plan to use it?
Halloween Candy Bars
from Torts to Tarts
Shortbread
Crust
This recipe
was written to fit a 15x21in pan. I had a lot of candy to use. The recipe should work by cutting it in half
and using a 9ix13in pan.
Ingredients:
4 sticks (1
pound, 16 oz) Butter, Cool-ish
1 1/2 cups
(250g) Granulated Sugar
2 cups
(240g) All-Purpose Flour
2 cups
(240g) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (optional--you can use all, all-purpose flour)
4 tsp
Vanilla Extract
Dash of Salt
Method:
Preheat oven
to 350F.
1. Cream
together butter and sugar. I suggest
using a stand mixture due to the firmness of the butter. If not using a stand mixture, let the butter
come to room temperature before creaming.
2. Add
vanilla extract.
3. Add
Flours and salt. Mix until just
combined.
4. Line
baking sheet with parchment paper, with additional paper extended over the side
like handles.
5. Poor the
crust mixture onto the baking sheet and press into an even layer using your
hands. Spray hands with non-stick spray
or use a little flour to prevent sticking.
I also used a rolling pin to help flatten and even the layer.
6. Poke the
shortbread crust all over with a fork.
7. Bake the
crust for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are deep brown and the middle is brown. Make sure to rotate the pan half way through
the baking time.
8. Allow
shortbread crust to cool completely.
Caramel
Layer
Ingredients:
3 bags
(approx. 33 oz) Kraft Caramel Bits
7-8 TBS
Heavy Whipping Cream
Method:
1. Place all
ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave
for approximately 6 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the caramel bits
are completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
Candy Layer
You can use
any type of non-fruity candies (not skittles or starburst, for example). Also, I would be leery of using peppermint
candies, as the flavor would not match well with peanut butter and to me,
peanut butter is a requirement.
The candies
and approximate quantities I used (all candies are fun sized):
6- 100 Grand
Bars
10- Almond
Snickers
20- Reese’s
Peanut Butter Cups
8-
Butterfingers
14- Kit Kats
(Orange, White Chocolate, and Regular)
2/3 bag-
Candy Corn M&Ms
12 Hershey’s
Mini Bars (Krackle, Dark, and Mr. Good Bar)
And to cut
some of the sweetness and just because I love salty sweet, I added about 2 very
full handfuls of pretzels and 2/3 cup of salted peanuts.
Chop all
ingredients, excluding M&M’s and peanuts, while the short bread is in the
oven or cooling. Mix together all candy
layer ingredients and set aside.
Assembly
1. Rub the
edges of the baking pan with butter or non-stick spray to help the caramel
release a little easier later.
2. Pour still
hot caramel over shortbread crust. Use
the spoon or spatula to spread the caramel into an even layer.
3.
Immediately, sprinkle the candy mixture over the caramel layer fully covering
it. Gently press the candy into the
caramel.
4.
Refrigerate the entire pan until the caramel and candy is completely set (about
1-2 hours). Do not leave in the fridge
too long or the M&Ms will lose their sheen.
5. Using a
sharp knife to cut into squares and enjoy.
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