Recipes for Creative Candy Creations

Having trouble getting through the bundles of Halloween goodies the kids brought home? Whip extra candy bars into delicious, chewy cookies and spread spare York peppermint patties into brownies.

Start to finish: 30 minutes (15 minutes active)

Makes 24 to 36 cookies (depending on size)

10 1/4-ounce bag (about 16 bars) mini candy bars (such as Snickers)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and coat the paper with cooking spray.

Place the unwrapped bars in a food processor and pulse until they are well chopped. Set aside.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, using an electric mixer to beat the butter and both sugars until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until well combined.

Add the flour mixture in two batches, mixing between additions. Mix in the chopped candy bars.

Use spoons or an ice cream scoop to drop rounded 1- or 2-tablespoon balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just lightly browned at the edges.

Let the cookies cool on the pans 4 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Depending on the type of candy bars used, the cookies can be very sticky while warm. You may need to clean the spatula between cookies.

(Recipe adapted from Taste of Home magazine's "The Taste of Home Baking Book," Taste of Home Books, 2007, $29.95)

Start to finish: 1 hour (20 minutes active)

Servings: 16

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

13-ounce package York peppermint patties (about two dozen 0.6-ounce mini patties)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a second large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Arrange the unwrapped peppermint patties in a single layer over the batter. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the patties.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. The top will appear uneven.

Cool completely on a wire rack in the pan, then cut into bars.

(Recipe adapted from Taste of Home magazine's "The Taste of Home Baking Book," Taste of Home Books, 2007, $29.95)