What to Do With All That Candy Corn

It’s funny how candy corn is Halloween’s number one bestselling candy, yet so many profess to hate the stuff. Almost 35 million pounds of it will be made this year, and it’s going to have to go down someone’s gullet.

And now that it’s coming in even more flavors than ever—from caramel apple to s’mores—at least the taste we have all come to associate with the candy now comes in different flavors. Still, if you absolutely hate it—and have no one to give it to or trade it with—what do you do with it?

You can toss it, of course, but that’s wasteful. You could use it to fill in driveway holes, but that might get sticky. Instead, maybe you’d like to use one of these ideas.

• Make a Thanksgiving cottage. You’ve probably made a Christmas gingerbread house at some point or another in your life; why not do the same for Thanksgiving? Just add a bit of food coloring to white icing—the fall colors are out right now—and use candy corn instead of gum drops. Boom, you’ve got a total pilgrim pad to play with.
• Take it to a hospital, hospice, or nursing center. I don’t know why, but most of the elderly people I know just love candy corn. My grandmother used to even buy some for herself every year. Maybe they’ll exchange some amusing tales about their own youthful Halloweens for you for the treat. I wonder how many of them flung flour in the face of a neighbor while shrieking, “I hate you Mr. Brockhoff!”
• Use it as a Thanksgiving centerpiece. Fill a candy dish with it (who knows? Maybe it will get eaten!), or use it in the bottom of flower arrangement vases for a festive look.
• Use it for a pasting collage. Let your young children glue it onto pictures—either for the season or just for a little fun eye-hand coordination activity.
• Mix it in with your favorite jelly beans. When you taste one, it’ll be like eating a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. Or toss it in with trail mix or popcorn; add it to some Chex mix at your Halloween party, or top an ice cream sundae with it for your kids.
• Use it to make a Halloween drink.
• Garnish dishes with it on the side. Decorate a cake with it. At least it’ll look cute.