The "After Math"

Yes, Halloween is followed by the 'Candy After Math!' For kids, it's exciting; counting the candy, sorting the candy, planning on how to eat as much as possible.....For parents, it's a time to plot; how to get rid of some of the candy and not let them digest it all in one full swoop.

Many of my friends were more creative than I with Goblins & Witch Fairies visiting the night of Halloween to take some of the candy leaving behind a non-edible replacement as a thank you.  In my kitchen, we decided to bake it up so that most of it was used up and it didn't linger.  Here was what came out of my motherly plotting;

Junk Bar Madness

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Chocolate candies from the Halloween Stash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by having your children select a variety of chocolate/chocolate coated candies from their Halloween Stash.  Chop them into small pieces.  If you have an enclosed chopper it's a fun project for a child to do.  Otherwise you might have to take over the sharp knife with little fingers & let them do the measuring.  Continue the process until you have 2 cups of chopped candy.  Set the chopped candy aside.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients into a bowl.  Stir in the chocolate candies.  Pour the batter into a 13 x 9 pan, preferably glass.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown and you can insert a knife without dough sticking to it.

Enjoy the Junk Bar Madness and share it with others if you still don't want to eat it all!