Save Your Cash This Year With These Homemade Halloween Candies

Halloween is a little over two months away, and you know what that means. The candy’s already everywhere. Literally everywhere. In the last few weeks, all the big names have been gearing up to release, or already have released, their candies: Hershey’s, Hot Tamales and Mike & Ike, and Haribo have all been teasing and dropping their spooky sweets for all and sundry to stock up on. And look: I’m not in the habit of telling people what they should and shouldn’t buy, nor am I of the mind to tell you to penny-pinch around this time of the year. But. BUT. If you’re not careful, Halloween can be a drain on your wallet. 

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So, ever economically minded, I thought it’d be a nice moment to look at a couple of Halloween candies you can make at home this year. Save your money, get your kids involved in the kitchen, and have some good old-fashioned cooking-based FUN.

Scary Eyeballs

This first one comes courtesy of Taste of Home, and it’s a nutty candy with all the visual pizzazz you want around this time of the year. Cream butter and peanut butter in a bowl until fluffy, and then add in vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar. Shape them into balls and refrigerate, and then make a topping from white candy coating and shortening, which will give them the base color of your eyeball. Cover the candies, and then decorate with M&M’s and red gel. Guaranteed to make the little ones squeamish. 

Peppermint Patties

Okay, so peppermint patties don’t exactly scream Halloween, but they’re surprisingly easy to make at home. All you need to do is combine condensed milk, peppermint extract, and confectioners’ sugar until they make a stiff dough, and then shape it into individual patties (follow this Allrecipes recipe for the exact quantities needed). Chill, cover them in melted chocolate, and you’re good to go. If you want to spookify these even more, try adding some orange food coloring to the sugar mixture. 

Spooky Chocolate Bark

One of the best things about chocolate bark is that it can be tweaked to reflect the season you’re in, with the toppings you choose. This year, make it spooky. Pour melted dark chocolate into a flat, wide tin, and then, as per this Good Housekeeping recipe, drop blobs of melted white chocolate across it, shaping it into little ghost shapes. Add chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and mouths. Then, scatter the bark with all manner of Halloween-themed candy, to give it a haunted feel (and yes, I know you have to buy some Halloween candy to make this happen, but think of this as a way to stretch it out). 

Mummy Pretzels

Throwing it over to The Pioneer Woman for this final recipe, and this one’s a breeze. Take some pretzel sticks and half-dip them in white chocolate or white candy coating, Pocky-style, before letting them set. Then, take some chocolate or coating, and pipe a bandage-like effect on each one, before finishing them with a pair of candy eyes. Fun, cute, easy, and vaguely spooky.