10 homemade Halloween treat recipes for kids of all ages - Los Angeles Times
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10 homemade Halloween treat recipes for kids of all ages

Homemade "Payday," left, and "Butterfinger" bars splayed out on an orange and black checkered table.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

There’s no trick to making your own homemade Halloween treats — chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, marshmallow ghosts, even candy corn.

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Witches on broomsticks, jack-o’-lanterns and black cats are iconic Halloween symbols, but let’s be honest. Halloween is primarily an excuse to collect and indulge in copious amounts of candy and other sweet treats.

They’ve filled trick-or-treat bags for generations. Look past the wrappers, the corn syrup and the nostalgia and you’ll see that with a little know-how and a good recipe, you can replicate many of these confections in your own kitchen. These riffs on popular candy bars and Halloween classics are fun, easy projects to take on and enjoy with kids of all ages.

Re-create these candy bar classics at home: Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, Homemade Butterfinger Bites, Shortbread Bars With Dark Caramel And Chocolate (compare to Twix), Coconut Bars With Almonds And Dark Chocolate (like Mounds and Almond Joy) or Homemade PayDay Bars.

Homemade PayDay Bars

Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Makes about 6 dozen pieces
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Shortbread Bars with Dark Caramel and Chocolate

Time 2 hours
Yields Makes about 5 dozen (3 1/2-inch) bars

Homemade Butterfinger Bites

Time 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 5 hours resting
Yields Makes 4 to 5 dozen pieces

Coconut Bars with Almonds and Dark Chocolate

Time 1 hour
Yields Makes about 4 dozen (2 1/2- by 2-inch) bars
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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Time 1 hour
Yields Makes about 4 ½ dozen miniature peanut butter cups

Other Halloween essentials include Candy Corn (homemade has to be better), Marshmallow Ghosts (think Peeps for Halloween) and Ghoulish Gummies. Of course, Candy Apples are a Halloween must.

Candy Corn

Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Makes 12 to 15 dozen candies, depending on size

Marshmallow Ghosts

Time 1 hour
Yields Makes about 3 dozen candies, depending on size
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Ghoulish Gummies

Time 45 minutes
Yields Makes about 3 dozen candies, depending on size.

Candy Apples

Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 6 to 12 candied apples, depending on size

Finally, these No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars, a simple riff on Rice Krispy Treats, include the necessary components of Halloween candy. Note that it doesn’t have to be Halloween to make and enjoy them.

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No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes 16 to 20 bars