Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Stephanie Williams Dean

Bless Your Spoon

 

Who remembers sorting out their bag of candy following a night of trick or treating – and putting all the candy bars in one pile? Or sorting through your kid’s candies in search of the premium chocolate – those fun-sized, cocoa covered, nut, and nougat bars were always my favorites. I counted mine.

Classic Halloween treats have inspired these mouth-watering desserts. In making a recipe your version, try substituting one candy bar for another, using dark chocolate instead of milk, or trying a different nut. I’ve even included a cake inspired by the orange slice.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE & HERSHEY ICING

3 beaten eggs

½ cup water

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 box German Chocolate cake mix

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add water, vegetable oil, cream, and extract. Mix well. Add cake mix and mix until blended. Pour into two 9-inch greased and floured cake pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Hershey Bar Icing

3 melted Hershey bars with almonds

1/3 cup granulated sugar

8 oz. softened cream cheese

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

12 oz. Cool Whip

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Bake cake mix according to directions on the box. Bake in 2-3 layers as directed. Allow to cool before icing.  In a mixer, blend melted Hershey bars with almonds, sugar, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, Cool Whip, and extract.

BABY RUTH COOKIES

1 beaten egg

1 stick softened, salted butter

¾ cup sugar

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped Baby Ruth candy bars

In a mixer, beat the egg. Add butter and sugar, and mix well. Add flour, baking soda and salt, and mix well. Stir in vanilla and candy bars, and mix until well blended. Chill for 30 minutes. Drop dough by ½ spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until done. Remove and cool on wire rack. You can try using different nougat/nut candy bars.

MILKY WAY POKED CAKE

1 box plain chocolate cake mix (no pudding)

Nougat filling

¼ cup salted butter

1 cup sugar

¼ cup evaporated milk

1 ½ cups marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

12 oz. jar caramel topping

8 oz. thawed Cool Whip

3 regular size Milky Way candy bars, chopped

Prepare and bake cake mix according to box directions for a 9 x 13 baking pan. Cool. For nougat topping, melt butter in a saucepan. Add sugar and evaporated milk. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil while stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add in marshmallow cream and vanilla, and stir until smooth. Poke 10-15 holes in cooled cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Evenly pour and distribute marshmallow mixture into holes. Then pour and evenly distribute the caramel topping into the holes. When cooled, spread Cool Whip evenly over top of the cake. Sprinkle with chopped Milky Way bars over the top of the Cool Whip. Store in the refrigerator.

MILK CHOCOLATE HERSHEY BAR CAKE

4 large eggs

2 sticks softened, salted butter

2 cups sugar

8 oz. softened, plain, milk chocolate bar

3/4 cup canned chocolate syrup

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

½ tsp. soda

1 cup pecans

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add softened butter and sugar.  In a saucepan, melt chocolate syrup, and a chocolate bar. Cool.  Add chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Add flour alternating with buttermilk, and mix well.  Fold in pecans and vanilla.

Pour batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 1 ½ hours or until cake is done. Keep warm in a cake pan until ready to ice. Before icing, turn warm cake out on a plate.

Chocolate Icing

1 stick butter

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate bits

1 cup chopped pecans

In a saucepan, bring the butter, sugar, and milk to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat and add chocolate bits. Stir until melted and smooth. Add nuts. Put frosting on warm cake If icing runs off, spoon it back over.

SNICKER’S CAKE BARS

2 beaten eggs

1 stick melted butter

½ cup light brown sugar

1 pkg. plain yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped Snicker’s bars

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add melted butter and brown sugar, and mix well. Add cake mix and beat until well blended. Fold in candy bar pieces until evenly distributed. Bake in an ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan in a 350-degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until done.

MILKY WAY CUPCAKES

3 large beaten eggs

1 cup Crisco shortening

2 cups sugar

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ cups buttermilk

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

9 fun size (or 21 mini) Milky Way bars

½ cup butter

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar and shortening and mix well. Add flour and salt alternately with buttermilk and mix well. In a saucepan, melt candy bars and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool. Add candy bar mixture and vanilla and mix well. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 18 minutes or until done. Remove cupcakes and cool. Spread with icing. Garnish with chopped candies and candy corn.

Chocolate Marshmallow Icing

3 cups chopped miniature marshmallows

¾ cup chopped salted butter

¾ cup evaporated milk

6 oz. chopped unsweetened chocolate

6 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan, melt marshmallows, butter, milk, and chocolate on low heat while stirring for 5 minutes or until smooth. In a mixer, add chocolate mixture and allow it to cool. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and spreadable. Stir in vanilla.

REESE’S CUP ICE CREAM PIE

1 (1.75-quart) vanilla ice cream with peanut butter/fudge swirl

1/3 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

6 oz. ready-made chocolate crumb piecrust

6 (0.6oz) peanut butter cup candies, halved

Chocolate/peanut butter shell coating

Allow ice cream to stand 20 minutes and soften. Spread peanut butter over chocolate crust, and freeze for 10 minutes. Spread softened ice cream over peanut butter. Arrange peanut butter candies, cut side down, around edges of the crust. Drizzle with chocolate shell coating. Freeze 2 hours. Cut with a warm knife. Can use Mayfield’s Moose Tracks or any kind of ice cream.

ORANGE SLICE CAKE

4 beaten eggs

1 cup softened, salted butter

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

½ cup buttermilk

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 pound pitted dates

2 cups chopped nuts

1 pound orange slice candy

1 can coconut

2 cups orange juice

2 cups confectioners sugar

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar and butter, and mix well. In a bowl, dissolve baking soda in the buttermilk.  In another bowl, add flour, dates, nuts, orange candy, and coconut and mix well. Add the candy mixture and buttermilk mixture to the egg mixture. Blend until a stiff dough is formed. Spoon into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake in a 250-degree oven for 2 ½ hours. For the icing, stir together orange juice and confectioners sugar. Pour over hot cake in the pan. Cover and set aside overnight before removing the cake from pan.

MILKY WAY LAYER CAKE

4 beaten eggs

½ cup softened, salted butter

2 cups sugar

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ¼ cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

8 (2 oz.) Milky Way candy bars

½ cup salted butter

In a mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar, butter, and mix well. Add flour and baking soda while alternating with buttermilk and mix well. Add vanilla and mix well. Fold in chopped pecans. In a saucepan, melt candy bars and ½ cup butter on low heat until smooth. When cool, add to flour mixture and mix well.  Bake in three, 8-inch, greased and floured cake pans in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until layers are done.

Marshmallow Crème Chocolate Icing

2 ½ cups sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 cup marshmallow crème

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

½ cup salted butter

In a saucepan, combine sugar and milk and mix well. Cook until 240-degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. In a mixer, pour the sugar/milk mixture. Then add marshmallow crème, chocolate chips, and butter, and beat until smooth. Cool. Spread between layers, over top and sides of the cake.

JUNIOR MINT SNOWBALLS

18 oz. Oreo sandwich cookies

8 oz. softened cream cheese

12.5 oz.  Junior Mint candies

2-12 oz. pkgs. semisweet chocolate morsels

1 Tbsp. shortening

In a food processor, pulse the cookies until of crumb consistency. Cut cream cheese into smaller pieces. Add 1 piece at a time and process after each addition. Roll cream cheese mixture into 1-inch balls. Push 1 mint into the center of each ball. Roll each ball smooth. In a saucepan, melt chocolate morsels and shortening until smooth. Dip balls in melted chocolate mixture, and place on wax paper to harden. Store in refrigerator.

JUST LIKE MOUNDS SHEET CAKE

1 box plain devil’s food cake mix

Icing

1 cups sugar,

24 large marshmallows

1 cup milk

1 14 oz. pkg. shredded coconut

1 stick softened, salted butter

1 cup sugar

½ cup milk

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

8 almonds

Mix and bake cake according to pkg. directions for a 9 x 13 cake. For the icing, in a saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, marshmallows, and 1 cup milk, and cook over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Stir in coconut and spread on warm cake. Save some coconut for garnish. In a saucepan, combine butter, 1 cup sugar, and ½ cup milk and bring to a boil. Stir in chocolate chips until melted. Spread on top of the cake that was spread with coconut. Garnish with extra coconut and almonds.