“Candy is nature’s way for making up for Monday’s.”
Photo via onecharmingparty.com
Halloween is nearly upon us and that means we’re getting closer to one of my favorite parts of the holiday: CANDY!
I like to start the month of October off with a candy expedition to “taste test” the best treats out there. This usually devolves into a chocolate eating binge, but we can’t have kids eating candy that isn’t delicious on Halloween now, can we? It’s all in the name of research. It’s scientific. Therefore, I take my duties seriously.
First off, I did an informal survey of some school children on their candy preferences and, most of them told me they preferred almost any candy, but they had a few specific favorites.
Treats that got a toothless grin and a big thumbs up included bubblegum filled lollipops, mini chocolate candy bars, caramel apples, (well, the big ones if you’re handing them out) popcorn balls, sugar cookies and Halloween themed treats like gummy worms or chocolate eyeballs.
Candy that didn’t fare as well included things like hard tack candy, “Dots”, and although they love to use it on people as a prank, most of them didn’t like to eat those super spicy or sour candies that cause a tastebud apocalypse. 
Since I’m a firm believer in enjoying things…bit of a hedonist, I guess, and I enjoy making others feel special, too. So, I like to go to the extra effort to make my Halloween treats special for those trick-or-treaters. If you’re a young parent, you’re likely so busy making treats for the class party or finding that perfectly inspired candy costume, that you probably don’t have much time to make homemade treats. No worries! Those kids are perfectly content with store-bought Halloween goodies. I’m an emptynester, so I can easily waste an afternoon devising delicious yummies.
My favorite treat to make for my grandkids is Halloween cupcakes, since they are so versatile. You can take a cupcake and with a little creativity, turn it into Frankenstien, a witch, black cat, owl, vampire, or whatever your little heart desires. The following cupcake images I found around the web, and they are pinned to my Pinterest Halloween Treats board, so you can head there if you’d like the original recipes. At the end of the day on Halloween, if you haven’t gotten too much of a sugar high already, my personal favorite Halloween goodie is still a classic…a steaming mug of hot spiced cider and a warm doughnut. Even so, I think I always want candy. 
