Homemade Halloween Treats

Many of us love Halloween candy and would have no problem plowing through a one pound bag in a single sitting. The store bought treats are great, but there are Halloween treats you can make yourself. Homemade things often taste better and may not be as bad for you.

Candied apples are a fall classic and easy to make, too. Mix sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, and water, then heat to a high temp and add food coloring. Then just dip your apples in the mixture. Chopped peanuts are an optional final ingredient. These are fun Halloween treats for yourself, or to hand out to neighbors and/or coworkers.

Fruit roll ups are Halloween treats that only taste like candy. The homemade variety can be more nutritious than store bought, because you control the amount of sweetener and will likely not be adding preservatives. Essentially you simply puree fruit, add sweetener if desired, pour into a baking sheet, and bake.

Taffy is another homemade Halloween treat that kids can help with. Adults should do the baking, but once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, let the kids wear themselves out pulling it. Taffy also requires surprisingly few ingredients.

Rock candy isn't always easy to find in stores, and once you find it, it can be expensive. Fortunately, it is easy to make as a Halloween treat. Content producer Angie Shiflett has a great article that explains how to make rock candy. She also explains how the process of making rock candy can be educational.

You could also try fruit jelly chews, fudge, or peppermint patties. These treats aren't labor intensive. The treats may not be easy for everyone to find in stores, so if you share these treats with everyone, you'll probably be giving them a unique gift.

If all else fails, turn to the holiday classic: sugar cookies. They are easy and fun to make, can be done for any holiday, and kids have fun decorating them. If you can't find Halloween cookie cutters, you could cut out shapes free hand with a butter knife.

These treats are fun to make for Halloween, and could be done for other holidays as well. Kids can help with most of these, at least in part. Full recipes of some items can be found at the sites below. Decorating your own bags or wrapping paper to use when giving these treats to others is another fun touch.

Sources:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/miscellaneousrecipes/r/blmisc11.htm
http://www.easyfunschool.com/article1091.html
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes
http://homecooking.about.com/b/a/038616.htm