Homemade Halloween Candy Bars? Yes, Please!
Have you ever wanted to make your own Halloween candy? ICE Pastry Lead Instructor Jürgen David, shares two candy bar recipes that put the "trick" in your Halloween treats.
Full stop: candy is delicious (and whether bite-sized or king-sized, Halloween gives us an excuse to load up on all of our favorites). Many of these are, of course, store-bought.
But believe it or not, making a homemade version of them is surprisingly simple — and fun.
That's because you can customize them to your liking. Swap out and add in unique flavor components. Add sprinkles and colorful toppings. Increase or decrease their sweetness. The options for personalization are unlimited.
Chef Jürgen took some inspiration from several beloved candy combinations, pairing both dark chocolate and coconut and classic PB&J.
“These candy bars are made with things you likely already have in your pantry,” he says.
Indeed, the recipes below include milk chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, two types of cereal, marshmallow fluff, coconut and apple jelly.
Don’t have apple jelly? Not to worry, Chef Jürgen encourages you to swap it with whatever you have on hand: “Grape, raspberry and strawberry work just as well.”
Meet Chef Jürgen
Both bars feature a base consisting of crunchy cornflakes or crispy rice puffs with chocolate; both and are topped with substantial fillings; and both are covered with a chocolatey outer shell.
Simply set and forget, as the saying goes. Then serve them as is or cut it into bite-size pieces. It doesn't get much easier than that.
“I loved the Junior Schokolade candy bar growing up,” says Chef Jürgen, who grew up in Vienna, Austria, where the white chocolate and rice cereal bar that featured a cartoon Brontosaurus on its wrapper was prolific.
“The dinosaur sold me," he says.
Whichever recipe you choose, the end result is sure to delight (and you can swap the double-boiler for the microwave should you have time constraints).
P.S. If you're looking for something to make with your kids, check out our no-bake Halloween treats too!
Ingredients
- 120 grams white chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 60 grams crispy rice cereal, crushed or blitzed in a food processor
- 150 grams smooth peanut butter
- 75 grams confectioners’ sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 100 grams apple jelly
- 300 grams milk chocolate, for glazing
- Halloween sprinkles
Directions
- Heat white chocolate in a medium mixing bowl over double boiler until just melted.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in ground cinnamon and crushed cereal.
- Pour mixture on parchment paper, cover with parchment paper and roll to a thickness of ¼-inch and about 5x6 inches in size. Transfer to a sheet pan and allow to firm up 5-10 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife, carefully cut into six 1-inch strips. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt with a rubber spatula. The mixture will be firm.
- Place peanut butter mixture into piping bag fitted with medium plain tip (#4 or #5). Pipe two logs on each crispy chocolate strip, leaving some space in the middle.
- Using a second piping bag fitted with a small plain tip (#3), pipe apple jelly into middle of peanut butter mixture.
- Temper milk chocolate, place in piping bag, and pipe onto one bar at a time.
- Top bars with Halloween sprinkles before milk chocolate hardens.
- If desired, cut bars into 3 or 4 pieces once set.
Dark Chocolate, Coconut and Almond Bars
Makes 6 1-inch by 6-inch bars
Ingredients
- 120 grams dark chocolate
- 60 grams corn flakes cereal, crushed
- Pinch of salt
- 100 grams dark chocolate, melted100 grams heavy cream
- 100 grams dark chocolate (bittersweet, 74%)
- 150 grams marshmallow fluff
- 150 grams desiccated coconut
- 75 grams Coco Lopez cream of coconut
- 1/2 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted (about 36 pieces)
- 300 grams dark chocolate, for glazing
- Marzipan skeleton pieces
- Halloween sprinkles
Directions
- Heat 120 grams dark chocolate in a medium mixing bowl over double boiler until just melted.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in salt and crushed cornflakes.
- Pour mixture onto parchment paper, cover with parchment paper and roll to a thickness of ¼-inch and about 5x6 inches in size. Transfer to a sheet pan and allow to firm up 5-10 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife, carefully cut into six 1-inch strips. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl over double boiler, melt 100 grams dark chocolate.
- Heat 100 grams heavy cream. Pour over 100 grams dark chocolate. Let rest 1 minute.
- With a small whisk, make small, concentric circles until emulsified, smooth and shiny. Let cool at room temperature until ready to pipe.
- In a medium bowl, mix marshmallow fluff, desiccated coconut and cream of coconut until smooth.
- Place coconut mixture into piping bag fitted with medium plain tip (#4 or #5). Pipe two logs on each crispy chocolate strip, leaving some space in the middle.
- Using a second piping bag fitted with a small plain tip (#3), pipe chocolate ganache into middle of coconut mixture.
- Place and line whole almonds in a line in the center of each bar.
- Temper dark chocolate, place in piping bag, then pipe over one bar at a time.
- Top bars with marzipan skeleton pieces and Halloween sprinkles before dark chocolate hardens.
- If desired, cut bars into 3 or 4 pieces once set.
