5 Recipes for Using up Leftover Candy Canes

Image Credit: Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking

‘Tis the season for candies and sweets, and one of the most prominent this time of year is candy canes. Though peppermint is the traditional flavor, these days candy canes come in almost every flavor imaginable. But what about leftover candy canes? If left too long they can get sticky and melt, but throwing them out seems wasteful. Thankfully, there are lots of recipes, tips, and tricks to help use up candy canes before they go bad.

Candy Cane Fudge {via Taste of Home}

Who doesn’t love fudge? This recipe has a little something for everyone. There’s chocolate, white chocolate, and candy canes. What’s not to love? It is also a fairly simple fudge recipe to put together as most of the ingredients get melted together in the microwave. It doesn’t take a long time to set either as two hours in the refrigerator should be enough for it to get firm enough for serving. This is a pretty easy fudge recipe that will use up a lot of leftover candy canes. Sounds like a win-win to me!

White Chocolate & Peppermint Chocolate Bar {via Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking}

For anyone who loves chocolate bars or wants an excuse to use a chocolate bar mold, this recipe is easy and tasty. The most difficult part of this recipe is melting the chocolate, but you can do that easily in the microwave or over a double boiler. The rest is just crushing up candy canes and graham crackers and mixing the them all together. This quick and easy recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover ingredients and turn them into something delicious.

Image Credit: The Little Epicurean

Peppermint Ice Cream {via The Little Epicurean}

Though it might be cold outside, ice cream is still one of the best treats no matter the time of year. Though homemade ice creams can be tricky, this one is worth trying out. The ice cream base is a traditional vanilla recipe with the candy canes being added during the churning process. While this makes for a more subtle peppermint flavor, you could always add peppermint extract to the base to make the flavor stronger. The recipe also gives directions for making chocolate dipped waffle cones with more crushed candy canes, which is definitely worth checking out too.

Peppermint Bark {via Sally’s Baking Addiction}

Peppermint bark is pretty much a staple of the holidays these days. Though it seems intimidating, this recipe gives fairly simple and straightforward directions for making the beloved treat. There aren’t many ingredients, and like some of the other recipes here, the chocolate can easily be melted in the microwave. Having to refrigerate all the layers to get them to set can take some time, but with a little patience, you can easily make delicious peppermint bark and use up lots of candy canes in the process.

Image Credit: Playin’ With My Food

Candy Cane Marshmallows {via Playin’ With My Food}

Homemade marshmallows are always a fun thing to try to make around the holidays, and dipping them in crushed candy canes afterwards only makes them better. Peppermint and hot cocoa are a great combination this time of year, and adding candy cane marshmallows to the mix only elevates the fun and flavor. Though homemade marshmallows can be difficult and take time, they are definitely worth it. Plus any leftover candy canes can be used as stir sticks in hot chocolate!

Of course there are plenty of uses for candy canes during the holiday season. While eating them is the best use, they can also be used as garnishes, giveaways, or decorations (mini candy canes are perfect for decorating gingerbread houses). But once the holidays are over, candy canes become harder to find in stores. These recipes are a good way to get rid of your personal leftovers, but they might make you want to start using candy canes all year round. It might be a good idea to stock up while you still can.

What are some of your favorite recipes using candy canes? Let us know in the comments below!