How To Make Candy Corn Actually Taste Good, And Not Like The Worst

Full disclosure: I am not a fan of candy corn. Never have been, and probably never will be. It's a conundrum really, because all things considered, these sweet little Halloween treats encompass two of my favorite things in life: corn and candy. Maybe it's a texture thing. Who knows.

Interestingly, candy corn, it seems, is really a love it or hate kind of candy: There seems to be very little in between among candy-eaters. Whatever side of the spectrum you fall on, it will always and unequivocally be considered the quintessential Halloween candy. According to CNN, candy companies produce nearly 35 million pounds of these divisive little triangles each year. That's about 9 billion individual kernels of candy corn!

So I started to do a little candy corn research to see if it was possible to switch over to the yellow, orange and white side, challenge my taste buds, and ultimately change my mind by incorporating candy corn into other sweet treats. As with most things, anything homemade tends to be done much better than the highly processed, store bought version — at least in my humble opinion. So without further candy corn ado, read on to find six unique candy corn recipes and see how you can actually make candy corn taste good this year.

Mix Them With Booze

If you're like me, you may not like candy corn, but you probably love a good boozy punch. This gorgeous creation is like Halloween in a pitcher. This recipe, aptly called Layered Candy Corn Punch comes courtesy of TheKitchn, and includes a steady mix of mango nectar, vodka, 1 (3-ounce) package lemon-flavored gelatin dessert, and coconut milk with a candy corn garnish. You can find the complete recipe here.

Put Them In Bark

This clever and very cute recipe (courtesy of My Baking Addiction) uses Oreos, pretzels, and white chocolate to make the bark — the candy corn is added as more of a decorative element. You have to admit, candy corn lover or not, this recipe is one way to sweeten the deal so to speak. Find the complete recipe for candy corn bark right here.

Candy Corn Doughnuts

OK, this one is kind of cheating since these beautiful little bundles of doughy delight are mostly "inspired" by candy corn. Nonetheless, making delicious doughnuts is a great alternative for the straight up candy corn haters out there. Complete recipe comes courtesy of the baking blog The Simple, Sweet Life.

Pop Them In A Cookie

This recipe had me at peanut butter. This recipe, courtesy of sweets and treats blogger and self-described dessert enthusiast Ashton of Something Swanky, suggests baking the cookies and pressing the candy corn into the top while they're still warm for maximum impact. "You still get candy corn in every bite without the headache or the mess," Ashton wrote in her blog post. You can find the whole recipe here from Something Swanky here.

Mix Them In Chocolate Babka

Now I'm a little biased because I'm absolutely obsessed with the blog What Jew Wanna Eat, and this pumpkin chocolate babka is no exception. For those of you who've never heard of babka, it's basically an Eastern European sweet cake, comparable to coffee cake. This cross-cultural dish is particularly clever and also very, very pretty once it's all said and done. Find this delicious babka recipe right here.

Make Them From Scratch

There's nothing like making something from scratch, and even when it doesn't turn out exactly how you hoped it would, at least you can say you tired! So I found this recipe for homemade candy corn which once again comes courtesy of TheKitchn, whose judgement and opinion in all things culinary I tend to trust. Find the recipe for this homemade treat right here.

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