Candy canes might go out of season, but peppermint never does! And since candy canes are red and white they are perfect for creating Valentine’s treats. So if you have some leftover candy canes lurking in your pantry, grab them and make a quick and easy peppermint treat.
You can use leftover candy canes any time of year to create delicious treats, but if you run out of candy canes and want to make one of the below recipes, you can use peppermint sticks or other hard peppermint candies.
As with the candy canes, place them in a large reclosable plastic bag, remove the excess air, seal, and then roll a rolling pin over the candy to crush it. Below are a few ways you can use up your leftover candy canes to create tasty treats.
10 Leftover Candy Cane Recipes
Easy Peppermint Bark – Place the pieces in a heart shaped tin and give to your sweetheart.
Candy Cane Hot Cocoa – Use candy canes to make this delicious peppermint hot chocolate.
Peppermint Bark Popcorn – A delicious twist on chocolate covered popcorn!
Chocolate Candy Cane Pretzels – These would be lovely as a Valentine Gift!
Peppermint Bark Chex Party Mix – Take Muddy Buddies to a whole new level!
Peppermint Divinity – Create a flavorful divinity by adding crushed candy canes.
Peppermint Cookies – Add crushed candy canes directly to the cookie batter.
Chocolate Candy Cookies – Make these in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s Day and use candy canes instead of peppermint candy.
Candy Cane Cake – Cover entire cake or place a heart shaped cookie cutter on the top of a cake and place crushed candy canes inside the cookie cutter. Remove the cookie cutter and you have a lovely crushed candy cane heart.
Use Candy Canes as Cough Drops – Hard candy is quite effective as a cough drop and tastes much better!
How do you use up your leftover candy canes?
Maggie says
Great ideas! Got a batch sitting right here, ready to use.
Kitchen Belleicious says
and now i need to get in the kitchen with my candy canes! What should i make first? Hummm? Awesome post
Jenny says
My personal favorite use is Peppermint Ice Cream from the Joy of Cooking Book.
Soak Candy Canes in some milk/cream, with a pinch of salt overnight. (They mostly dissolve away.) Put it in your ice cream maker, stir until frozen and serve!
Alea says
That sounds really good! Thanks for sharing the idea!
Audrey says
We ended up making cookies with the crushed candy canes. I love all of your ideas.
Alea says
Your cookies look delicious! I added them to the list in the post above.
Sarah @ Spoon Fed Baby says
I like the candy cane cake idea! Very clever.