Cooking with loser candy

So this year, you finally wised up. Instead of buying all your favorite candy for trick-or-treaters and then gorging yourself on it the week before Halloween, this year, you bought only gross candy so as not to tempt yourself. Problem was, the kids didn't like your candy, either, and now, almost two weeks later, you're left with a bag of it sitting on the kitchen counter that might stay there until next Halloween unless you take action.

On last week's edition of Weekend America , the Splendid Table's Lynne Rossetto Kasper gives recipes for cooking with Smarties, candy corn, and Tootsie Rolls.

While I disagree with Kasper's contention that Smarties are "loser candy" and the pseudo Pan au Chocolat made from Pillsbury Pop n' Fresh Dough and Tootsie Rolls sound absolutely disgusting, I do admire the creativity behind the piece.

Recipes from Lynne Rossetto Kasper:

Candy Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white wine
3-4 tablespoons vinegar
A few Smarties
3 lollipops
3-4 candy corns

Instructions: Heat the ingredients in a skillet until the lollipops melt. Stir and serve. Try it with fish or chicken, just don't tell your guests the ingredients.

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Pan au Chocolat
Ingredients:
Pillsbury Pop n' Fresh Dough
Tootsie Rolls
Instructions: Stuff the dough with tootsie roll. Follow baking instructions on the can of dough. Viola!

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Mini Dinosaur Eggs
Ingredients:
Goat cheese
Candy corn
Jolly Ranchers and/or lollipops
Instructions: Form jawbreaker-sized chunks of goat cheese packed around candy corn. Crush the Jolly Ranchers or lollipops (if you want to take out some frustration, Lynne suggests using the back of a frying pan to do the crushing). Roll The cheese covered candy corn in the hard candy sprinkles.