[1] Fudge in an homage to candy corn. The recipe is below (photos #1 and #6 and recipe © The Pampered Chef).

[2] The fudge tastes better than actual candy corn (photo by Melanie Love | © Taste Of Home).

[3] S’mores flavor candy corn (photo © Blair Candy Store | Amazon).

[4] Caramel flavor candy corn (photo © Brach’s | Amazon).

[5] Candy corn fudge. You can make it with the recipe below, or purchase it from Z. Cioccolato (photo © Z. Cioccolato).

[6] You can also make candy corn bark (photo © Brown Eyed Baker).

[7] Calorie-free: candy corn-painted stones (photo © G. LoRusso | Pexels).

October 30th, National Candy Corn Day, is the day before Halloween. According to the National Confectioners Association, more than 20 million pounds of candy corn are sold during the Halloween season.

And some of it is made into recipes, like the Candy Corn Fudge recipe, below.

> Also below: 10 more candy corn recipes, from cocktails to cake to ice cream.

Also check out:

> How candy corn is made.

> The history of Halloween.

> The history of fudge.

> The year’s 60+ candy holidays.
 
The recipe follows, but first:
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CANDY CORN

The iconic confection was created in the late 1880s by George Roniger of the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia. The first three-layer candy, it was laboriously made by hand.

It was originally called chicken feed, after the dry corn kernels that were fed to the flocks. It was originally sold year-round. When it became a seasonal treat for Halloween has not yet been identified for certain, but research suggests it was around the middle of the 20th century [source].

Roniger failed to trademark his concept, enabling other companies to produce their own versions, following right on his tail. The Goelitz Confectionery Company (now the Jelly Belly Candy Co.), has been making candy corn since 1898.

Another top competitor these days is Brach’s, which claims to be the number-one producer, making up to 88% of the candy corn sold in the U.S. [ibid.].

Even with today’s machinery, it takes 4 to 5 days to create each piece of candy corn (here’s a video of candy corn being made).

Each kernel has 3.57 calories, and it’s all sugar (the ingredients are corn syrup, honey, sugar, and food coloring, coated with carnauba wax, which is is made from the leaves of a palm tree).

Trivia: In 2021, nine billion kernels of candy corn were produced in the U.S. That equates to 35 million pounds of candy corn!

The orange, yellow and white colors of the candy corn can actually be found in fresh corn kernels—though the colors are intensified by the candy makers.

Flavor & Color Varieties

Some companies create an “Indian corn” version, substituting brown for the yellow base color. And that’s not all.

 
So now…

Why not “fudge the rules” by turning fudge into candy corn?

This recipe is vanilla fudge, made in three layers that are the color of candy corn.

And unlike candy corn itself, this recipe (courtesy of The Pampered Chef) is not all sugar: It’s made from chocolate and sweetened condensed milk.

Don’t like fudge? Try this candy corn cocktail, or simply mix candy corn into some popcorn (almonds are optional).
 
 
RECIPE: “CANDY CORN” FUDGE

Ingredients For 72 Pieces

 
Preparation

1. MICROWAVE the chocolate and condensed milk in a 3-cup bowl, uncovered, on HIGH for 1-2 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds until melted.

2. LINE a loaf pan with waxed paper and pour in one-third of the fudge mixture, spreading evenly.

3. PLACE the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes to cool. If the fudge mixture in the prep bowl has begun to set, microwave for an additional 15 seconds.

4. DIVIDE the remaining fudge mixture into two bowls. Add yellow food coloring to one bowl and mix well. Add red food coloring to the other bowl and mix well.

5. REMOVE fudge from the freezer. Pour the orange fudge mixture over the first layer; return to the freezer for 5 minutes. Then pour the yellow fudge mixture over the first two layers and place in the freezer for about 45 minutes or until set.

6. REMOVE fudge from the pan. Cut into 4 lengthwise rows with a pizza cutter or other implement.

7. TURN rows on their sides and cut them into triangles.

8. STORE in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
 
 
MORE CANDY CORN RECIPES

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

The original oatmeal enthusiasts were the Scots, who were eating them many centuries ago when their English neighbors were only growing oats as livestock feed.

The groats—the hulled kernels of the cereal—required soaking overnight and cooking for perhaps 30 minutes, so oatmeal was not exactly a convenience breakfast. But modern processing has made it very easy for us to enjoy oatmeal in a minute—and good oatmeal in five to ten minutes.

ROLLED OATS

Rolled oats are what most Americans think of as oatmeal. Quaker Oats’ Old Fashioned Oats have been breakfast fare for generations.

To make rolled oats, the groats are flattened under giant rollers, which makes them easier to cook but removes much of the fiber-filled bran in the process.

There are different types of rolled oats:

The most familiar form of oats are rolled oats, where the groats are rolled flat. Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

Steel-cut oats, also called cut oats, Irish oats or Scottish oats, and coarse-cut oats, are groats (the whole oat kernel) that have been cut into very small pieces using steel discs. This produces a different result from rolled into flakes.

They are a far better source of fiber than rolled oats, and delightfully chewy (note: baked goods should be made with rolled oats, unless you want a chewy oat bread or muffin).

Cooking time is considerably longer than for rolled oats—30 minutes—but the cooked oatmeal has a nice texture to it—it’s more al dente than rolled oats (and our favorite).

The luxurious texture and longer cooking time imparts more flavor as well. Oatmeal imported from Ireland and Scotland, like McCann’s and Flahavan’s, tends to be steel-cut oats.

Our trick to speedier steel-cut oats: Make a double or triple batch; refrigerate the extra portions and microwave them for “one-minute steel-cut oats.”

 
The Health Benefits Of Oatmeal
 
Oatmeal Serving Suggestions

The Bar at Clement in The Peninsula New York has whipped up this beautiful cocktail for Halloween or Thanksgiving. It’s called the “Drunken Pumpkin Pie”; but since there’s no pumpkin in the recipe, you may wish to give it another name. The flavor is creamy coffee with cinnamon accents—still spot on for the season.

(Mixologists take note: If the pie has no pumpkin, you can’t call it pumpkin pie.)

More intrigue: The only way to order the cocktail is to be “in the know.” It’s a seasonal special and not on the menu. So here’s the recipe to enjoy at home, in a Martini glass or as shots:

HALLOWEEN OR THANKSGIVING COCKTAIL

Ingredients For 1 Drink

1. CRUSH graham crackers on a paper towel with a rolling pin (or use graham cracker crumbs). Mix with a few dashes of cinnamon and/or nutmeg in a shallow dish.

2. MOISTEN the rim of the the glass and twist in the crumbs to rim the glass with the cinnamon-graham cracker “crust.”

3. SHAKE cocktail ingredients with ice, and strain into glass.

Dress up your dogs in a fancy coat! To nourish the young’uns prior to trick-or-treating, or for an everyday family meal, a roll-up makes a hot dog look elegant.

A hot dog in a a standard bun may be delicious, but The Bison Council showed us true hot dog glamor, by wrapping the dog (here, a lower fat but equally delicious bison hot dog) in a refrigerated crescent roll. The result: fun food.

This bison dog is snuggled in cheesy honey-mustard blanket under its wrap. But you can fill the wrap with anything you like—corn kernels, pickles, relish, sauerkraut, whatever. Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time 12 minutes.

Find more delicious recipes at TheBisonCouncil.com.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
*You can make honey mustard by mixing honey into Dijon or other mustard, to taste (try 1 tablespoon honey to 2 tablespoons mustard). You can also make a low-glycemic version with agave or artificial sweetener.
 

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of cornmeal on a baking sheet. Unroll crescent rolls and place on top of cornmeal. Spread each crescent with 1 teaspoon of the honey mustard and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the cornmeal.

2. TOP each crescent with 1/2 slice of cheese and place a bison dog at the wide end. Roll up the crescents around the bison dogs.

3. PLACE roll-ups, seam sides down, on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle rolls with remaining cornmeal. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until crescents are golden.

4. COMBINE remaining honey mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl; serve with roll-ups. Instead of the mustard-mayonnaise dip, you can dip into ketchup, salsa or other favorite condiment.
 
MORE ABOUT BISON, THE BEST RED MEAT ON EARTH.

What should you do when you’re downsized from your job?

Enter the TV reality show, “Supermarket Superstar,” with your family recipe: a cheesecake ice cream sandwich called Smoogy.

That’s what happened to Tekisha Collins. The dream came true: she won. The prize is a distribution deal, and Smoogy cheesecake cookie ice cream sandwiches are now available at A&P, The Food Emporium, Food Basics, Pathmark, Superfresh and Waldbaums.

We’ve become extremely fond of the Chocolate Fudge Smoogy, chocolate-cheesecake ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies.

But the young brand needs more than a distribution deal: It needs good marketing consulting. Is it an ice cream sandwich, a frozen cheesecake cookie? Collins calls it “the first and only cake in a cookie that you eat frozen.”

Huh? Where’s the cake?

And what would you call a frozen cookie sandwich with a cheesecake-like filling?

Hopefully, marketing help will come—and redo the packaging and marketing materials as well. We wish Smoogy all the luck in the world.

Read the full review.