Smarties Are The Perfect Halloween Sweet Treat #IAmASmartie

One of my favorite parts of my childhood Halloween experience was racing home from trick or treating to sort out all of the Halloween candy I received. I was obsessed with finding my favorites (Smarties were at the top of the list along with chocolate). And one of my favorite parts of Halloween now are the decorations we put up each year. I absolutely love how festive and creative we get each year.

My husband is quite the Halloween decor enthusiast. Each year he purchases foam pumpkins from the store and creates a new face. And in an effort to keep up with him, I try to get creative as well in the decor inside our home.

Gluten-Free and Allergen Free
This year I headed to Target to pick up some decorating supplies and candy to pass out. Since there are so many allergies and special diets these days, we went simple. Smarties all around! And I planned on decorating with Smarties as well.

Smarties are not only gluten-free, but they also contain no peanuts and are fat free! They're the worry-free, one-size-fits-all candy this holiday and are the perfect choice for passing out. I was able to pick up a large bag of Smarties and another bag of Smarties and Dum-Dums mixed together. My daugther was absolutely elated to put these bags into the cart to take home.

Smarties Sugar Cookies {Halloween Recipe} #IAmASmartie

Pin It

I love when I can take something that I love and create something equally as great. Smarties are one of my favorite Halloween sweet treats and I love passing them out to trick-or-treaters. Not only are they gluten-free, they're free of most allergens and are low in fat as well. But in this recipe they are most definitely not gluten free. Nor are they low in fat...

By pulsing the Smarties in a food processor I created a flour and used the Smarties in a family sugar cookie recipe. I simply reduced the amount of sugar called for in the recipe and subbed the Smarties flour. The end result was fantastic! A not-too-sweet sugar cookie that was definitely flavored by the Smarties. Yum!

And perfect for any Halloween party coming up. We baked them up for our parish festival's bake sale and they were quite a hit. Three to a bag with a few Smarties thrown in. Who could resist? Here's how to make them:

Smarties Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Smarties, about 20 rolls
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 3 1/2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Unwrap the Smarties and place them in the food processor (I first tried to crush them with a rolling pin with no luck).

2. Pulse the Smarties in the food processor until ground to a fine dust. 

3. Measure out 1/2 cup of Smarties flour.

4. Cream the softened butter, sugar, and Smarties flour in a stand mixer.

5. Add in the egg, vanilla, and corn syrup. Mix well until combined.

6. Sift together the flour and salt.

7. Add the flour mixture into the bowl one cup at a time until combined.

8. Turn the dough out onto some plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

9. When the dough is done in the fridge, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the dough into strips and then into squares. Roll each square into a ball. I created 1" balls so that the cookies would be small. Feel free to increase or decrease the size of the cookie dough balls.

10. Place the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet and smash down into a flat circle with a glass cup.

11. Sprinkle with some nonpareils (optional) and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

12. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack before indulging, about 5-10 minutes.

13. Plate (or bag up) and enjoy!

This recipe makes about 70 1" diameter cookies. It can easily be doubled. You can also cut out shapes with cookie cutters by rolling the dough into a flat sheet after taking the dough out of the fridge.

Want to see what else I've done with Smarties? Check out this awesome DIY Smarties Wreath on my blog post here. 

What's your favorite sweet treat this Halloween season?

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smarties. All opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric

How to DIY a Smarties Wreath this Halloween #IAmASmartie

Pin It

When we get ready for Halloween, decorations in our home are up there with Christmas. We decorate the whole house inside and out to celebrate for the whole month of October. Many of the decorations we use can be carried into November as well with a festive Fall theme but a few we make just for Halloween!

This Smarties Wreath is just that. The perfect celebration of Halloween and the excitement that each child feels as they go from door to door saying, "Trick or Treat!" This wreath is not only festive, it's easy to make as well! You only need a few simple items to put it together and it takes less than 30 minutes to make!

As an added bonus, it only cost me $5 to make. The $1 Spot at Target has these foam wreaths and the Smarties candies are only $7.99 for a huge bag and I only needed 1/2 the bag to make the wreath. I had the ribbon on hand from the end of season sale last year. And the left over Smarties will be passed out to trick or treaters on Halloween!   

Here's how to make a Smarties Wreath

What you Need:

• 1 bag Smarties candies, in their wrapper
• 1 wreath (I found mine in the $1 Spot at Target)
• a glue gun with glue sticks
• wire ribbon

What you do:

1. Lay out your wreath and candies as your glue gun warms up (I recommend not having the younger kids help with this part of the craft due to the hot glue gun).
 

2. Start with a single row of Smarties first by making a line of hot glue on the wreath.

3. Stick the Smarties candy seam side down so that the candies are sealed shut.

4. Continue to add Smarties candies all around the wreath. Make sure to leave room in between the candies on top so that the candies form a uniform circle around the wreath template. Make sure to leave a 1" gap for the ribbon at the top of the wreath.

5. Once the first layer is done, it's time to start the second layer to fill the gaps.

 6. Add a dab of glue to the center of the gap. Then add a dab of glue to the other end of the Smarties candy on the seam side. Firmly press down so that the glue adheres to each side of the Smarties candies next to it.

7. Once the Smarties candies are adhered to the wreath, measure out some wire ribbon in a coordinating Fall color.

8. Cut the ribbon to length.

9. Take both ends of the ribbon together in your hand and fold in half lengthwise.

10. Using the scissors, cut the ribbon ends at an angle to create a v-cut.

11. Once the ends are cut it's time to tie the ribbon onto the wreath!

12. Wrap one end of the ribbon around the gap at the top of the wreath once.

13. Making sure that the ends are even in length, tie a simple knot to secure the ribbon to the wreath.

14. Hang on your door and enjoy all season long!

And remember, Smarties isn't just the perfect candy to make a cute wreath, they're also the perfect candy to hand out this Halloween! They're low fat and gluten free! Not to mention that kids love them.

Stay tuned for more Smarties fun soon!

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smarties. All opinions are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric