Candy Dish Blog

That’s technically what we call them here. Candy-coated chocolates. M&Ms, of course, is a specific brand name. Whether you buy those or Nestle Smarties or any of the other brands I cannot conjure up in my head right now, you have to admit that they are more than just candy. Their form factor - the small, hard candy shell - allows the to also be toys, game pieces, craft supplies and so much more.

Inspired by Cybele for her list of how candy canes can be used, I have come up with a list of how M&Ms candy-coated chocolates can be used, other than the obvious, traditional, eating handfuls at a time usage.

Use them:

1. In recipes instead of chocolate chips
2. As markers and placeholders for board games
3. For tic-tac-toe. Who needs that silly pencil and paper? This is the 21st century, for crying out loud!
4. As rewards for children doing their chores
5. To sweeten your coffee or tea, instead of sugar
6. As decoration for a gingerbread house
7. For your studying system, as Elena did on the TV show Felicity, season 1, episode 10
8. As decoration, making a wreath like this using other candies as well
9. To rim the glass for a chocolate martini by crushing them in a food processor and dipping the glass in the fine powder
10. To decorate a cake
11. To make trail mix by mixing them with raisins, nuts or seeds, and whole grain breakfast cereal (like Chex Mix or Cheerios)
12. As ice cream toppings for a “make your own Sundae party” (of course you’ll need lots of other toppings as well)
13. As more decoration - Separate by color and fill several different-sized apothecary type jars with a single color candy for an eye catching display. A craft store like Michael’s should have glass jars in many shapes and sizes.
14. As a less-expensive party favor wrapped in cute bags or boxes and tied with silk ribbon
15. To decorate cupcakes with them (similar to the cake idea)
16. To make an attractive Ikebana centerpiece by filling a vase with them and sticking a single fake flower in it
17. Mix them with your leftover candy corn to make a colorful candy dish combination
18. Use them in place of chips or cash at a poker game. That way you really can put your money where your mouth is!

Well, we didn’t get to 33 like Cybele did on her list. This is just what we came up with in short order here at the candy HQ. What do you use them for when they are not simply being eaten?

M&Ms by Vernhart.

I always knew the world revolved around candy. I just never thought of making a symbolic diagram of the world with it!

M&Ms Mandala by Vernhart.

Thanks to Cybele at Candy Blog for giving us something to do with those leftover crook-necked confections. One thing she left out, although she hit all around it, is to roll truffles in crushed candy canes instead of cocoa powder. Susan S. and her daughter did that when they made their holiday truffles and gave them as gifts. My wife and I nearly went nuts when we ate them. I highly recommend this.

Candy Canes by LexnGer.

Fairytale Brownies still has an after-Christmas sale going. Some products have free shipping, some huge discounts, others are buy one get one free. People rave about their brownies, so now is a great time to try them if you haven’t yet. And if you get some for free, don’t feel ashamed about sending them over my way!

What is your favorite type of brownie?

Brownies by 3liz4.

I just came across PEZCast.com, a podcast about PEZ dispensers. I knew people were crazy about these but had no idea there was a whole podcast dedicated to them! I know Tori’s boyfriend’s mom will get a kick out of this, as will fellow PEZ fan and loyal reader Sarah G. What’s cool about PEZ, at least in my book, is that it is a candy requiring a toy to dispense it. The toy can fit in your pocket but keeps the candy from getting covered in pocket lint. You get a little taste at a time and, best of all, candy out of someone’s neck. It’s like magic.

The curious thing about PEZ dispensers is that there have only been a few that have been modeled after real humans. I could only find four in my search and all of them great patriots important to the founding of our country: Daniel Boone, Betsy Ross, Paul Revere and Elvis Presley. Actually, three types of Elvis. Elvises. Elvii.

What I would like to see is some of my great literary heroes immortalized in a plastic candy dispenser: Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Kerouac, Langston Hughes, John Keats and Tim McLaurin. Tim would find humor in being remembered by way of a PEZ dispenser, I am sure, as long as it inspired someone. Then we could have a series of political leaders, including among others, The Founding Fathers, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, Henry Kissinger and Dr. Zaius (an exception to the “human” category but a political leader nonetheless).

Who would you like to see as the next human-modeled PEZ dispenser?

Elvis PEZ Dispensers by hmmlargeart.

We are doing some work to the site today, so if it looks weird, that’s normal and if it looks normal, well, that’s normal too. It should be back up in an hour or two. In the meantime, I have to go buy more bananas for our IT monkeys.

Update:

Everything is fixed and updated. The monkeys did a great job and put in a good word for us with their ape overlords.

Thanks for your patience.

Monkey by The Rocketeer.

I don’t know the occasion for having a display of these chocolate animals, but I think I want to find out. They look expertly crafted and about as delicious as it gets. Usually when I think of chocolate turtles it brings to mind a different creation, but I am open-minded and can change my worldview a bit, I suppose.

Chocolate Animals by Lottery Monkey.