It's a tradition that's as sweet as it is time-consuming: your children dumping their haul of trick-or-treat candy onto the living room floor, and then sorting it into piles of keepers and total losers.
A few items are perpetual pleasers, according to bulk candy seller CandyStore.com, which recently came out with its list of the three most popular Halloween candies in each state.
In Pennsylvania, snack-sized Hershey bars are a welcome treat, ranking No. 3 after M&Ms and Skittles as the most-loved Halloween candy.
Americans also apparently love their candy corn (it's No. 1 in six of the states), though it's just as easy to find people who absolutely detest the humble, tri-colored candy. Manufacturers produce more than 35 million pounds _ some 9 billion pieces _ of the candy a year.
One man's treat is another man's poison, of course. So what qualifies as the best Halloween candy is subjective. What these hated goodies have in common is what you should do with them if you don't want to toss them in the trash, give them away or unload them onto your unsuspecting co-workers.
So how about melting candy corn with peanut butter into a thick and creamy paste to make delicious filling for homemade Butterfingers candy or using Dum-Dum lollipops as a colorful stained-glass filling in sugar cookies. We also suggest adding Snickers bars to Rice Krispies treats for an easy upgrade.
