Have a ton of leftover candy and not sure what to do with it? What better way to start your day then with candy? Am I right? These Candy Bar Peanut Butter Rolls involve melted leftover Halloween candy, rolled up in sweet roll dough, baked then topped with a decadent, ridiculous peanut butter frosting.
Do you all have as much Halloween candy lying around as we do? Besides the haul the kids got from trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, I ended up buying WAY too much to pass out this year. Our neighborhood is normally hopping but they were a lot less kids this year.
Luckily for us, I saved the bowl of our favorite stuff for last so we still have all the good stuff (did someone say Reese’s and Kit Kat’s?).
I’ve seen a lot of ways to use up that leftover Halloween candy throughout the years but I have to say this is bound to be my new favorite. I mean, it starts with the easiest sweet roll dough then it’s slathered in your favorite candy that’s been melted to ooey gooey consistency. Sprinkle that with M&M’s or Reese’s Pieces, roll up that bad boy and bake it to golden perfection.
Then you can call it breakfast. What more can you ask for really?
As if that isn’t enough, once baked the rolls get spread with a rich cream cheese peanut butter frosting. And because it’s technically a cinnamon roll, it’s breakfast food so you can eat it right when you wake up. I found a legit way to eat candy for breakfast. You’re welcome.
Or maybe if you’re a spoil sport and want to ruin our fun, eat them for dessert. Or both. It’s holiday time friends, live it up. No judgement here.
In all seriousness though, this is one of my favorite breakfast/dessert/whenever you want to consume it recipes I’ve created in awhile. I’m a sucker for anything peanut butter and chocolate then I went ahead and added carbs too. Match made in heaven.
The filling flavor will change a bit depending on what type of candy you choose to melt and spread in the middle. I went for our favorites that I knew would meld well together. Peanut butter cups, Kit Kats (milk and white chocolate varieties), Rolo’s, Snickers and Crunch bars. Reese’s Pieces were my crunchy candy coated treat of choice because, duh more peanut butter.
Use what you like. Get wild and mix it up like I did or keep it simple with just one or two varieties. You do you.
The roll dough is so soft and tender. The filling is the chocolate, peanut butter, caramel, nougat combination of your dreams. The frosting is rich and decadent yet light and fluffy too. You’ve just got to try them. Then come back and tell me what you think.
- 1 (1/4 ounce) package rapid rise yeast
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
- 2 1/2 cups chopped candy*
- 3 Tbsp. peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
- 4 fun size packages of Reese's Pieces or M&M's
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- For the dough: place milk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Dissolve the yeast in the milk and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Add sugar, butter, salt and eggs. Mix with the paddle attachment until well combined. Add flour, half at a time, mixing until combined. Once second half of flour is added switch to the dough hook. Knead dough until well combined and slightly sticky. If dough is still very soft and sticky, add an additional 1/2 cup flour. This is a soft dough so don't add too much flour. Form into a ball and place in a well greased large bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add the chopped candy and peanut butter (not the Reese's Pieces or M&M's). Melt in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. Dollop all over the dough and carefully smooth with the back of a spoon. Working carefully from the long edge, roll up dough until you have a long log. Cut the log in half, then in half again. Cut each fourth into 3 rolls so that you end up with 12. Place rolls into a greased 13x9 pan. Cover with a towel and allow to rise again until doubled again, about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and cream cheese until smooth and well combined. Add the vanilla and salt and mix again. While the mixer is running on low, slowly add the powdered sugar until well combined. Spread over the hot rolls.
- *Whatever mix you prefer. I went with peanut butter cups, Kit Kat's, Crunch Bars, Rolo's, Snickers.
