Transform Your Leftover Halloween Starbursts Into Edible Slime

There are plenty of how-to guides out there about what to make with Thanksgiving leftovers, like using up turkey by throwing it into a soup or salad. But one "food group" that often gets left out of the conversation is Halloween candy. Americans are predicted to spend $3.1 billion on the sweet stuff in 2022, a "scary" amount of candy, according to the National Retail Federation (via Investopedia). So what can be done with the leftovers from Halloween?

Besides storing candy in a cool pantry to preserve its shelf life, like hard candy and dark chocolate which can be stored for up to a year or two, respectively (via Insider), your extra candy can be used in other ways. There are certain candies most people wouldn't mind tossing out, like candy corn, which is regarded as the worst of the season (because it's "gross" and "waxy"). But then there's Starburst, the fruit chew candy, which can actually be repurposed into edible slime.

You may be wondering, is edible slime truly edible? Traditional slime (non-edible) requires borax, an ingredient found in household cleaners, and you definitely do not want to eat that (via WebMD). But the edible or "taste-safe" kind, according to Little Bins For Little Hands, can be made with marshmallows, powdered sugar, or taffy. And Starburst, a kind of taffy if you ask Redditors, makes for a "super stretchy" slime. Made in the microwave, the relatively easy recipe calls for a few ingredients including water, cooking oil, and half a cup of unwrapped Starburst candies. 

Starburst ranked as the fourth most popular Halloween candy on the Forbes list in 2021 behind M&M's, Skittles, and Reese's Cups. And while it's the pink Starburst that is the flavor of choice, it's encouraged to test out all the flavors for slime-making purposes. You can even use the red and green Starburst flavors for a frightening, yet edible, Halloween recipe.