Braces-Friendly Alternatives to Halloween Candy

As your trusted Honolulu and Aiea, HI orthodontist, Morita Orthodontics is proud to offer a wide variety of high quality orthodontic treatments such as braces and Invisalign. Not only that, but we also pride ourselves on our all-inclusive orthodontic care. We realize that being new to braces can bring many extra complications in your day-to-day life so we strive to do all we can to make the process smoother.

As Halloween is rapidly approaching, one of these challenges can be the temptation of consuming candy that may not be so suitable for a patient with braces. While there are certain candies that are appropriate for a braces wearer (plain Hershey’s, Three Musketeers, Kit Kats, Reese’s Cups), we also want to give you a few other delicious braces-friendly alternatives to the candy that’s so prevalent during this time of the year.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

As a way to get into the Halloween and fall spirit, nothing’s better than the taste of pumpkin. These iced pumpkin cookies are soft, chewy, and perfect for someone with braces. Eating these makes for a perfect way to celebrate the month of October!

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners’ sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

Keeping with the theme of pumpkins, here’s another recipe that’s sure to fit in perfectly with the season. These fluffy pumpkin ginger cupcakes have a bit of a spicy flavor to them that sets them apart from other cupcakes and makes them perfect for those of all ages.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
2. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Witches’ Hats

If you’re looking for a treat that looks as enjoyable as it’ll taste, we recommend trying this recipe. This Witches’ Hat recipe is simple to make and it may even look adorable enough that you won’t want to eat it. Trust us though – you’ll still want to taste it!

Ingredients:

2 (16 ounce) packages fudge stripe cookies
¼ cup honey, or as needed
1 (9 ounce) bag milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped
1 (4.5 ounce) tube decorating gel

Directions:

Place a fudge stripe cookie with bottom side up onto a work surface. Smear a small dab (about 1/8 teaspoon) of honey onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss, and secure the candy piece to the center of the cookie, covering the hole. Use decorating gel to pipe a small bow onto the cookie at the base of the candy piece. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Don’t Be Spooked By A Broken Bracket Or Poking Wire!

If you happen to have a problem with your braces, please consult the video on our Caring for Braces page. Broken brackets and poking wires can happen, especially when indulging in candy, so don’t be spooked by one of these issues. If after watching our video you are still having issues, please contact our doctors and we will correct any issues you are experiencing.

Schedule an Appointment with Your Honolulu & Aiea Orthodontists!

If you’re looking to schedule an appointment with us, please feel free to fill out our online appointment request form or give us a call at (808) 941-3355 for our Honolulu office or (808) 486-5505 for our Aiea office. We look forward to seeing you and we wish you a happy Halloween!