There are those who despise one of Halloween’s most traditional of all candies, candy corn. They hate the shiny texture, the undefinable flavor, and perhaps the slightly gummy texture. I confess, though, that I was that kid happy to have a handful of the tri-colored mock corn kernels when autumn rolled around.

I would eat my conical treat in measures: a nip to take off the white tip, followed by two nibbles to make the central orange section disappear, and end with a lingering three little bites of the yellow base. Then I’d start in on the next one.

I know I’m not alone in my appreciation of this seasonal candy. The National Confectioners Association website notes that 35 million pounds of candy corn, mostly sold during the Halloween season, is made each year. (Though honestly, it fails to say how much is actually consumed.) And this candy created by the Wunderle Candy Company in the 19th Century has its own day of honor: National Candy Corn Day, on October 30. How bad can it be?

When confronted with a bag of these little harvest time treats, my willpower remains weak. I might not eat a whole bag, but I just might eat a couple of handfuls. I’m a purist when it comes to candy corn. None of those other holiday versions are for me — pastels at Easter; the rather dull combo of chocolate, a muted orange, and white around Thanksgiving; the trendy pumpkin spice trio of chocolate, “pumpkin” orange, and white; or the garish red, green, and white of Christmas (and then, is it even mock corn kernels anymore?).

What can be appealing about such a plain sweet? It is barely more than sugar, corn syrup, and water, along with food coloring that I would never in my wildest dreams add to any recipe. And when I say barely more, I mean there is 0 percent nutritional value: not a vitamin nor a mineral, no protein… just 28 grams of sugar in a serving of about two dozen pieces and three percent of your daily sodium intake.

If I wanted to stretch this by a mile or two, I could share that Brach’s Classic Candy Corn professes to be made with honey… does that make it a health food? On the other hand, if you are looking for a fat free food, here you go. And calories — just over 5 apiece.

The making of candy corn appears to be as simple as this simple candy. According to howstuffworks.com, “A machine fills a tray of little kernel-shaped holes with cornstarch, which holds the candy corn in shape. Each hole fills partway with sweet white syrup colored with artificial food coloring. Next comes the orange syrup, and finally, the yellow syrup. Then the mold cools and the mixture sits for about 24 hours until it hardens. A machine empties the trays, and the kernels fall into chutes. Any excess cornstarch shakes loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets a glaze to make it shine…”

It certainly shines for me.

I wish I had come from a creative family that had thought to embellish cookies and pretzels to make those clever turkey snacks found online, but alas, I did not. Nor did I even think to do so for my own children... though I suspect they fell into the category of those who would rather leave it, than take it, when it comes to this candy.

Nonetheless, suspecting there may be some with leftover candy corn from Halloween, I cannot resist sharing this recipe for candy corn turkey bites I found at suburbansimplicity.com, just in time for the next holiday. (You’ll find endless variations for this use of candy corn if you search online!)

Candy Corn Turkey Bites

You’ll need three candy corns for each.

A package of Rolo candy

A few orange or yellow Reese’s Pieces

A package of candy eyeballs (Wilton’s makes them and they can be ordered online)

Traditional pretzels

First, preheat oven to 300° F and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.

Place pretzels with the salted side down, with the double rounded end pointed toward you.

Unwrap your Rolo candies and place one in the center toward the top of each pretzel.

Place them in the oven until the chocolate softens but isn’t totally melted, about 1 minute. It’s important to make sure they don’t get too soft.

Begin decorating by placing the candy eyeballs toward the middle, slightly toward the top of the Rolos candy. Take a Reese’s Pieces and turn it sideways and insert it below the eyes. Next, take three pieces of candy corn and insert them along the top of the Rolos for the feathers.

Finally, place your little turkeys in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to solidify.

Store in an airtight container for several days.

What can I say? The perfect appetizer for your young (or young a heart) guests!