Every experienced trick-or-treater knows which houses in the neighborhood give out the best or worst candy on Halloween.

Giving out terrible candy or, even worse, fruit, can drive away throngs of future trick-or-treaters from knocking on your door on Halloween.

To keep the costumed kids coming for years to come, impress them with some quick and easy-to-make custom candy bars.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

16 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup of powdered sugar

Melt 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate in a double boiler. A good substitute for a double boiler is a small saucepan and a glass mixing bowl.

Fill the saucepan halfway with water placing it on top of the stove. Place the glass mixing bowl on top of the sauce pan. Turn to medium high heat and wait until the water comes to a boil before placing chocolate chips in the mixing bowl.

Stir the chocolate frequently – this will prevent the chocolate from burning. Burnt chocolate will turn into a solid, unusable mass.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and distribute the chocolate into the pan. Prop the pan on a counter to flatten out chocolate. Use a toothpick to cover the sides of the cup- cake liner with chocolate.

Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Once the chocolate layer has cooled, whip the peanut butter and powdered sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until the mixture becomes light and creamy.

Fill each slot of the cupcake pan halfway with the peanut butter. Shake the pan to flatten out the peanut butter layer.

Place the pan in the freezer for an additional 15 minutes.

Once the peanut butter layer has cooled, melt the rest of the chocolate to make the top layers of the peanut butter cups. Pour a thin layer of chocolate over the peanut butter.

Place the pan in the freezer for another 15 minutes.

When the peanut butter cups are finished, let them sit at room temperature until they are soft enough to eat.

Homemade Three Musketeers

1 (8 ounce) container of frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups milk chocolate chips

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Melt the two cups of semisweet chocolate chips using the same technique described in the peanut butter cup recipe.

Using a whisk or electric mixer, beat the chocolate until it becomes fluffy.

Add the whipped cream topping to the chocolate and beat until the whipped cream topping has completely mixed with the chocolate. The chocolate will be done when it resembles chocolate mousse.

Spread the chocolate mixture evenly onto a baking pan lined with waxed paper. Pressing down with a damp paper towel will help if the mixture becomes stiff. Place pan in freezer.

After 30 minutes remove pan from freezer and place chocolate mixture onto a cutting board. Cut the mixture into one by two-inch squares.

Place in freezer for another 15 minutes.

Melt two cups of milk chocolate chips with two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Stir constantly on low heat until the vegetable oil is mixed completely with the chocolate.

Coat the previously cut chocolate squares into the melted chocolate mixture.

Place them back in the pan. Place the pan in the freezer for a few minutes to allow the coat of milk chocolate to harden.

Homemade White Chocolate Crunch Bar

16 ounces (1 pound) white chocolate chips

1 cup of Cocoa Krispies

Line a baking pan with waxed paper and place it aside.

Melt 16 ounces of white chocolate using a sauce pan and a glass mixing bowl.

After the chocolate has melted, place mixing bowl on top of damp paper towels. Add one cup of Cocoa Krispies to the melted chocolate. Stir until Cocoa Krispies and chocolate are mixed together.

Spread mixture evenly onto the wax paper lined pan. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.

When the chocolate has set, remove the pan from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for several minutes. Letting the chocolate sit in room temperature will make it easier to cut into two by three inch squares.

Handing out these homemade candy bars on Halloween will ensure each trick-or-treater leaves your home with a delicious treat and a smile on their face.

Miguel Lopez can be reached at [email protected] and Miguel Razo can be reached at [email protected]