Last week I asked on Instagram what your favorite childhood Halloween candy was—and wow, the responses gave me a serious sugar craving. Between crafting costumes for the past two months and bingeing those “how it’s made” food shows that tour candy factories, I was inspired to put together an Ultimate Guide to Halloween Candy. We gathered fan favorites and dug up fun facts to celebrate the classics and the quirks behind them. Ready? Let’s go!
Even though nobody voted candy corn or candy pumpkins as their top pick, they’re iconic enough to include.
Candy corn was originally called “Chicken Feed.”
Despite its low popularity in our poll, more than 35 million pounds of candy corn are produced each year.
There’s even a National Candy Corn Day.
Candy pumpkins are marshmallow-flavored treats many people recognize at Halloween.
Now on to my personal favorites: chocolate bars. What’s your favorite classic chocolate candy?
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups pack as much protein per serving as a handful of almonds or half a cup of chickpeas, and they were originally sold as Penny Cups. May 18th is unofficially celebrated as “I Love Reese’s Day.”
Almonds in Almond Joy bars are coated with chocolate before the bar is assembled to prevent the nuts from becoming soggy in the coconut. Nearly 40% of almonds produced globally go into chocolate products.
The name 100 Grand comes from a game show prize, and the bar has famously been used in pranks where people expected cash but received candy instead.
Kit Kat has a storied rights history: the brand’s U.S. distribution ended up with Hershey for many years while Nestlé owns the brand elsewhere. Complex licensing agreements over decades have shaped where each company can sell Kit Kat.
Milky Way was one of the first filled candy bars and was inspired by the flavor of a chocolate malt; it has been recognized as one of the most influential candy bars in history.
Butterfinger at one point gained publicity when bars were dropped from planes as a stunt. Rumors say an early Butterfinger recipe was lost during a company sale and later had to be recreated.
Twix gets its name from “twin sticks,” which is why they’re sold in paired bars.
Next up, Jeff’s favorite category: gummies. Which team are you on—chocolate or gummies?
If you stretched every Twizzler made in a year into one continuous strand, it would reportedly reach from Earth to the Moon and back multiple times. Twizzlers are also one of the top movie-theater snacks, after popcorn.
Dots are made to be allergen-friendly: many batches are gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free and kosher, and they are considered vegan by some sources.
The classic red Swedish Fish flavor is often said to be lingonberry, though that has never been officially confirmed.
Sour Patch Kids were originally marketed as Mars Men in the 1970s to tie into UFO interest; when exported to the U.S., the name was changed to better suit American tastes.
I have fond memories of summer days by the pool nibbling Nerds. They’re delightfully odd little candies. My go-to pairing was always strawberry and grape—mostly strawberry.
There’s a theory that Nerds took their name from a Dr. Seuss character mentioned in If I Ran the Zoo. At one point there was even a Nerds cereal, though it’s no longer available.
Getting a full-size candy bar while trick-or-treating felt like hitting the jackpot—full-size Milky Ways or a double Reese’s cup were the ultimate prize.
Chocolate dominates trick-or-treat hauls, making up a large portion of the candy collected each Halloween.
Approximately 10% of all candy sales occur during the Halloween season, with late October as the peak buying period.
Favorites can vary by region—different candies top the lists in different states.
There are many vegan and allergy-friendly options now available for Halloween candy, expanding choices for trick-or-treaters with dietary restrictions.
We could go on about candy names and origins—there’s a fascinating history behind how many beloved treats got their monikers.
Photos by Jeff Mindell
At our studio we’ve picked favorites: I’m currently into Reese’s and 3 Musketeers (and recently discovered Butterfingers), Jeff loves Reese’s, Samantha chooses Almond Joy, and Annie’s top picks are Sour Patch Kids and Butterfingers.
What are your favorites? If you didn’t already tell us on Instagram, share them below. Did we miss any classics? We might run a “name that candy” contest soon—stay tuned!
p.s. We’ve also put together Ultimate Guides for other treats like birthday candles and donuts.