Can you name a more cheerful food than candy? Sweetness, bite-sized packaging and vibrant marketing are all staples of the candy industry, but the options have become so plentiful that as Halloween season rolls around, shoppers are often left stumped as to what to purchase. So, in this Life collaborative piece, writers suggest good candies to treat yourself to this season.
Benjamin Lassy, Life Editor (he/him/his)
I am a happy man when holidays and seasons make copious amounts of candy consumption appear normal. When splurging on candy is in vogue, you best bet I’m going all in. However, when candy is on the menu, I am very careful with my order.
First, I tend to break candy down into two groups: chocolates and flavored candies. Chocolates include Hershey bars and other pure chocolate delights, but also include more than just bars. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are in this category, and so are Twix, Snickers and any candy that has real chocolate in it. The other end of the spectrum are flavored candies. This includes candies like Jolly Ranchers, Nerds, lollipops and anything made of sugar that’s the colors of the rainbow.
Chocolates are undoubtedly superior; they’re sweet but not over the top. Even still, there are standouts and duds in both of these categories, and you need both to complement each other in your candy bag. Too much chocolate will make you sick, after all! Here are the best and worst of each group.
S-Tier chocolate candy: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
I am hopefully saying this in good company, but the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is the best chocolate candy out there. I mean, it has an unboxing experience. You open the wrapper and you’re greeted by the little muffin wrapper-esque packaging that makes you feel special.
F-Tier chocolate candy: Any mini-sized bar
I used to be a fan of these. They’re bite-sized and nice, but they’re a waste of wrappers and time spent opening each candy. Commit to the bit and buy a big bar.
S-Tier pure flavored candy: Airheads
Not a lot needs to be said about Airheads. They have a fun texture, a wide variety of flavors and are generally a top-tier candy pull.
F-Tier pure flavored candy: Gummy worms
Ever since I was a kid, I feel like I’m just eating worms…
Patrick Boots, Campus Correspondent (he/him/his)
S-Tier: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Milky Way
These two classic chocolatey candies mark the top of my tier list. Milky Way bars are luscious, with a combination of caramel and nougat all dressed in chocolate. My personal favorite is the “midnight” style, which features dark chocolate instead of milk. And then there’s the Reese’s cup — a defining choice. They’re two great tastes that taste great together. “You got chocolate on my peanut butter! Well, you got peanut butter on my chocolate!”
A-Tier: Peanut M&M’s, Kit Kat and Twix
Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar! As far as chocolates go, it’s certainly unique. Who would have thought to dip a waffle cone in chocolate? Plus, there are so many flavors — nothing can beat the original style though. When it comes to M&M’s, the peanut center ones are the top dog. It’s that balance of salty and sweet, just right! Twix and Milky Way are neck-and-neck for me — both good chocolate bars.
B-Tier: Regular M&M’s and Snickers
Classic candies and always good to receive. Regular M&M’s are practically as good as the peanut variety, but they’re missing that extra oomph I’ve come to love. They’ve never steered me wrong. The Snickers bar is alright, not bad in fact, but feels too chewy for me and sometimes the peanut pieces don’t bring the right pizzazz. But we’re getting nitpicky here.
C-Tier: Fruity and chewy candy
Don’t get me wrong, I love fruity and chewy candy. Halloween may not be the right time for them, though — chocolate rules supreme. It’s inevitable you’ll receive some fruit-style treats and they’re not bad for what it’s worth. Laffy Taffy and Sweet Tarts are the clear winners for this category. Bubble gum and ultra-sours? Maybe not.
D-Tier: Tootsie Rolls and Almond Joy-Mounds
Maybe I’ll eat Tootsie Rolls every once in a while, but more often than not they end up rolling around. It’s not quite chocolate — existing in this interesting, chewy, in-between sort of category. The fruit-flavored ones are well-enjoyed and would fall under my fruity and chewy label. Almond Joy and Mounds are two halves of the same candy, because sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t. I actually enjoy them, but coconut is one of those acquired tastes.
Honorable Mention: Spider ring
You’ll never know what surprises are in store when you ring the doorbell or knock when trick-or-treating. In my family growing up, we always added spider rings to our candy selection. It was always a hit, and a good memory. Plus, it’s good to show off your spooky spirit.
Noa Climor, Campus Correspondent (she/her/hers)
Halloween is a special holiday to me, and there’s something fun about trying so many types of candy. However, some are better than others, and I have created a ranking that makes sense. (To me! Everyone has different tastes, and I’m sure many are not overly fond of the candies I like.) First on the list is any kind of chocolate candy, specifically the top three: Reese’s cups, KitKat, and Snickers.
Next on the list are Twix and a Milky Way (depending on the vibe) for me. The bottom tier of candies includes those weirdly flavored tootsie rolls, like the vanilla and fruit ones. There is something so evil and deceiving about lime-flavored candy as well, but I know I’m weird about this because I almost exclusively only eat blue candies. (Percy Jackson was right!! Blue food all the way!) The bottom tier is rounded out by milk duds (they get stuck in my teeth) and candy corn.
Although iconic, I fear that I don’t particularly enjoy the taste of candy corn too much. Butterfingers, however, have risen the ranks as I realized their texture is quite delightful. Twizzlers get a lot of hate, but I think their texture is so fun, and they don’t taste like licorice, which is a big win.
I wish all who celebrate a very happy Halloween, and I hope you get the candy you want on this spooky evening.