Preferences are changing all the time. Kid’s these days like all kinds of things we’ll never understand. Did you know TikTok is getting bigger than YouTube now? Gen Z is growing up fast. How’s a grown-up supposed to keep up with the latest trends in Halloween candy?
And I don’t know about you, but decision fatigue is real for me in 2022. Trying to see the signal through the noise of the news and social media and politics. If you are over trying to piece together what is reality, we’re here to at least make Halloween candy decisions easier.
We remove the guesswork with data. There are a lot of choices on both sides of the good and bad spectrum. You may not agree with what is the most popular Halloween candy in your state, but you can at least avoid getting the worst candy.
Ellie Kemper: “Tastes like medicine” …ouch
Here’s how we help you avoid disaster.
With so many candy ranking lists out there, it’s tough to get a handle on what’s what. So we took some age-old advice. Compile as much data as you can and methodically establish a ranking system to elucidate a mountain of data. You know that old saying, right? ;)
Twelve lists of best and worst candies were published on reputable websites. We grabbed the data there, added in our own CandyStore.com customer survey data (over 15,000 surveyed!) and mashed them all together into the ultimate list.
Here’s a little more detail. First, we looked at the following lists of best and worst Halloween candies.
| Best and Worst Lists | |
|---|---|
| BuzzFeed | |
| Business Insider | |
| Worst | Best |
| Huffington Post | HelloGiggles |
| FoxNews | The Week |
| Houston Press | Thrillist |
| PlayBuzz | Mental Floss |
| Bon Apetit | 24/7 Wall Street |
Next, we surveyed over 15,000 of our own customers. Then, we put the best and worst candies into a spreadsheet. In Column A we had a number value. We weighted each list, so a candy that got listed as the worst gets 10 points, while one that ranks 10th worst gets one point. Same idea goes for the best list. We then tallied up the points and created our list.
Got it? Good. Let’s go.
Oh and please keep in mind, the opinions expressed here are not those of CandyStore.com. They are inferred from the data by a mere candy blog writer.
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Without further ado:
The 10 Worst Halloween Candies
10. Good & Plenty – Down 1 spot from #9 last year
Since Good & Plenty are pretty much licorice, it follows that they would come right before Licorice on the list. I never minded getting a box here and a box there on a Halloween excursion. But they were never my favorites — which meant I ate them first, to get them out of the way. Which is kid logic for ya. Never throw away candy.
9. Black Licorice – Up 1 spot from #10 last year
Here we’re talking black licorice, and this does not include Twizzlers, and if you read the outside lists we included in our evaluation, you’ll see they also allude to, if not outright say, black licorice. So it’s maybe more understandable that way. Twizzlers are mostly fruity flavored, chewy sugar candies. Traditional black licorice has a savory side that perhaps isn’t associated with the sugar highs of Halloween.
8. Tootsie Rolls – No movement, #8 last year too
Your kids will get a lot of these. They’re the easy way out for people who don’t want to spend much money handing out candy to kids. You can throw a handful into each kid’s bag and it won’t set you back much. But apparently kids tend not to like them very much for Halloween. Note that this is a combination of regular Tootsie Rolls and flavored Tootsie Rolls, which may be more or less appealing(?). We combined a few items on the lists to make it cleaner.
7. Mary Janes – No movement from #7 last year
Mary Janes are no longer in limbo following the shuttering of NECCO a few years back. They’re back on online shelves in a slightly different shaped piece of candy than before. They are great sellers and have a huge following, but I guess not with the Halloween crowd. Perhaps expectations for the spookiest night of the year are different than the space Mary Janes occupy in our minds. Halloween candy may be less about nostalgia and more about maximizing pleasure receptors in the brain… I am not a doctor.
6. Smarties – Down 2 spots from #4 last year
Another one accused of being dry and chalky. Your kids will get plenty of these on Halloween. It’s inevitable. At first they’re not so bad. But the human tongue can take only so many vaguely sweet, chalky hard candy.
5. Wax Coke Bottles – Up 1 spots from #6 last year
Wax coke bottles are holding down that number 6 spot. The novelty factor of these is great. The first time you get one. When you’re five years old. Then the realization sets in: you’re biting through wax to get not even a mouthful of sugar water. By age eight you toss them in the trash without even bothering.
4. Necco Wafers – Up one spot from #5 last year
They were off the market for a while, but are back now. You may recall the Great Necco Wafer Panic of 2018. It’s weird, because clearly some people absolutely love Necco Wafers. But these took the top spot on one list, and I’m personally surprised they weren’t on every list. When we started this project, I was sure that they’d be the hands down worst candy. But then again, since they’ve had a few rough years, maybe kids aren’t as likely to kick a candy when it’s down. Complaints about these are that they’re dry and chalky.
3. Peanut Butter Kisses – no change this year.
Falling to #3 this year from the #2 spot last year, these are the generic-looking candies with a plain orange or black wrapper. If you’ve never actually opened the wrapper to try them (understandably), they’re peanut butter flavored chewy candies. Despite the name, they are neither Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups nor Hershey’s Kisses -level Halloween candy. I’ve seen them referred to as Mary Janes, which makes enough sense. You know these because Necco made a Mary Janes version of these for a while. Which explains a lot. My advice is to leave them in that wrapper and move onto the next candy.
2. Candy Corn – fell one spot to #2
Candy corn slid up into the #1 spot 3 years ago when it knocked circus peanuts off the throne. Lot of haters out there. But like the timeless champion it is, candy corn has hung in there and is now only the runner-up worst Halloween candy! Great job CC.
I was actually shocked, I love the stuff. Look, if you don’t like candy corn, you can just give it to me. Yes, it’s pretty much just sugar. Isn’t that the point? Candy corn is nothing special. There are absolutely better candies out there. But if you can’t enjoy stuffing handfuls of candy corn into your pie hole, well, I don’t even know what to tell you. But clearly, I’m in the minority.
Ok yeah, the texture could be better too.
1. Circus Peanuts – Up one spot from #2 last year.
These have rightfully reclaimed the dark throne of #1 worst Halloween candies. They were the #1 worst Halloween candy 3 years ago and fell back to #2. There was a trned to hate on candy corn and the circus peanuts benefited slightly. People, there is no way to describe the vileness that is Circus Peanuts. How could there possibly be a worse Halloween Candy?
Well, for this year anyway, there isn’t.
The 10 Best Halloween Candies
Now we get to the fun part. You can probably guess most of the candies on this list. They’re popular for a reason. But in case you wanted to know how your tastes stack up, here is the weighted list of the best Halloween candies of all time.
10. Butterfinger – Down one spot from #9 last year.
The classic Butterfinger appeared on a number of lists, usually in the second half of the top 10. We’re not going to argue. It’s a personal favorite of mine, but it’s easy to see why it would turn off some candy fans. I definitely think a full-size bar of it is just too much. But the bite size version is pretty much on point. Butterfinger gets mega points on crunch, and I like-a da cronch. You’re not going to complain when one gets dropped in your bag, are you?
9. Twix – Down 2 spots from #7 last year
If I’m getting a full-sized candy bar on Halloween, make it a Twix, please. There’s just something about them that makes them irresistible, and they’re not so overpowering that a whole bar is too much. On Halloween you can count on three versions: the aforementioned full-sized version, the one-stick half-sized version, and the fun sized version. We hope you and your kids don’t get the fun-sized version, given the alternatives.
8. Kit Kat – Down 2 spots from #6 last year
On the surface the Kit Kat is pretty plain. It’s just chocolate and wafer. Yet it works so so well. And it works very well on Halloween, since with the fun size you’re getting essentially half of a full-sized bar. That’s way more than you can say for most of the fun sized versions of our other favorite Halloween candies. Also, since the weather is typically cooler, you shouldn’t have to deal with a melted Twix on Halloween, which is maybe the candy bar that most changes for the worse when melted.
7. Hot Tamales – New to the Top Ten List!
A new addition to the Top Ten Best Halloween Candy list this year because the kids just can’t get enough of it. The spicy trend has been heating up for a few years now and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. These were not hugely popular when I was growing up, but the times they area a changin. You will need to change as well. So grab some Hot Tamales and watch the kids snatch them out of your trick-or-treat bowl first.
6. Hershey Bar – Up 2 spots from #8 last year (#10 before that)
We’re again combining candies here, because there just isn’t that much difference between the original Hershey Bar and the Cookies ‘n’ Cream version. Or maybe there is for your palate. And the assorted mini candy bars from Hershey are also very popular, so that’s included here as well, even thogh it does technically include Krackel and Mr. Goodbar. They’re really just Hershey Bars with crispies or peanuts.
Anyway, they’re super popular and people love them. Mini / fun size seems to be the best way to go here.
5. Sour Patch Kids – No movement, #5 last year also
Sour Patch is finally getting the recognition it deserves. A Top 5 ranking seems appropriate. But after high marks on both the BuzzFeed and Business Insider lists, Sour Patch Kids made zero additional appearances on the other lists we looked at. It’s probably because they’re not traditional candies, even though they’ve been around a while.
Voters loved Sour Patch and it does seem to be gaining in enthusiasm, despite holding steady at #5. Keep going, Sour Patch Kids. Your future is bright.
4. Skittles – Down 1 spot from #3 last year
If you’re not eating the entire fun size bag in one mouthful, you’re doing it wrong. None of us here ever minded getting Skittles in our Halloween bags. It’s tasty enough, that rainbow. But they’re nothing special, in my opinion and if you eat too many your mouth starts to feel all lumpy. Still, Skittles is having a moment and surging way up from #9 three years ago.
3. Snickers – Up one spot from #4 last year.
There is no surprise here. I always preferred Milky Way, but as a lover of da cronch I could see how people prefer more crunchiness in a candy bar. That salty crunch does up the satisfaction level. Again, it would be so easy for people to go out of their ways and get full-sized versions. They’re not that big. But the fun-sized version is a pretty good bite and hits the spot.
2. M&Ms – No movement, #2 last year
An old classic that never gets old, M&Ms remain in the #2 spot this year. Will they ever be able to de-throne the #1 Halloween candy? That would be a tall order, but if anyone can do it, M&M’s seem like a strong contender.
One list had pretzel M&Ms, which is oddly specific. They weren’t around when I trick-or-treated (it was plain and peanut back then), so I don’t even know that people hand out the fun sized bags of them. In any case, M&Ms are great. You know our opinions about them. Easy choice that kids will love.
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – Still #1 (Always will be?)
This is the perennial blowout of the century. Of the seven lists we ranked, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ranked #1 on six of them, and ranked #3 on the other. And that list had six candies that didn’t appear on any of the other six lists, so yeah, this was just a candy massacre. Do we have to extol the virtues of the Peanut Butter Cup? My siblings and I used to separate them out and hide them, lest they get stolen. Many a tear was shed when someone picked a poor hiding spot. Long live Reese’s Cups.
Buy some Mini – Full size – King size
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For more info or press inquiries contact Ben at: ben@candystore.com
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Wow! I’m impressed! Circus Peanuts are probably the worst (and NOT “pea-nutty” but BANANA flavored!). Neccos? I think them more dubious than obnoxious, but they were weird…Smarties aren’t even the same thing (at least Neccos have interesting flavors like cinnamon and clover)-Smarties are just typical “sweet tart” type candies but otherwise same as described. But very breakable as already noted elsewhere.) LOVE me a KitKat or M&M or Hersheys.I also love the violet smell/staste of a Chowards (BOY, THERE’s a brand no one seems to bring up). I also love Swedish Fish.
UPDATE: I retried the Circus Peanuts this month and I am hooked now…also got back on Tootsie Rolls (MINI rolls, mind you) and some others…..LOVE Neccos, Candy Corn.,..
Update oN Circus peanuts: I retried and am a clown for them (get it? circus) (though Spangler has a certain different style, I love those but in my opinion Melster (of the biggest by far rivals) are best).
Still won’t retry dots or Nik L Nip. You can just suck it . Get it?
Sign me up for any of the dark chocolate versions: Reese’s Dark Chocolate Cups, Milky Way Midnight, Mounds, Hershey’s Special Dark, Snicker’s Dark…I’d put those over anything. Sour Skittles would probably be my top non-chocolate thing.
I love Circus Peanuts, I guess I’m one of the few.
I would rather have the 10 worst anyday!
Gee, so many of these I can’t eat. Butterfingers, M&Ms, Skittles, candy corn, they all have corn starch or some other form of corn protein (Butterfingers have confectioners corn flakes.) I didn’t even know they still sold wax soda bottles…
One important candy that should be included for the 10 worst is Now and Laters. It tries so hard to be Laffy Taffy, but fails so miserably.
Ok, where’s the Almond Joys and the Mounds? Both are top 5 material, no doubt!
I love Reese’s peanut butter cups
tootsie rools?? i love em! also cant get me enough of snickers and butrfngers! cantwait to see next years list.. :)