There are tons of different candies you can collect in your plastic jack-o-lantern shaped bucket while out Trick or Treating. Chocolates, lollipops, taffies, it is a whirlwind of cavity inducing, sugary mayhem! But with such a wide and vast array of different sweet treats to be collected and devoured, it has to be acknowledged that some are far superior to others. This is going to be an extremely personally biased ranking of my top five favorite Halloween treats and candies.
- Popcorn Balls.
Many people will not agree on this one with me for the simple reason that most people forget about popcorn balls and they’re not given out as commonly anymore. The earliest known recipe for popcorn balls was a mixture of popcorn, butter, and molasses, and first appeared in the cookbook The Housekeeper’s Encyclopedia by Mrs. E. F. Haskell in 1861. Though it became a Halloween staple in the 1950s and 1960s. Personally, I find them delightfully crunchy and criminally underrated.
- Â Candy Corn.
There is a large divide between people who love candy corn and those who hate it. In my opinion those who hate it are wrong, everyone knows someone who hates candy corn! Candy corn was invented in 1888 and originally called “Chicken Feed”. It was considered an affordable “penny candy” up until the 1950s when it became a Halloween classic.
- Caramel Apple Pops.
These are generally disliked for one, admittedly valid reason: they melt everywhere. If you find an intact caramel apple pop, you are extremely lucky. This is not the candy’s fault though, and when you can get them, they are delicious! They were invented back in 1995 by Tootsie Roll Industries, and have remained a strong force in the Halloween scene ever since. If they were packaged better, children would be tussling in the streets for them every Halloween.
- Sugar Daddies.
Sugar Daddies are not hugely popular, and my working theory is it’s a combination of two things. Between the packaging and the naming, the candy does not typically fly off the shelves during the Halloween season. The paper sticks to them and they melt all over everything. But, if you can get a good one, they’re phenomenal. They were originally invented in 1925 under the name “Papa Sucker” before receiving the name “Sugar Daddy” in 1932 and being acquired by Tootsie Rolls Industries in 1993.
- Lemonheads.
Lemonheads are pretty popular, but since they’re similar to lemon drops they’re lower in the ranking. I do love them, and honestly don’t see too many of them handed out during Trick-or-Treat, likely due to the potential choking hazard. Lemonheads were invented in 1962 by the Ferrara Pan Company (formerly known as Ferrara Pan).
There were, of course, tons of candies and treats that just didn’t make the cut for a very small top five personal ranking. Runner ups include Laffy Taffy, eyeball gumballs, and Twix. These Halloween classics just didn’t quite make the cut!