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Snickers

Candy History, Candy News, Candy Reviews

Laffy Taffy and Snickers: Something Funny Going on Here

May 10, 2018 by

I have always said that laughter is the key to anyone’s heart, but is it the key to their stomachs as well? The Willy Wonka Candy Company and Mars Incorporated may have something to say when it comes to that topic. With the creations of Laffy Taffy and Snickers bars, their candies are sure to keep their consumers happy. Although the two candies are completely different, they both offer unique twists on classic candies. So let’s dig in to some flavorful facts.

laffy taffy assortedTaffy or Toffee, depending on where you live, was first brought into light in 1817 when the word was added to the Oxford Dictionary. The place of creation is unknown, but it is somewhere in Europe. By the time the 1870s came around, taffy was in its heyday and people loved it so much that they went as far as to throw taffy pulling parties. Although salt water taffy and Laffy Taffy are fairly soft, it is not the same in Scotland. In Scotland, toffee (known as tablet there) is so hard that it comes with a little metal hammer that is used to break the candies into smaller bits.

Laffy Taffy was first invented in 1971 to accompany the release of the Gene Wilder movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Originally Laffy Taffy was made by the Breaker Confections company until they changed their name to Willy Wonka Brands in 1980. The candies were packaged with bright colored wrappers that always included a joke inside. This was to reinforce the movie’s slightly psychedelic themes. The candy’s name comes simply from its texture and the jokes inside. The company was renamed again in 1993 after becoming a part of the Nestle company, and is now known as the Willy Wonka Candy Company. This reinforces the importance of the imaginary candy factory and its colorful creator, Mr. Wonka himself. The candies started off as a small thick square shape, but over the years developed into the longer thinner rectangles that we know and love today.

laffy taffy strawberryAlthough I had eaten them many times before, I went ahead and ate some of the little candies again in order to help me more accurately describe them. I started off with the Strawberry flavor which came in a bright pink wrapper. First I read the jokes provided to me. I am a sucker for some cheesy jokes, so I really enjoyed this one: What is a Buccaneer? Wait for it… expensive corn! *Crickets*. Anyway, after reading the jokes, I went on to smell my taffy. I like to see if it tastes like it smells, which food and candies often do, but not always. I decided that the Strawberry Laffy Taffy would make a nice candle. After sniffing the candy, I ate it. The Strawberry flavor was especially hard to chew. Otherwise, it tasted like it smelled. It was a bit sour and had a hint of the real strawberry flavor.

laffy taffy bananaThe next one that I tried was banana, which was wrapped nicely in  yellow packaging. As we are all aware, artificial banana flavor is in no way like real bananas. Thinking back to the circus peanuts reviewed in my first blog and the chicks and rabbits reviewed in my Easter blog, we discovered that artificial banana is a hit or miss every time that it is added to a candy. The banana taffy’s smell was a bit overpowering and it came with small hints of vanilla for some unexplained reason. When it comes to Laffy Taffy, the flavor is very similar to that of banana runts, which are also made by the Willy Wonka Candy Company. The banana taffy was a lot easier to chew than the strawberry and it was very smooth. It also just kind of tastes like the color yellow. What is a parasite? This one is pretty obvious… something you see in Paris.

laffy taffy grapeThe third taffy flavor that I tasted was grape and it came in a purple wrapper. Grape has never been one of my favorite flavors, but I am actually okay with it in Laffy Taffy form. When the packaging is first opened, there is a very strong scent that immediately reminded me of Fun Dip, another one of the Wonka company’s creations. The grape flavor was kind of sour, but not too strong in that regard, yet the overall flavor was very bold. Luckily the taffy’s texture was just right in the grape flavor, not to soft and not too hard.

laffy taffy sour appleThe last flavor that I tried was the sour apple flavor in a green package. For some odd reason, I had trouble smelling this flavor. Maybe my nose had too many scents inside of it from the previous flavors, or maybe it just didn’t have a smell. When I put the taffy in my mouth, I found that it was very soft compared to all of the other flavors. Although it was sour apple, the sour part didn’t hit me until later on in my tasting of the candy. When I am eating a sour candy, I like to really experience the sourness- getting that twitching in my eyes and the pucker in my lips. The taffy tasted good anyway though.

Even though each taffy flavor individually tasted great, all the flavors were kind of overpowering, especially when eaten one after another. I would definitely recommend trying Laffy Taffy if you haven’t done so yet. It’s not just a candy that can get stuck in your teeth, it’ll also provide you with some sweet jokes.

  • Shareability: 1               
  • Denture Danger: 10       
  • Convenience: 8        
  • Novelty: 3       
  • Overall: 8

Another silly candy is the Snickers bar. With a slogan like “curb your hunger before your hunger curbs you,” we’ve all been left to wonder what makes this candy so funny. So let’s find out. Snickers bars were created in 1930 by Frank Mars who founded the Mars candy company. He named the flavorful candy after one of his family’s horses. That horse must’ve had a pretty great sense of humor. The candies used to be called “Marathon Bars” in the United Kingdom (not to be confused with the Marathon Bar sold in America from 1973-1981, also by the Mars Company), but since have become known as Snickers all over the world. Currently they are the best selling candy in the world as well as one of the most highly produced, with the Mars company producing about 15 million bars per day. So what makes a Snickers bar so good? Could it be the chocolate, the peanuts, the caramel, or the nougat? Let’s delve into the tasty snack.

Snickers bars have always been a favorite candy of mine, so I was very excited to finally do something with my love for the layered goodness. Of course I started out by smelling the candy, which caused some strange looks from the people around me, but I didn’t mind. The bar had a very strong peanut smell, outshining all of the other ingredients trying to spend some time in the “limelight”. I guess if they wanted to do that they could go join in on the fun in a Jelly Belly bag, which can be found right here.  Anyway, after taking in the scent of the candy, I tasted it, just like the taffy. The candy was very sweet, and much more chocolatey than the smell suggested. It was both crunchy and chewy at the same time, and luckily not too hard even though there were peanuts in the bar. With much concentration, I was able to detect a faint nougat taste, but it would have gone unnoticed had I not been looking for it. I enjoyed the candy anyway, like I always do. All in all, there was a lot going on in the fantastic candies.

  • Shareability: 2               
  • Denture Danger: 8       
  • Convenience: 8       
  • Novelty: 2       
  • Overall: 9

What did one penny say to the other penny? This is a good one… just wait. “Let’s get together and make some sense!” So we can do that too. Laffy Taffy and Snickers bars have one wonderful connection and that is the fact that they are known to provide people with long lasting smiles. With very sweet overpowering flavors, the candies are sure to give both your mouth and your stomach an explosion of joy. In all seriousness though, if you enjoy life and love to laugh, you should check out Laffy Taffy and Snickers right here at candyfavorites.com.

Candy Memories, Halloween Candy

It’s All About the Halloween Candy

September 22, 2017 by

“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen. The moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween.”  — 19th century postcard.

halloween ghost costumeBOOOOOO! Halloween! It’s my absolute favorite holiday. Yes, even more than Christmas! Now I know I’m no Morticia (from the Addams Family), or Endora, (from Bewitched) or even close to Glinda,(from The Wizard of Oz) but I just may have some tricks left up my sleeve this Halloween for our Trick or Treaters and a whole lot of delicious candy they’ll howl about!

You see I’m a child of the 60’s and lots of my childhood memories are tied to things that are Halloween. I grew up rooting for the good witch and booing the bad witch on the Wizard of Oz. What I would give to pop into a room like Endora or twitch my nose like Samantha Stevens did on Bewitched and my house would instantly clean itself!

I read Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch comic books. And let’s face it; it was always Halloween at The Munsters and the Addams Family’s houses. My brother and I were actually allowed to stay up late and watch those hilarious shows on Friday night.

I grooved to “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, a number 1 hit in 1962, and  danced hundreds of times to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Yes those were the days my friends. You bet your candy corn!

halloween candy cornI remember my dad driving me and my younger brother to G. C. Murphy’s and picking out that year’s Halloween costume. The costume’s came in a cardboard box and I remember choosing a yellow Tweety bird costume one year and a black cat another year. My older sister Kathy would also make me costumes. One year she made a red and white striped clown costume complete with a huge ruffled white collar edged in red ric rac, a tall pointed hat with 3 red pom poms and a red yarn wig!

We’d go to a local farm and pick out our pumpkins and Indian corn. We’d bring the pumpkins home and spread newspaper on the kitchen floor. My dad would cut the top off and we’d scoop out the seeds with an ice cream scoop. Then we’d carve them into a funny or scary Jack O’ Lantern.

halloween butterfingersBut the very best part of Halloween was going trick or treating through our neighborhood. When we were younger my older sister would take me and my brother out as soon as it got dark. We’d grab a shopping bag or an orange plastic Halloween bag to help us collect all our treats. We’d walk up to the people’s front doors, ring their doorbells and yell “Trick or Treat!!” Then the neighbors would try and guess who we were as chocolate Hershey bars, Clark bars, popcorn balls, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers, Pay Days, Oh Henrys, Snickers, Butterfingers, and Good n Plenty, were plopped into our bags.

halloween haribo sour vampire bats

When our bags got too heavy to carry, we’d head home to count our treasures. Then my brother and I would separate our candy into piles on our living room carpet and trade each other for the ones we liked the best!

Halloween is creeping around the corner, and it’s time to stock up on some of the long-standing favorites and try some of the new candies from Candy Favorites just out for Halloween.

There’s Twizzlers Caramel Apple Filled Twists, Wonka Halloween Fright Tins, Haribo Vampire Bats, Candy Fangs, RM Palmer Creepy Peepers Mix, and even Box of Boogers, but the kids in your neighborhood will wonder who filled their bags and pillow cases with all these wickedly good treats.

So dress up, throw a spooky party, decorate your yard, and be ready with bags of delicious candy when those costumed kids ring your doorbell and yell “Trick or Treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat!”

I’ve shared some of my favorite Halloween candy memories, and I’d love to hang around for a spell, but now it’s your turn at bat. At the end of my blog, tell me your best Halloween candy memory and I will award my favorite a $50 Sweet Certificate to CandyFavorites.com.  Happy Haunting!

Candy News

Variety is the Spice of Life

April 20, 2015 by

They say that variety is the spice of life. And while we feel like many sayings like this can be a bit overrated, we know that this one is accurate. Especially when it comes to sweets, why have to choose one when you can choose them all? The more the merrier, in our opinion! So you can imagine how excited we are to share our many new variety packs with you!

austin-variety-cookies-useFor the people who like a little bit of sweet and savory, the Austin Cookie & Cracker Variety Pack is exactly what you need. This is perfect for when you’re trying to please them all! With chocolate crèmes, vanilla crèmes, and everything in between, your cookie lovers will be satisfied. But with this pack, those who enjoy a nice cheese cracker with peanut butter will not be disappointed!

grandmas-variety-boxuseSometimes, though, you really just want a cookie. And with Grandma’s Cookies Variety Mix, you can eat cookies to your heart’s delight! This variety pack contains chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, just to name a few. There’s so many, you’re bound to have a favorite, or two, or three. We won’t judge.

mars-variety-frontBut, then again, there are moments in life that require a chocolate bar! And for these moments, our Full Size Chocolate Mars Variety Pack will be right up your alley. This tasty mix contains Twix, Snickers, Milky Way, and many more! Simply put, there’s no way you can be disappointed with this.

mars-variety-pack-smallAnd for all of the Hershey’s lovers out there, we have just the mix you’ve been dreaming of! Our Hershey’s Full Size Bars Variety Pack contains Hershey’s classics like chocolate bars and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Now that’s a pack you won’t want to miss!

So no matter what kind of variety you’re craving, you can rest assured, we have the right one for your sweet tooth!

chocolate

For the Love of Candy

April 5, 2011 by

SnickersI recently shared a mango drink with a coworker and we got on the subject of sweet treats, talking about what we like as an occasional snack. She said her favorite was Snickers, one of my favorites as well. One thing I loved about working in the candy industry was the passion people have for their favorite sweets. It’s not just a preference, but a real love. My friend who was talking about Snickers rolled her eyes up as she talked about it, as if she were looking into the gates of heaven itself. Her joy, even from the discussion, was plain to see.

Candy makes us happy. It gives us a little sweetness for our day, a little joy that either picks us up or amplifies our good vibes. Because candy is so pleasing, the sensation gets stored in part of our brains that processes emotions, or at least seems to. Don’t believe me about that connection? Go talk to someone about their favorite candy. I’m no psychologist; I just know people and candy.

Snickers by Leonid Mamchenkov.