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Halloween Candy

Halloween Candy

When Do Those Halloween Treats Turn Into Tricks?

August 11, 2015 by

We’ve all been there. Searching through the cupboards, looking for just the thing to satisfy that chocolate craving. Finally after minutes of intense searching, you find it – a leftover treat that’s been hiding since the last time trick-or-treaters came knocking on your door. That candy bar you found shoved in the back of the pantry was in the wrapper. It should be fine…right?

Situations like these raise the question, “Can my candy go bad?” Some of us may even be thinking of the candy-themed months ahead. Halloween is just around the corner, after all, and Christmas is right on its heels. So how early is TOO early to start stocking your candy bowl in preparation for the hordes of costumed candy bandits headed your way?

As any die-hard Halloween fan knows, it can take several weeks to set up the perfect haunted house, finalize an award winning costume, and stock up on the perfect treats for your candy dish. For all you avid Halloween enthusiasts concerned about jumping the gun, we have good news. It is safe to begin stocking up on the best treats in the neighborhood by ordering from CandyFavorites.com – your treats will still be fresh for the big day!

Not to get too scientific on you, but many candies and candy bars are high in sugar and low in moisture. If the packages stay closed, this combination lends itself to a long shelf life. Strictly speaking, pure chocolate can last up to two years or more without presenting any serious risks to consumer health. However, any ingredients like nuts and peanut butter can degrade more quickly than the actual chocolate.

In many cases, a candy’s shelf life is more about the quality of the treat, rather than any health risks associated with consuming it. After a significant amount of time has passed, many candies will begin to lose their color and flavor, and most chocolates will develop white splotches – but no need to worry! The appearance of these white spots (often known as “blooming”) is simply a product of the sugar or fat in your chocolate rising to the surface after a prolonged period of time. Though they are not the most appetizing, they are harmless.

If you’re ordering your Halloween candy now, as a general rule of thumb just remember to store it in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight. Or, for the best tasting candy no matter the time of year, take a peek at our handy Shelf Life Guide for more information.

Halloween Candy

The Top 20 Worst Halloween Treats

September 24, 2012 by

As candy specialists, we know a lot of things about a lot of candies, and Halloween candy is one of our specific specialties. There’s a lot you can do right when it comes to pleasing trick-or-treaters.

Unique treats, popping candies, sour powders, and candy-toy novelties are all a good bet. When in doubt, stick to the classic candy bars that are just plain yummy.

Despite good intentions, some treat-givers still manage to raise the ire of oodles of little ghouls each year. And take it from the experts – you best not mess with a gaggle of ghastly ghosts

To help you avoid troublesome tricksters, here is our list of the top 20 treats that are most likely to get your house put on the “trick” list.

  • Boxes of raisins
  • Popcorn balls
  • Black & white peanut butter kisses
  • Toothbrushes
  • Small boxes of cereal
  • Apples
  • Pennies
  • Circus peanuts
  • Nuts & pretzels
  • Tiny bags of chips
  • Leftovers from the bingo bake sale
  • Old magazines
  • Expired candy
  • Stale candy
  • Sugar-free candy
  • Fig newtons
  • Pencils & erasers
  • Plastic spider rings
  • Plastic & paper marble games
  • Mr. Goodbar – It means all the good ones were taken
Halloween Candy

The Best Trick-Avoiding Halloween Treats

September 17, 2012 by

When costumed critters are creeping about creating a multitude of midnight mischief, the best defense is a good offense. Send the naughtiest neighborhood knuckleheads smiling through the streets, shouting your praises.

The best way to keep the TP off your house, the post-its off your car, and your pumpkins in one piece is to earn a reputation for great treats. Sure, every Halloween brings new kinds of candy, and some of them are great. But we’ve compiled for you a list of always awesome, not-to-be-missed, change-your-costume-and-come-back-for-more candies that are tried, tested, and been proven to pass the test.

Halloween Candy

It’s Candy-Corn Season!

September 16, 2011 by

It’s amazing that, at the same time, we’re enjoying the final luscious corn cobs of summer and gearing up for Halloween. We know — you don’t want to talk about the end of summer. But Halloween is a guilty pleasure of a holiday that marks the kickoff of celebration season. And to better prepare you for stocking up on the “fruitcake of Halloween,” we offer our guide to classic and contemporary candy corns.

brachs candy cornTraditional Brach’s Candy Corn

Brach’s is the only classic candy-corn flavor that’s true to tradition. This is the kind of corn you remember from your childhood (you know, when you liked to break apart the flavors)! It’s the most popular candy corn in the world.

brachs indian cornBrach’s Indian Corn

Make a subtle twist with classic candy-corn that has a chocolaty burst at the end. Brach’s Indian Corn is a simple way to add some color and flavor (or even flair) to your Halloween treats. Use the leftovers to round out your festive Thanksgiving decor.

brachs caramel corn candy cornBrach’s Caramel Corn

This tasty twist on candy corn is best eaten in one bite. Its popcorn flavor is shockingly close to the real thing! These Milk Maid Caramel candy corns are a great way to please adults and less-conventional candy eaters this Halloween.

brachs chocolate caramel candy cornBrach’s Milk Maid Chocolate Caramel Candy Corn

Even chocoholics can enjoy candy corn this Halloween! This chocolate-and-caramel corn will add color and excitement to your treats. And with just 140 calories and zero fat per 19-piece serving, they provide guilt-free chocolaty goodness!

brachs caramel apple candy cornBrach’s Caramel Apple Candy Corn

A pretty exciting addition to the candy-corn universe, Brach’s Caramel Apple Candy Corn has a satisfyingly tart apple flavor (reminiscent of Caramel Apple Cow Tales) combined with a caramel-corn base. Eat the whole piece for a bursting blend of flavors, or separate the top and bottom to savor each of them separately.

juju gummy candy cornJuju Candy Corn

Don’t let the name fool you — these soft candy corns won’t stick to your teeth. This twist on candy corn packs robust classic flavor into a melt-in-your-mouth gummy candy! They taste just like the real thing, but they’re more fun to eat. Make your Halloween and Thanksgiving treats more exciting and little-kid friendly with gummy kernels of candy corn.

So stock up on the basics. Buy in bulk. Don’t miss out on the million things you can do with candy corn, whether you eat it or not. Personally, I’m working on a candy-corn mural. If you do something interesting with yours, let us know. We might just feature you on our site.

Candy News, Halloween Candy

Top Halloween Candies 2011

September 9, 2011 by


The task of collecting the annual “Halloween Stash” is a tough one, we know.  You want to be the best on the block – the most popular house, the one the kids change their masks and come back to, the one they talk about the next day.

We at Candy Favorites know how it feels to achieve that honor (after all, we do have access to about 3,000 kinds of candy). So we’ve compiled a list of our favorites to help you achieve similar glory. We invite you to share your success (or horror) stories in the comments. After all, it takes a village to hand out great Halloween candy.

Top 5 Old-School Halloween Candies

5)  Penny Candy Americana Mix – Old is the new new! Not for the faint of heart, this huge array of retro candies is best for parties, giving to a whole family, or securing your own Halloween stash. It’s not unnamed hard candy. It’s stuff you actually forgot you loved: Mary Janes, Bit O’ Honey, Necco Wafers, Atomic Fireballs, Goetz’s Caramel Creams, Root Beer Barrels, Jolly Ranchers, and other old-time favorites.

4)  Brach’s Candy Corn – Brach’s is the candy of (just about everyone’s) childhood. If you’re a fan of classic candy corn, there’s none better. But if you’re excited for something newer, tastier, or chocolate-ier, Brach’s has got an array of super-sweet and more sophisticated flavors to choose from.

3)  Brach’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins – These squat little treats are absolutely polarizing. While some avid fans pick through their friends’ Autumn Mix and hoard them, other kids will throw them at each other. Either way, you and your kids will have fun with them.

2)  Palmer Pumpkin Pals – If it seems like Palmers makes a little foil-wrapped, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate treat for every holiday, sport, or event, it’s true.  This is one of those candies you forget that you love until you run across it again. Every kid should have some Palmer chocolates in their trick-or-treat bag! As a bonus, the foil comes in handy for wrapping up the used middles of all those Blow Pops.

1)  Wax Lips, Mustaches, or Fangs – The 70s are back:  Red lipstick & Bushy Mustaches are SO in this year.  These classic candies are tasty, fun to play with, and surprisingly new to tons of kids. These will get you dubbed “the cool house”, even if it’s only by other parents.

 

Top 5 Not-So-Old-School Halloween Candies

5)  Pop Rocks Pumpkin Patch Orange – This mix of green and orange Halloween Pop Rocks is a limited edition. Better yet, no one is expecting pop rocks when they come to your door. They’ll make yours the top house on the block. They’re also fun to send to school with your kid.

4)  Halloween Jelly Kabobs – Jelly + Candy + Icing + A STICK???  This is simply amazing.  Equivalent to giving out full-size candy bars, each of these substantial skewers features 4 jelly candies decorated with tasty icing.  No grilling needed (or recommended).

3)  Dark or Milk Chocolate Covered Peeps – Just because they’re peeps doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to dress up (as PUMPKINS!) for trick-or-treating, too!  There’s no reason to let Peeps stay stuck in the Spring. Chocolate covered peeps make an interesting, cute, and unexpected addition to your array of Halloween treats.

2)  York Peppermint Batty – An extra-special treat for all, these bat-shaped York Peppermint Patties are one of the candies most likely to be stolen by parents.

1)  Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins – Reese’s pumpkins are no laughing matter – especially when you get caught stealing them out of your little brother’s Halloween basket.  Be sure to have enough this year to satiate even
the hungriest monsters (Dad!) and freeze some for yourself.

Candy News

Halloween Candy Radio Interview

October 31, 2010 by

Halloween Candy Facts

Halloween is the biggest holiday in the candy world. And candy is a huge part of the celebration for millions of kids and adults. That kind of attention will create rumors, misconceptions, and curiosity about anything.

No one knows more about candy than Jon Prince, the Founder of Candy Favorites. So to answer those burning Halloween candy questions, he popped in to the Warren Pierce Show on WJR Radio in Detroit.

Just hit the Green Play Button below to listen in.

Jon Prince on The Warren Pierce Show

Halloween Candy

Halloween: Candy’s Favorite Holiday

October 26, 2009 by
Halloween is a holiday revered by candy lovers around the globe!

Halloween is a holiday revered by candy lovers around the globe!

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I have been focusing on blogging about the best candies to hand out on Halloween. There were the candies that my friends and I would to hoard and boast about who had more.

As great as it is to give out the popular favorites, don’t forget that kids love variety. Don’t be afraid to switch it up and give something out that you aren’t sure kids will like, because if everyone gave out Reese’s…

One thing I got most excited for as a kid—and when I say kid, I mean until I graduated high school. Yes, I trick or treated every year until college. It’s not every day that you can ring a doorbell and be greeted with a costume, a smile, and free candy—were the “full size” candies. So many people give you the little fun size, and bite size which aren’t bad, they just aren’t special.

 Even if the full size bar wasn’t a candy I liked, the idea of the full size was so exciting. We’d see our friends on the street and let them know “The house with the Steelers pumpkin is giving out full size snickers!!” and those kids would run off in excitement to find the house and collect their full size candy.

The bragging at the end of the night would usually revolve around who had more full size candies. This doesn’t mean you have to blow your bank account on full sizers to make the kids happy, I’m just informing. Whatever candy you may choose to give out, I’m sure the trick-or-treaters won’t be disappointed. Have a happy Halloween!