The Ultimate Halloween Candy Ranking
By Margot Camp ‘23 and George Pritchard ‘23
With Halloween just around the corner, kids across the country are preparing their costumes, carving their pumpkins and getting ready for trick-or-treating. But perhaps the biggest excitement is for candy.
Halloween candy is a cultural phenomena, and there are a wide variety of treats that are passed out on Halloween. We ranked the main 20 Halloween candies from best to worst, using flavor, texture and cultural significance to get the score.
*This is just the opinion of the authors. Please do not have any animosity towards them*
Ranking System - For each candy, Each of the three categories are ranked out of ten for an overall score out of thirty.
Flavor (F): How does the candy taste?
Texture (T): Does the candy feel nice in the mouth? If there are multiple textures, do they contrast well?
Nostalgia Factor (NF): Is the candy synonymous with Halloween? Is it themed around the holiday? How culturally significant is it?
1. Candy corn - F: 10/10 T: 8/10 NF: 10/10
While a potentially controversial pick, these small, sugary treats are not only delicious but iconic. The fall color scheme symbolizes the changing seasons and is a pillar of any October. Not to mention the best part of candy corn: the smooth, mouthwatering texture that guarantees you want more.
2. Seasonal Pumpkin Reese’s - F: 10/10 T: 8/10 NF: 9/10
In comparison to standard Reese’s peanut butter cups, these Seasonal Halloween Pumpkin Reese’s improve the already delicious candy. The ratio of peanut butter to milk chocolate is greater in the Seasonal Pumpkins which makes them even more appetizing, although this preference is up for debate. and has created an ongoing debate between the two preferences.
3. Twix- F: 8/10 T: 10/10 NF: 7/10
The top candy bar has a perfect mixture of chocolate, cookie, and caramel. A nationwide classic that has no flaws. The argument between the right and left Twix provides an exciting advertising opportunity, but realistically, both sides are fantastic.
4. Kit Kat- F: 8/10 T: 7/10 NF: 8/10
Kit Kat’s crispy wafer brings a touch of texture to a classic chocolate bar. There is nothing more satisfying than splitting a Kit Kat directly down the middle with perfectly straight lines on either side. Just don’t be like Kourtney Kardashian, who nibbles her Kit Kats down to the individual wafer.
5. Snickers- F: 8/10 T: 8/10 NF: 6/10
Perhaps the most traditional candy bar, Snickers has been a Halloween staple since 1930. The combination of caramel, nougat, and peanuts is sublime and few trick-or-treaters are disappointed when they see that classic brown wrapper.
6. Butterfinger- F: 9/10 T: 6/10 NF: 5/10
Just going on taste alone, Butterfingers would be pushing the top three of this list. However, the combination of being very messy to eat and caramel getting stuck in your teeth knocks this candy bar down the list. Still though, Butterfingers are a delectable candy bar.
7. Sour Patch Kids- F: 7/10 T: 8/10 NF: 3/10
This candy’s popularity is more recent compared to the prior entries. The contrast of sour and sweet, plus the different flavors within the bag, allows Sour Patch Kids to be eaten for long periods of time without becoming repetitive. However, the colorful and vibrant aesthetic is far from Halloween-themed, and gives off the wrong vibes for this month.
8. Milky Way- F: 6/10 T: 7/10 NF: 4/10
Very similar to Snickers, Milky Ways have a nice blend of caramel and nougat but are missing the peanut component that gives it its unique texture. However, it is a very solid candy bar, and those with peanut allergies may gravitate towards it.
9. 3 Musketeers- F:5/10 T: 9/10 NF: 3/10
One of the only candy bars with just one ingredient inside it, the light and fluffy nougat is like eating a delicious cloud. But the lack of variety within the candy puts it behind many of its other chocolate candy bar counterparts.
10. Hershey’s- F: 6 /10 T: 3/10 NF: 5/10
The classic Hershey’s chocolate bar is better known for its role in non-Halloween items, such as S’mores. They are still a decent Halloween candy, but not the ideal choice when trick or treating.
11. Nerds- F: 7/10 T: 4/10 NF: 3/10
Small but tasty, these pebble shaped fruit flavored candies bring a pop of sweet and sour goodness to Halloween. While not specific to Halloween, Nerds balance out the chocolate heavy top rankings of the list and bring new flavors to the table.
12. M&Ms- F: 4/10 T: 3/10 NF: 6/10
The definition of classic candy, these candy coated chocolates have been placed in trick or treaters bags for decades. While the original milk chocolate M&Ms are the most popular, there are many other flavors such as peanut, pretzel and the best of all, caramel.
13. Skittles- F: 3/10 T: 5/10 NF:4 /10
Similar to M&Ms, Skittles are a slight downgrade because of the removal of chocolate and replacement with fruit flavoring. Sporting a chewy texture, Skittles have a range of flavors for example, sour, wildberry and tropical.
14. Almond Joys- F: 3/10 T: 2/10 NF: 6/10
If it was just the coconut part of Almond Joys, without the almond, this candy bar would be much higher on the list. The contrast of chocolate and coconut provides a wonderful blend of taste and texture. However, the key selling point of Almond Joys is also its worst aspect as the small, dry, flavorless almond at the top of the bar leaves many trick-or-treaters having to eat around it.
15. York- F: 3/10 T: 5/10 NF: 2/10
This small, disc shaped chocolate and mint candy is one of the more unknown entities on the list. The taste and texture of the candy is very strong, but the significant lack of cultural impact and Halloween theme lowers it on the list.
16. Smarties- F: 4/10 T: 2/10 NF: 3/10
These small, circular tablets come in six different fruity flavors. However, this flavor variety doesn’t make up for the chalky and unpleasant texture of Smarties, and the rainbow themed packaging is far from the Halloween color palette.
17. Reese’s Pieces- F: 2/10 T: 1/10 NF: 5/10
In theory, the fusion of M&Ms and Reeses would be a delightful combination. However, the strange clash in texture of the candy coating and the peanut butter inside, combined with a striking lack of chocolate leaves Reese’s Pieces quite underwhelming.
18. Twizzlers- F: 0/10 T: 2/10 NF: 4/10
Undoubtedly the worst candy, there are no redeeming qualities of Twizzlers. The rubbery texture, fused with the taste of chemical strawberry and no cultural significance creates a truly awful snack. If you get Twizzlers while trick-or-treating, invest in a garbage can.
19. Any Non-Candy- F: 3/10 T: 2/10 NF: 0/10
While not as disappointing as receiving a non food item on Halloween, non candy snacks such as, raisins, celery sticks, cheese sticks, apple slices and fruit snacks are not sufficient treats to give out on Halloween. To give out any non candy item is to ruin the one night of the year when kids get to eat as much candy as they want.
20. Any Non-Food- F:0 /10 T: 0/10 NF: 0/10
Unfortunately, receiving items such as toothbrushes, dental floss, pencil, erasers and many other disappointing objects is an all too common occurrence for trick-or-treaters. The excitement of walking up the steps to someone's house, gleefully saying “trick or treat!” when the door is opened, comes crashing back down when you are greeted with anything non-edible. The houses that aren’t giving away food become infamous within a neighborhood and are ensured to have much less traffic than any other house this Halloween.
Remember, this list was just the opinions of the authors. For more opinions check out this video of Upper School students and faculties favorite Halloween candies!