rankings

Halloween Candy, Ranked

Photo: Alexei Maximenko/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Adult Halloween: Fun? Slutty? The seventh circle of hell? Whatever your grown-up Halloween plans may be, we can all agree that one highlight of experiencing Halloween over the age of 18 is candy. Namely, candy in miniature, which you can now consume as abundantly as your non-miniature heart desires. Welcome to Home Alone: Halloween edition. Here, you can eat candy for breakfast the entire month of October.

You can also BUY your own Halloween candy instead of sticking your fingers in a plastic pumpkin and fishing around for the last Snickers bar. This is a true Halloween blessing, because we all know not all candies are created equal. As you prepare yourself to concoct your bespoke candy mix, I am offering some advice free of charge. As someone who used to wrap Sour Straws around Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, I know things. And so, here is a totally objective ranking of Halloween candy.

32. Raisinets

Raisins are not candy, nature’s or otherwise, and coating them with chocolate only makes them a deceitful trick. These must be removed from all candy assortments immediately.

31. Welch’s Fruit Snacks

BOOOOOO!!!!! A hex upon whoever passes these out.

30. Mounds & 29. Almond Joy

Like raisins, coconut shreds should not really be considered a valid candy ingredient. Almond Joys are just Mounds with almonds added, which does not make it better.

28. Laffy Taffy

Taste-wise, these guys are alright, but they very often melt inside the package and are therefore disgusting to eat. Also, you always get the banana flavor, which, gross.

27. Dots

Too sweet, always get stuck in your teeth.

26. Gobstoppers

Stressful. Photo: Bulk Candy Store

I am genuinely terrified of cracking a tooth on these, which make them stressful to eat and/or suck on. Pass.

25. Milk Duds

Eh.

24. Tootsie Rolls

What is a Tootsie Roll made of? Wikipedia informs me they are a “chocolate-flavored taffy-like candy,” which doesn’t really clear things up. Tootsie Rolls are the mystery meat of candy, but they don’t taste as disgusting as I’ve made them sound.

23. Swedish Fish

Fun shape, mediocre gummy candy. There are better gummies out there.

22. Peppermint Patties

I go back and forth when it comes to mint and chocolate together, but these are pretty good, especially when frozen.

21. Junior Mints

Again, mint and chocolate is a questionable duo if you ask me, but I’ll take it if it’s being offered.

20. Smarties

Photo: Just Candy

Sour chalk: What a concept! Surprisingly tasty.

19. Candy Corn

Candy corn is divisive, which is okay. I believe it is good in small doses, so it goes somewhere in the middle.

18. Mini Twizzlers

Hear me out: Twizzlers are good. So are mini Twizzlers, which have an entirely different consistency and taste more like gummies than flavored wax. Like most gummy candies, they pair nicely with a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.

17. Skittles

Taste the rainbow, etc., etc.

16. Kit Kat

The snap is never as satisfying as the commercials make it out to be, but that’s their advertising team’s fault, not Kit Kats’.

15. Starburst

Photo: TSC

Except for orange, all the flavors taste good, and the wrapper is so satisfying to unpeel.

14. Baby Ruth

There are a bunch of candy bars that I always have to Google to remember the difference. I believe Baby Ruths have some variation of chocolate, nut, and caramel, which is pretty hard to mess up.

13. Milky Way

I like their name, and I know they also have caramel, so … good, I think.

12. Three Musketeers

I’ve just learned that Milky Ways made outside the U.S. have no caramel and are therefore just Three Musketeers. My mind is reeling.

11. Butterfinger

These are the crumbly ones, right? Delicious, but must be eaten over a plate.

10. Twix

Photo: Chocolate SOS

Have you ever had those Twix ice-cream bars? Divine. Regular mini Twix are less good, but still yummy.

9. Snickers

Great mix of textures. Great candy bar. Snickers are probably the best of this bunch, but again, you could hand me a Milky Way and I wouldn’t know the difference.

8. Hi-Chews

While this was not a Halloween candy I received as a child, I’ve noticed they have snuck their way into many Halloween candy assortments. This is great news. All flavors of Hi-Chews are delicious, and I am thrilled that the American Halloween Candy Industrial Complex has expanded into international markets.

7. Nerds

I love those little Nerd boxes. They’re loud! They’re filled with a satisfying number of tiny sour candies! Toss them all in your mouth and make a weird sour-candy face. It’s fun!

6. Nestle Crunch

Solid candy.

5. Hershey’s Kisses

A classic! No notes.

4. Hershey’s Nuggets

Photo: Just Candy

YES!!! Give these all to me. These shiny little gems are the most slept-on Halloween candy. They look too sophisticated to be good, but they are in fact perfect. Never change, Hershey’s Nuggets. You are better than Ghirardelli squares and you know it.

3. Sour Patch Watermelon & 2. Sour Patch Kids

The yin and yang of sour candies. On the one side, you have the watermelon: not very sour at all, fun to suck on until it’s really sweet or just chew up. Then you have the Kids, which you sort through to pick out your favorite flavors (a little brain challenge) and are actually sour. A little something for everyone, eh?

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

All Reese’s Peanut Butter cups should be mini. The mini versions — which have that foil wrapping — are more proportional than the flat ones and also easier to eat. Reese’s are and will always be the champions of Halloween candy. Long may they reign.

This post has been updated for 2021.

Halloween Candy, Ranked