Wirecutter - Our favorite Halloween candy

De La Rosa

After a night of trick-or-treating in Los Angeles, my kids raid the bag looking for the usual hits: Reese’s Minis, any species of Snickers, those little Milky Way and Babe Ruth cubes, yellow and brown bags containing 14 M&Ms each (which they attempt to eat in one gulp). But the jewels of the haul for me, the van driver and Halloween chaperone? Anything wrapped in a Pulparindo label.

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The tamarind and chamoy flavors of these sweet, salty, spicy Mexican delicacies are my favorites, but I’ll take any of them—even sandia (but let’s be honest, that’s better as an agua fresca). There’s a multidimensional flavor to these chewy treats that makes American candy seem monochromatic in its simple sweetness. Imagine the tart kick in the mouth from a Michelada, compared with the syrupy throat-coat of a Budweiser. This candy is not for everybody, but once you taste a Pulparindo, you'll know if you can handle it. And you may never fight your kids for their Snickers ever again.

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—Harry Sawyers, senior editor

Morinaga

I gave out a variety of Hi-Chew flavors one year for Halloween, and the trick-or-treaters—parents included—went wild. In a world of Costco multipacks of the same fun-size whatevers over and over, these really stood out. They’re fruity Japanese chews that taste incredibly juicy—like a more accurately flavored Starburst. As Willy Wonka’s Violet Beauregarde would say (and I’m paraphrasing), “The raspberry tastes like raspberry! The mango tastes like mango! The pineapple tastes like pineapple!” Unfortunately, there’s no snozzberry flavor—yet.

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—Annemarie Conte, deputy editor

Jin Jin

I didn't grow up in a very walkable neighborhood, so trick-or-treating wasn’t really a part of my childhood. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get spoiled with treats whenever Halloween rolled up. These lychee jelly cups were one of the things my family and I would stock up on, and they are addictive. I’ve loved them since I was a child, especially on hot summer days. The perfect hack is to pop the bag in the fridge as soon as you get it, and then eat them cold. They’re ridiculously good.

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—Rozette Rago, photo editor

Cadbury

This chocolate bar is my candy go-to no matter the time of year. But I especially like to buy it around Halloween and have it with a big bowl of popcorn while watching scary movies. With dried fruits and nuts filling the decadent milk chocolate, this Cadbury bar provides a really lovely balance of pure sugar versus natural flavors and texture. I’m known to eat one row of it at a time and then keep the rest in the fridge, in an attempt to make it last a few days. It doesn't work, though. I'm always back at the fridge an hour later.

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—Nena Farrell, updates writer

Smarties

I’ve loved Smarties since I was a kid—no more and no less now. Something about the tangy-yet-sweet flavor and powdery-yet-crunchy texture has always appealed. I love the crinkly clear wrapper and the different combinations of colors. Also, apparently they’re free of all nine major allergens (milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame), which seems very cool and safe for kids?!

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—Annam Swanson, managing editor

Nestlé

Smarties take me right back to being a kid and going door-to-door at Halloween. I used to get so excited when a tiny box of these would drop into my pillow case. I’d pop one open in between houses and dump the entire contents in my mouth. If we’re comparing candy-coated chocolates, regular M&Ms don’t stand a chance. Smarties are sweeter and crunchier, and the colors are way cuter. I don’t eat them much now, but every so often I’ll pick up a box and pretend I’m 20 years younger.

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—Andrew Kalinchuk, deputy managing editor

Tootsie

I have a theory that the oldest sibling’s least favorite Halloween candy is the youngest sibling’s favorite. The annual post-trick-or-treat candy swap would force the “bad” candy down the familial food chain—the Good & Plenty for the Skittles, the Three Musketeers for the Reese’s, and so on. The youngest is left with a pile of discarded sweets. Because everyone in my family hated Dots, I grew to love them. I know they’re bad. I know they have no taste. I know that they’ll be stuck in my teeth for three days. But when I think of Halloween, I think of Dots.

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—Jake Baker, software engineer

Amazon

I love chocolate-covered chewy things. And sugar. Charleston Chew is both of these: Vanilla taffy (i.e., chewy sugar) dipped in chocolate (really, a chocolate-like coating). This is the kind of candy that can yank out teeth, or break them. When you freeze a Charleston Chew, the texture transforms from a lazy stretch into a shattering snap. At the same time, there’s something elegant about its slender profile. A Charleston Chew is slimmer and longer than a standard candy bar, and to a child, it seems never-ending. In miniature Halloween form, swathed in its signature yellow wrapper, the faintly marshmallowy two bites remind me of things that once made me inexplicably happy.

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—Gabriella Gershenson, editor

Goldenberg’s

Don’t let the old-school name fool you. This chocolate, peanut, and molasses candy is a less sickeningly sweet (and dare I say more satisfying) predecessor to Snickers. No fluffy marshmallow nonsense here—just compact bites of the good stuff. These candies have been around since 1917 for a good reason: They’re delicious. How delicious? Well, Peanut Chews were included as rations in military boxes during World War II. And they were so popular that soldiers still wanted to buy them after the war.

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Goldenberg’s makes a milk chocolate version, but the original dark is where it’s at. (As a bonus, the dark chocolate version is vegan!) The counterbalance of the chocolate’s sweet, salty, and slightly bitter undertones with the crunch of peanuts and the satisfying chew of the molasses was a favorite of mine as a child. I can still remember standing with a wrinkled dollar bill, smoothing it carefully on the side of the vending machine at the ice rink where I took figure-skating lessons, and then holding my breath as the machine sucked it in and the lights of the selection buttons illuminated. The satisfying thud as the candy hit the bottom of the machine was a sweet salve to the fourth-grader who knew she’d never be an ice champion but that the experience was still worth the effort. Slightly bitter and sweet. Peanut Chews may look old-fashioned, they may not come in holiday colors, but their flavor transcends darkness. What’s more Halloweeny than that?

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—Lauren Dragan, senior staff writer

Swedish Fish

I don’t like Swedish Fish. But my 5-year-old daughter loves Swedish Fish. And thus every Halloween, I am tasked with aiding her hunt for these bizarrely piscine gummies.

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Her love for Swedish Fish is a little baffling: They have a similar consistency and taste as the probiotic gummy vitamins she bristles at eating every morning. And she gags at the mere suggestion that she eat actual fish. But Swedish Fish ... well, there’s something about these gummy treats that she adores. I think it’s the exotic appeal of something vaguely international. Skittles and Starburst are so pedestrian, provincial. But Swedish Fish—why that’s sophisticated, worldly. “Sweden makes the best candy,” she intones as she chomps a red gummy fish. I haven’t had the heart to tell her that the Swedish Fish she’s munching were actually made in Canada.

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—Ben Frumin, editor-in-chief

White Rabbit

White Rabbit is a milk-flavored candy wrapped in rice paper. What’s not to love about that? My grandmother always had a ton of these, especially around Halloween (but truthfully, we indulged in them year-round). This was a staple in my childhood, and it’s one I still seek out whenever I'm at an Asian grocery store. White Rabbit candy is very chewy and sweet—it’s really hard to not eat the whole bag in one sitting.

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—Rozette Rago, photo editor

Skittles

Knowing that I’ll eat some of the Halloween candy I give out, I always get plenty of small Skittles bags. They’re just 61 calories a bag, and they have a fresh, fruity, almost crisp taste that doesn’t gunk your teeth up too much. Of course, no matter which kind of candy I get, I know I’ll eat too much. But Skittles don’t make my stomach do flip-flops the next morning the way chocolate does.

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—Brent Butterworth, senior staff writer

Kopiko

Way before I had a coffee problem, I had a Kopiko problem. Kopiko is a hard candy with a very rich coffee taste—and a tiny bit of caffeine. I remember eating so many of these as I stared at the television, watching whatever horror movie was on for the season.

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—Rozette Rago, photo editor