The Best Halloween Candy — No, Seriously.

I’ve gotta’ say, Halloween is a dangerous holiday. It’s too easy to buy candy long before October 31st; it’s even easier to justify buying it early when you say to yourself, “Oh, I’ll stick it in the top cupboard and save it until then…”

Yeah right.

I don’t know of anybody who has ever successfully done that. Before too long, it just starts gnawing away at you because you know it’s there… eat me, eat me, eat me… *sigh* … Two years ago I bought my Halloween candy on October 31st, Halloween Day. I went to the store to find nearly empty shelves and ended up coming back with the stuff nobody wants: stale pumpkin peeps, Sunmaid raisins, and a mini-size candybar mix. Mini size. Really? Halloween is about packing in the goodies, not skimping on treats that you don’t even have to chew before swallowing.

So this year I decided to–yep, you guessed it–buy my goodies early. I bought them two weeks ago during a “weak moment” on aisle 5. Needless to say, I’m going to have to buy more. Dangit. At least there is one huge benefit to buying your Halloween candy early; besides having to buy and eat twice the amount of candy for Halloween, you get the best of the best. No stale pumpkin peeps for me this year.

So this year I’ve rounded up a list of the 10 best Halloween candies (I cheated and added more than one candy to some numbers), that if I had to buy twice this month, I wouldn’t complain.

In no particular order, behold the list…

10 Best Halloween Candies

1. Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Watermelon.

I love Swedish fish. They’re divine. They’re a perfect chewy fruit-flavored gummy candy. One of the great things about Swedish Fish is that you can stack them together and make a fish tower that’s very satisfying to sink your teeth into. As an added bonus, “They taste like fruit. Not like fish.” Amazing. The Sour Patch Watermelons are to die for, no kidding. This is one candy I have a hard time resisting, even after I’ve brushed my teeth (which gives them a funky, yet oddly enjoyable flavor). I love how they’re sour at first, but not too sour, and gently ease into the sweet flavor. These are a must have.

2. Peanut Butter Kisses.

Yeah, how did these make the list when so many people hate them? I guess I’m a little odd in more ways than one. I’m not a fan of peanut butter, but I love these candies. They come wrapped in an orange and black waxy paper, and oh, they’re mouth watering. I remember as a kid I always gave them away because in my mind, I figured the black wrapping immediately made it nasty. Boy, was I wrong. Every Halloween, I treasure these little guys, and there’s almost never enough of them to leave me satisfied. I guess the taste grows on you… (ack, get it off!)

3. Caramel Apple Pops and Sugar Daddy pops.

Carmel Apple Pops…What can I say? It’s caramel wrapped around a sour-apple flavored sucker. Whoever invented these things was a genius. They taste good, and they’re fun to eat. With just a little bit of pressure, they stick to the roof of your mouth. It gets extra points in my book because the carmel coating helps the sucker last twice as long. I’m always sad when these are gone. As for the Sugar Daddy caramel lollipops… it’s yummy caramel on a stick, what’s not to love?

4. Starbursts and Skittles.

These are the classic fruit-flavored chews. Yum, yum, yum. My favorite Starbursts are the FaveReds and my favorite Skittles are the Wild Berry, though the Crazy Cores take a close second. My one wish is that the Starbursts fun size had at least three Starbursts in it; there’s a lot of wrapping around those two fruit chews. These two candies are extra awesome because they last a while, unlike the classic chocolate bars that are gone after a couple bites. They’ve got a lot of flavor varieties which helps appease even the picky candy eaters.

5. Classic chocolates (Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, Mr. Goodbar, etc.).

No matter how much I like fruity, chewy candies, there’s no denying that the classic chocolate candy bar is one of the best Halloween candies out there–as long as they’re not mini-sized. When you’re giving out tons of candy to kids, the fun size is definitely acceptable, especially because there’s a lot of chocolate in a full-sized candy bar, almost too much to eat in one sitting. I’m particularly fond of Baby Ruth, Almond Joy, 100 Grand, and Big Hunk, all of which come in a fun-size bar.

6. Licorice (Twizzlers, Sour Punch Ropes, etc.).

I don’t mind if it’s the classic Twizzlers, or the new flavored Twizzlers, or the Twizzler Pull-n-Peels. I love them all. They’re fun to eat, and they double as straws. In my opinion, the Twizzlers licorice isn’t overly sweet, so it’s a way to get your sugar fix without the headache. The Sour Punch Ropes are amazing. You have to make sure to chew them up well, though, because they’re not exactly the softest licorice around (I guess I’d rate them as an age 5+ candy), and they’ll get stuck in your throat. They have a sour powder coating that’s both addicting and delicious.

7. Dots and Nerds.

I love dots, and I’m particularly fond of the original flavor. I had the yogurt flavor a long time ago. I think I liked them too. I love the dots because they’re super chewy and they stick to your teeth. I think they’re even yummy when they go stale and hard. Nerds are a classic, and I love the fun-size nerds. It’s satisfying to rip open a box and dump them all in your mouth at once. It’s almost a flavor overload, but the heavy, desirable crunch they make when you chew them all at once is second-to-none.

8. Tootsie Fruit Rolls and Frooties.

These candies have amazing flavor, and they’re small enough you can stick a few of them in your pocket to eat at church, school, or on the job. I always thought it was funny how the Sunday after Halloween, you could hear candy being unwrapped through the entire Sunday program. Neither of them are made of chocolate, so when they’re in your pocket, they don’t melt on you, they just soften up. Frooties are extra awesome because you can buy them in large bags and they come in exotic-ish flavors that pack a punch.

9. Werther’s Originals.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen these on a Halloween candy isle. I don’t know why they’re not there, these are good no matter what time of year, and they add an elegant flare to anybody’s Halloween candy stash. I particularly like them around Halloween because it adds a nice flavor to the lingering fruit and chocolate candy flavors that follow the post-Halloween candy eating binge.

10. Milk Duds and Bit-O-Honey.

If you haven’t already guessed, I love caramels. I especially love them surrounded with chocolatey goodness, so it’s only natural that Milk Duds made this list. I’m always surprised at how many Milk Duds they can pack into a fun-size box–maybe 5 or 6, I guess–which doesn’t sound like much, but they take a while to eat, so there’s value in it. They’re one of those candies that I just can’t hardly resist. Bit-O-Honeys are super yummy too, even though they shed little candy shavings everywhere when you open them. Although they have great flavor, I think the best part about them is how chewy they are. My jaw hurts after eating 3 or more of these, but it’s so, so worth it.

And just for the heck of it, here’s a bonus:

11. Brach’s Autumn Mix.

This cornucopia of honey-flavored coma-inducing Halloween “delight” includes candy corns, mellowcreme pumpkins, and anything else made to give you a sugar hangover. These aren’t so good for plain snacking or trick-or-treating, but they’re awesome to use on cookies, cupcakes, and other homemade treats as food decorations. They make the list just because they’re actually useful for something besides eating. Now that I think about it, I don’t like the dark candy corns very much (even for decorating), actually, they’re revolting, but they have some pretty good caramel ones.

Well, that pretty much sums it up for me. What’s your favorite Halloween candy?