This Classic Got No Respect In Halloween Candy Throwdown [Block Talk]
Fair warning: Whatever you hand out during Halloween trick-or-treating this year, don’t let it be candy corn. You could get a haunting surprise.“If you give me candy corn,” Pennsylvania Patch reader “Maleficent” said, we’re sure with big, black stink eye, “I will cast a spell on you.”The divisive Halloween candy barely registered a blip on our informal Halloween candy throwdown survey for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column. Only Sour Patch Kids got fewer mentions when we asked what candy is best on Halloween and what kind of treats qualify the giver as the scariest person in the neighborhood.Here are the results of the informal survey:Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (31.2 percent)Something else (26.9 percent)Snickers (11.8 percent)KitKat (7.9 percent)Butterfinger (6.8 percent)M&Ms (6.5 percent)Milky Way (3.9 percent)Skittles (2.5 percent)Candy corn (1.8 percent)Sour Patch Kids (0.7 percent)‘You Have To Work A Little To Eat Them’Some readers said candy corn deserves more respect than it got from Maleficent and a handful of other readers who think it’s the default candy of the archetypal scary neighbor.“Candy corn is traditional,” said “GothWitchGirl,” a New York City Patch reader. “It conjures up happy childhood memories!”It’s also a fleeting treat, said Patch reader Andrea.“Candy corn’s texture is tender and soft, the very sweetest and most unique flavor!” she, ahem, waxed on about the candy that is literally coated in edible wax. “Candy corn and pumpkins come in a range of prices, and we can taste them only for a few weeks each year.”Toms River (New Jersey) Patch reader Sydney can’t understand why Sour Patch Kids finished in the cellar, calling them “obviously a superior candy” noting there are “no worries about nut allergies or gluten, either.”Eagan (Minnesota) Patch reader “Jessica Rabbit” also feels slighted.“Twizzlers,” she said. “I cannot believe they didn’t make the list. My children automatically know not to touch them. They get set aside during the loot inventorying just for me!”And what is this, no Baby Ruth, either?“I have always loved Baby Ruth candy bars, the great combination of chocolate, nuts and the great consistency make it a wonderful treat — doesn’t even need a trick!” said Flemington (New Jersey) Patch reader “Scary Mary, Seer of All Things to Come.”“Milk Duds!” said Oswego (Illinois) Patch reader Denna, also a member of the “something else” crowd in our survey. “They come three to a box, the perfect amount because they take time to chew. The enjoyment lasts longer because you have to work a little to eat them.”Passionate About The CupsReese’s Peanut Butter Cups also topped last year’s Halloween throwdown survey. People are ardent in their defense of The Cups.“Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is hands-down the best,” said New Yorker Alex V., who reads Northport Patch and Huntington Patch. “The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is just a dream that cannot be matched.“Plus,” Alex V. continued, “the orange wrapper is truly festive for Halloween. Bonus points if you give out the pumpkin-shaped ones because we all know those have more peanut butter filling.”Who knew? Did you?“The Jalponator,” a Fairfield (Connecticut) Patch reader, said The Cups are “undeniably the crown jewel of Halloween candy.”“The moment you unwrap that iconic orange and brown packaging, you’re greeted with the promise of heavenly chocolate melting into luscious, creamy peanut butter,” The Jalponator said. “There’s nothing quite like the joy of biting into a Reese’s.”The “Queen of Hearts,” a Johnston (Rhode Island) Patch, would do almost anything for a Reese’s.“I would risk getting into an argument with my toddler just to have a bite of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” the Queen of Hearts said, adding, “If you met my toddler, you’d know what high stakes those are.”In Maryland, H.E. says eating a Reese’s is a sensory pleasure with first a taste of chocolate, then the creamy peanut butter center, and then another taste of chocolate.“It’s eating the candy part by part that makes it mouth-watering and indulgent guilty pleasure,” the Annapolis Patch and Severna Park Patch reader said.One thing could make The Cups better, according to a Concord (New Hampshire) Patch reader “Igor” or, alternatively, “Young Frankenstein.”“Chocolate and peanut butter, who could resist?” the reader said. “They just need to add bacon and they would be complete.”‘They Weld Kids’ Teeth Together’A Martinez (California) Patch reader hopes her grandchildren come home from trick-or-treating with plenty of KitKats in their buckets. “It’s what I steal,” she said.Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Patch reader Jason was nostalgic about KitKats. The bars “bring back memories from when I used to go trick-or-treating around our small neighborhood,” Jason said. “Loved getting these two favorites — chocolate on the outside and crispy on the inside.”In Illinois, “Marcia Brady” stood up for KitKats for the same reason.“To me, KitKats are crunchy cookies covered in milk chocolate,” the Skokie Patch and Arlington Heights Patch reader said. “No caramel to get stuck in your teeth. I love that they are rows that snap into long pieces that are easily bitten.”Evangelina, a Haverford-Havertown (Pennsylvania) Patch reader, thinks a Butterfinger is a practical choice. “Pure sugar, with just a suggestion of peanut butter flavor, they weld kids’ teeth together so they can’t eat too much candy,” she said.M&Ms are perfect, said “Cheshire Cat,” who reads Naugatuck Patch, New Haven Patch and Milford Patch.“You may eat a lot, you may eat a few. You are not obligated to go all in as you would for, say, a Snickers. There are colors! Everyone knows the red ones taste the best,” Cheshire Cat said.Irene, who reads Worcester Patch and Westborough Patch, both in Massachusetts, also likes M&Ms, but cheats on them a little and misses a lost trick-or-treat love.“M&Ms melt in my heart, never stay long in my hand,” Irene said. “But chocolates of other stripes lure me, too — Hershey Kisses, Raisinets, Goobers, Chunky. Oh where, oh where have those Chunkies gone? “Patch reader Candy Queen said Snickers are, well, nothing to snicker about.“Who would dare to laugh at this delish concoction of chocolate, caramel, nuts and nougat?” Candy ‘Queen wants to know. ‘My Daughter Actually Got Potatoes’ New Yorker Alex V., who thinks Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the best, said people who hand out hard candies are the scariest people in the neighborhood.“Not to be confused with lollipops, which are great, but individually wrapped hard candies are just a waste of time,” Alex V. said. “Also, if you’re not handing out popular name-brand candies and chocolate, then you might as well just look out your door and turn your lights off and not participate.”The Witch, a Framingham (Massachusetts) Patch reader, knows all about that, commenting, “The neighbor that hands out last year’s Christmas candy is the scariest.”The Witch is more innovative than that but lets the chips fall where they may.“I like to give out Pringles. In the little cans. It’s not sweet but still a treat. It’s different, and some kids are happy to see chips,” The Witch said, noting, however, that “others are quite disappointed.” Middleton (New Jersey) Patch reader Amanda hopes her neighbors get the memo: “Dear people with Costco memberships, We do not want pumpkin pretzels.”“Potatoes,” said Little Silver-Oceanport (New Jersey) Patch reader Maureen. “My daughter actually got potatoes last year.”‘A Cape Made Of Candy Wrappers’Don’t be handing out toothbrushes, several readers said. Isle, a Kingstowne-Rose Hill (Virginia) Patch reader, knows the peril of going down that trick-or-treat path, the one that’s good for the kiddos even if they don’t see it that way.“One year I handed out sugarless gum. Another year it was boxes of raisins. And yes, my tree out front was TP-d afterward,” Isle said. “My son warned me! Lesson learned. I nixed toothbrushes.”Isle hopes to hit the mark this year.“Plan A is to hand out popcorn since it’s much healthier and won’t rot their teeth out, since we all know what a dentist bill looks like,” Isle said.Plan B is to continue a 10-year Halloween tradition of handing out Hershey’s, KitKats, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and other full-sized candy bars as a reward to kids who “huff and puff” climbing to the top of her very steep hill. She also offers boxed drinks and bottled water if they’re thirsty.Instead of a thank you, Isle got the classic Halloween trick. “The next morning, lucky me gets to pick up the empties along my driveway and sidewalk,” she said.Whether under Plan A or Plan B, Isle will be handing out treats with her neighbors at the bottom of the hill that’s more community-oriented and doesn’t require arduous climbs. “We let the decorations do the scaring for us, unless I turn into a candy superhero,” said an Across America Patch reader who hopes for a trick-or-treat bounty of M&Ms because “it’s like eating tiny colorful bits of happiness.”The reader left us with this bit of Halloween imagery:“My name is River but for Halloween, I transform into ‘Choco-Loco,’ the ultimate candy enthusiast! By day, I’m just a regular person, but by night, I roam the streets in search of all the finest treats. With a cape made of candy wrappers and a mask shaped like a chocolate bar, I’m on a mission to spread the joy of sweets and ensure that no one goes home without their favorite candy.”About Block TalkBlock Talk is an exclusive Patch series on neighborhood etiquette — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you'd like for us to consider, email [email protected] with “Block Talk” as the subject line.Catch up on Block TalkThe article This Classic Got No Respect In Halloween Candy Throwdown [Block Talk] appeared first on Across America, US Patch.
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