Last time we shared the candies we dislike, and today I’m going to make an effort to rank my Top 5 favorite candy bars. I don’t eat them all that often anymore, but I’ve rifled-down enough during my ridiculous life to have an opinion. And it’s difficult to limit it to just five. However… if I expand it to 10 it feels like I’m padding the list with a couple that are not top-tier. So, let’s give it a shot. Here are my five faves, ranked:
5. York Peppermint Patty
4. Snickers
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
2. Take 5
1. Kit Kat
I realize there are a couple of controversial entries there. Including number five, which seems to be the most divisive candy bar of them all. But, what can I say? I love ’em! When I admit this, my heterosexuality is sometimes called into question. Because I enjoy a light and delightful candy bar?! Whatever. When I’m at Target or Walmart and spot a box o’ those beauties near the checkout, I’ll go for one every time. But I don’t see them as often as I used to, and it concerns me.
The other one that might surprise people is number two. Most of the top tier entries have been around for decades, but Take 5 is relatively new. And I find it amazing that such a perfect concoction was created at such a late date. 2004, according to Wikipedia. It feels like every combination must have surely been tested by then, right? But here we are. This is a solid and fantastic candy bar, definitely one of my favorites. I wish I had one right now.
Kit Kat kicks ass, needless to say. When we were in England they had a massive number of novelty versions, and I see a few over here too. But it’s the original that I love. Sure the Sunday Roast version is intriguing, and the Pepperoni Pizza Kit Kat is probably interesting, but just give me the tried and true. The best candy bar of them all!
The others are classics, and would probably appear on many Top 5 lists. The ones that were left off, but are also really good: Milky Way (like 3 Musketeers but with a ribbon of delicious caramel as a bonus), Almond Joy (I’m a big fan of coconut in this context. I don’t always like it, but it works here), and Payday (when they’re fresh they’re really good, but they are often semi-stale), and Caramello (damn, should this one be in my Top 5?!).
Some popular ones I don’t really like include Heath, Butterfinger, and Nestle Crunch. I like Krackel but Nestle Crunch makes me sad. It’s a poorly-executed knockoff, waxy as all fuck.
Just because I was curious I looked up the year each of my Top 5 were introduced. Here they are: Kit Kat (1935, but 1970s for USA), Take 5 (2004), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1928), Snickers (1930), and York Peppermint Patty (1940). So, I was correct that most date to before WWII. Crazy. The good stuff survives, right?
What do you have on this one? Tell us about it in the comments. Am I way off? Set me straight, won’t you?
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5. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
4. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
Jeff, get yourself over to CandySan and get one of their selection bags of Japanese Kit-Kats.
Do not get a Pokémon curry – trust me on this.
I agree with your choices. The Take 5 is an awesome often looked over contender. A sleeper if you will.
I prefer dark chocolate so when kit Kats came out with the dark chocolate version I died and went to heaven. And the milky way dark is a dream come true, too.
Jeff, I totally agree about nestles. How they can legally get away with calling that candlestick “chocolate” is criminal.
I am in total agreement with the Kit Kat at #1. And having traveled to Japan multiple times in my adult life, I have stories to tell about Kit Kat options. But that’s another long comment, NSFW.
Milky Way also features in my top 5.
I would add the $100,000 bar, Baby Ruth, and Twix.
I do like Heath and Butterfinger, but always have a bit of regret after picking toffee out of my teeth for 2 hours afterwards.
We had this slower gentleman in town when I was growing up. He always wanted to pinch the little girls cheeks. My mother would see him coming down the avenue and rush us into a store. When he gave his crazy semi Brown toothless maniacal grin my mother would say his mouth looked like he was chewing a baby ruth. To this day I can’t stomach that candy.
Heath are best from the freezer after the toffee has frozen solid.
I’ll admit, prior to reading this, I’d never heard of a Take5. I looked it up and they look incredible! When the lockdown is over, I fully intend to indulge in one of these bad boys! Thanks for that.
I don’t eat many actual candy bars any more, but thinking about what I steal from the kiddy bowl at Halloween I like Snickers, Twix, and Kit Kat. Snickers are pretty much perfect to me. When in UK I’ll grab a Picnic or Wispa or Topic and think they got both smaller and expensive.
As child in the 1930’s Roald Dahl, of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame, evaluated prototype candy bars for Cadbury’s. Apparently that planted a seed.
Very cool fact! Thanks for sharing that.
I take candy into work on a semi-daily basis and a few trends have been seen. Kit Kat and Twix are the two heavyweights with Kit Kat taking the title in a close contest. Snickers and Baby Ruth are solid performers and get eaten very fast. You can’t give away 3 musketeers, Milky Way, or Hershey (plain). Payday, Butterfinger, and Heath bars are occasionally best items but their popularity fades very quick. Mr Goodbar is a personal favorite along with Mallo cups.
Baby roof! …(Sloth)
5. Aero
4. Cadbury mini eggs
3. Coffee crisp
2. Toblerone
1. Kitkat
I’d never heard of a Take 5 either and had to look it up. In general, I find things with caramel too sweet but the combination with pretzels and peanut butter might even that out.
I prefer to eat chocolate frozen.
As for waxy chocolate? I find that all chocolate covered almonds have crappy waxy chocolate – doesn’t however seem to be enough of a deterrent for me.
I prefer
I can’t really come up with a rank-ordered list, but I agree that Kit Kat would be at or near the top. I remember liking the $100,000 bar as a kid, but I haven’t had one in decades. The Take 5 is new to me. Salty + sweet is a good combination, so I’ll have to try one. Toblerone, yes. You can have my York patties. Finally, one word: dark chocolate.
Like mine with more of the second ingredient than the chocolate.
5. Zero
4. Snickers
3. Payday
2. Almond Joy/Mounds
1. Baby Ruth
I like your list Phil. I would only swap out the Zero bar with a Clark Bar.
Kitkats are great to share. Unless you have more than three friends
my list:
5 – Milky Way
4 – Zero
3 – plain M & M’s
2 – Kit Kat
1 – Snickers (with almonds)
Jeff if you like all of those then may I introduce you to two others that I think you will love?
Reese’s Outrageous
Reese’s nutrageous
Both are amazing. The outrageous is amazing and I would eat a ton of them if I could!
Mallo Cup
Zero Bar
Snickers
Any flavor of Ritter Sport
Chunky
Ohhh Chunky! I used to love them. And Mallow Cups. Haven’t seen either in a long time.
Anyone remember Skybars? There were maybe 6 different flavors per bite – Caramel, marshmallow, nougat etc.
If you ever drive by Altoona PA you can visit the warehouse store and load up on Mallow Cups.
https://www.boyercandies.com/
5. Tie – Butterfinger/Milky Way
4. 3 Musketeers
3. York Peppermint Patty
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
1. Snickers
I’m not a big candy eater at all, so when I do indulge it’s a once-in-a-while treat. The light and airy Kit Kat seems to be a waste of my infrequent treat. And we could probably do another whole poll on the non-bar candies, i.e. M & Ms, Whoppers, Milk Duds, etc.
I’m a big fan of toffee, so Heath bars are at the top of my list. Glad to see you are updating the site often these days. This cheers me up! I promise not to say anything bad about Coolidge.
Coolidge! That motherf… ah, sorry.
I am surprised to see so many people mention a Zero. The only person I have ever known to eat one is my mother. When we would travel (to West Virginia) as kids, I remember my Mom asking my Dad to pick her up a Zero and a pack of Nabs. By ‘pack of Nabs’ she meant a package of those peanut butter cheese crackers.
My personal list:
5. Almond Joy
4. Snickers
3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Trees
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Out of curiosity I searched the web for the top selling candy bars in the world:
1. Snickers
2. Reese’s Cup
3. Toblerone
4. Kit Kat
5. Dove
I lean towards more plain chocolate. The low quality Easter stuff may be my guilty pleasure … I feel dirty for saying this in public…
Favorite bars:
5 Hershey with almonds
4 3 Musketeers
3 Aero
2 Jersey Milk
1 Milky way (Mars where I come from)
Honourable mention to the York Pep Patty as a “not too often but so good”
5: Baby Ruth
4: Butterfinger
3: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
2: KitKat
1: Skor
And none of it in goddamn white chocolate or strawberry creme or jalapeño Dr Pepper – DIE MILLENNIALS!!!
5. Payday
4. Reese’s Cups (and their various seasonal forms, too)
3. Skor (sometimes hard to find–but I’d settle for a Heath Bar in a pinch!)
2 Take 5
1. Hershey’s Gold (it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before–it is awesome!)
Hmmmmm, with all of the peanut/peanut butter-related entries, I reckon I must be part squirrel or something!
5. Oh Henry.
4. Coffee Crisp.
3. Chocolate M&M’s.
2. Kit Kat.
1. Mars Bar.
Close runner up Caramilk.
Kit-Kat is not candy. It’s a biscuit. End of.
Delicious chocolate covered biscuit.
When I heard that the Tunnock’s factory had suspended production I panic ordered a case of Caramel Wafers. Now *that’s* a biscuit.
1. Zagnut
2. Zero
3. Payday
4. Peppermint Patty
5. Three Musketeers
Anybody like “Cherry Mash”?