As for me, I am a candy addict. You probably didn't know this about me. I hide it from everyone. I've hid it from my husband for 3 years now.
I LOVE CANDY.
Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest.
I feel like a bit of a fraud, because most of the time, I make everything we eat from scratch. Of course I make our desserts, but also I make dinners for two. I soak my own beans to cook from scratch, I make my own bread, and I skip the middle aisles of the grocery with the processed foods. HOWEVER, I always hit the candy aisle.
I think my candy obsession stems from the fact that I was never allowed to have it as a kid. Like, ever. It was never in our house. I think it was a very good thing, though, and I'm not complaining about my Mom (because Lord knows I'd never complain about my Mama!). However, the first time I had to study for finals in college, I discovered that candy surpasses coffee in the energy department. Sugar officially had me in her grips.
Now that you know a little more about me, let's get serious about it. If you and I were on our 87th date, I would tell you my candy preferences. So, here goes: I'm always going to gravitate towards fruity candy, with a special soft spot for gummies. And the occasional sour, too. World Market carries a type of Haribo gummy bears that are made with real fruit juice, and I basically hit them up once a month, if you know what I mean.
Speaking of the once a month "candy run", I do like a few types of chocolate candy (especially the ones mentioned in my Caramel Brownies recipe).
This year, you guys, this year is a good year for Valentine's Day candy. I raided Target on January 1 and again a week later to see if the stock had changed.
Here's all the good stuff I found!
Reese's white chocolate hearts I forgot to mention that my favorite kind of chocolate is white chocolate. I know, I know you're rolling your eyes at me. But somewhere between white chocolate peanut butter heart number six and seven, I just stopped caring what you think of me. These white chocolate hearts are my dream come true. Now if I could just get my husband to stop putting the bag in the freezer, I would have life-long happiness.
Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts I'd like a chance to say that I do love dark chocolate. It has its place in my life, maybe three times a year, if it's lucky. I blame these Dove hearts for starting my holiday candy addiction. My Mom sent me a Valentine's Day care package one year when I was in my mid-20s (and still single while all my friends were gettin' hitched), and she put these hearts in the box. I couldn't believe how good they were. You're going to say 'they're not real dark chocolate.' And I'm gonna say 'gimme dat.'
Black Forest Organic Conversation Hearts If you asked me last week how I felt about brands of conversation hearts other than Brach's, I would have said 'garbage.' But I bought these anyway because I think Black Forest makes some decent gummy bears. I'm scared to say how much I love these. I actually like them more than Brach's because they're softer. And the whole bag doesn't wreak of the white peppermint ones. Even though I love Brach's, I throw away all the white and pink hearts. But all of these hearts are good! You should use a bag to make my Conversation Heart Ice Cream.
Swedish Fish Hearts I don't know if this is the first year Swedish fish have come in heart shapes, but I know that my Valentine's Day is forever changed. Gummy candy is my favorite kind of candy, especially sour, but when my tongue is raw, I reach for Swedish fish. They're addicting, and if I don't hide the bag from myself, I can eat an entire one throughout the course of a day. I'm on my second bag for 2017.
This is random, but I was just reading a candy review blog (not a joke), and they described the flavor of Swedish fish as lingonberry with a touch of raspberry and pomegranate. And just like that, folks, I fell in love all over again. With the same candy. Love is like a geyser that keeps renewing its ardor in stop-and-start bursts. Are you tired of me yet?
Gobstoppers Hearts Gosh, I'm obsessed with these. I don't like regular Gobstobbers. I think it was my Mom who bought these one year, and I grabbed a handful before I saw the label. I love these because they change flavors. The white heart is the best, because it changes into a yellow one (yellow and green candy forever, Amen!)
Speaking of yellow candy, I'm looking to start a support group for those of us that miss lemon jolly ranchers. It's not that I hate the blue raspberry ones they replaced them with, but I just can't eat something so blue. It reminds me of how blue my heart is without lemon jolly ranchers.
Sour Patch Kids Hearts The bag is full of red and pink hearts (the pink are better than the red), and while normally, my favorite Kids are yellow and green, I love these sour little hearts. I used them to decorate my Sugar Cookie Bars, and I'm still dreaming about those.
I think it's time for a sour candy revolution in this country. We can do better than sour coating on the outside only. Give me a sour gummy candy that has sourness throughout the entire piece (or give me death!)
Nestle Crunch Valentine Hearts This is where things get interesting. I don't normally like Crunch bars. But heart-shaped Crunch bars? I'm all over these. I think that Crunch bar chocolate has a pronounced coffee flavor to it. And somehow, the shape of the heart allows the coffee aromas to permeate the palate--WAIT, is this is a wine tasting or a $3 bag of chocolate tasting? Reigning it in now.
Sixlets Gotta be honest here. I grabbed these to decorate cookies with, and it confirmed my suspicion: Sixlets taste like cheap M&Ms. The chocolate shell is thinner, and the chocolate inside feels more airy and light. While I normally love all things Canadian, this is a big fat 'no' for me. But if I had to choose between all the lovely Sixlet-eating Canadians in my life and a life without Canadians, I would eat sixteen thousand six hundred and sixteen sixlets. That's how much I love Canada. (But you can keep your candy on the other side of the border).
Hershey's White Cookie Cupcake Kisses Ok, these are my wild card. I grabbed these thinking I would totally hate them. Cupcake flavored white chocolate? With pink crunchies sprinkled throughout? There are so many things wrong with this fusion candy hot mess. But you know what? I love them. I'm not sure why they're called both 'white cookie' and 'cupcake' (and why does a cookie have to be white?), but I don't care. I'm too busy eating them...and making plans for the little papers that say 'cupcake' on them.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The one type of Valentine's Day candy that I love and look forward to every year are sour cherry balls. However, I haven't been able to find them in years! I saw one bag at the hardware store last year (and seriously, who buys candy at the hardware store? How old is it, really?), and I didn't buy them. I've been thinking about it ever since. I'm sure my husband loves that I can't remember anything about the movie we watched last night, but I remember that one time I went to the hardware store and didn't buy a bag of candy. Self-centeredness is one of my many charms.
Anything by Ghirardelli Any type of little square they want to put in a foil wrapper and stuff with stuff is A-OK with me. I didn't grab any yet this year, because I know my Mom is preparing her annual Valentine's Day candy care package (now you see where my self-centeredness comes from: I was loved far too much as a child), and I'm hoping she packs the raspberry ones in there.
Okay okay, tell me: do you love candy? What is your favorite kind? And yes, I have a PO Box address that I can give you if you want to send me some.
Sam says
Oooh yeah! I've been in love with Dark chocolates ever since. This is a great idea for any occasion, or everyday for me. lol.
Jenna says
OOOOOOOhhhh my!!! I cannot believe this!! I love any candy that is sour and gummy and fruity, but LOVE Reese's!! Have 2 get my hands on the white chocolate ones!! And I HATE(yes really) when a candy says sour and isn't!! Drives me nuts. I have taken to buying Sour Patch Extreme.
Jen says
I am always excited to find people as excited about candy as me! Yum! I will have to look for the Swedish hearts, the Sour Patch hearts, and the Black Forest conversation hearts! Have you tried the Sweetarts soft bites gummy hearts? They are excellent.
Megan says
I just want to say that I think we should start a support group for candy lovers after skimming over the comments. I too am a sour gummy lover like so many others here. My mouth is also now watering thinking about sour gummies. I found the 2x the size sour patch kids at Dollar General and annihilated them after sharing for a little bit. I love the sour belts from Lucky's grocery store. I've been trying to be good and wait to get the Gobbstopper hearts until closer to Valentine's day. I'll probably get the Sewdish Fish hearts and Reese's white chocolate hearts now. Thanks for this review!
Christina Lane says
Yesssssss, Megan! :)
PS I did not know the 2x sour patch kids existed. I'm on the hunt!
Hillary says
Where did you buy the candy in St. Louis? I need to buy some!
Christina Lane says
The Target in Kirkwood :) <3
Caitlin says
ha! i throw away all the pink & purple Brachs hearts! My favorites are the orange & yellow. I even once wrote a letter to Brachs because they had changed the flavoring of the hearts with no labeling- was SO disappointed! They are my favorite candies every year- I am an addict from January- February, and your convo heart ice cream is the BEST! SO good! I have a thing for chalky candies- candy cigarettes are a frequent Christmas gift from my family :) But I have a special place in my heart for Sixlets- have always loved the challenge of breaking the chocolate-flavored shell off without squishing the ball... odd, i know :)
Holly says
I love candy. I have a stash that no one knows about. All mine. I recently discovered kit kat red velvet snack size. They are amazing. I too love white chocolate and these are covered with it. My mom hates them, but I think she's crazy. You should try them!
Erin m. says
How did I not know about white chocolate Reese's hearts?!??!?! Omg. Must find these. And the Reese's pieces eggs...
Joanne says
Now I have to find someone to go get white chocolate Reese's! I like dark chocolate Kit-Kats. Agree on the G company chocolates - all yummy! And Dove anything dark! I wish they would bring back chocolate truffle Kisses - it seems they do some special flavors for short times. IF you are in search of old childhood fav. candies - try Google search or Vermont Country Store. I've had luck with both.
Marilu says
I am a crazy candy addict! I haven’t eaten it in awhile because I can’t control myself around it. I love any candy that is like jelly or gummy, but I’m not into sour. Like your other poster, I like cinnamon candy too! Those hearts! I never liked white chocolate before and have always been a huge chocolate snob. That is, until I made white chocolate cookies at Christmas time and one night, polished off the leftover white chocolate chips. After that, it was love! I want to find all the white chocolate on your list!
Christina Lane says
I think we're kindred spirits, Marilu! <3