Friday, October 18, 2013

American-Made Halloween Candy


Are you all set for Halloween trick-or-treaters? In my neighborhood, we don't get to pass out candy. Most children go early to parade around in their costumes and get treats from the local businesses. I kind of miss the tradition of scaring little children passing out candy. If you do get candy for your neighborhood kids, here are five great options for American-made candy for Halloween:

  1. Jelly Belly jelly beans -- Did you know that they come in over 100 flavors? These jelly beans are kosher, peanut-free (and made in a peanut-free factory), gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gelatin-free and relatively low calorie. I received the above small pack of Jelly Belly's in an online order but you can order a pack of 36 little packages that contain randomly-selected flavors of jelly beans.
  2. Tootsie Rolls -- I do love me some Tootsie Rolls. These candies originated in 1896 in NYC. While they've since moved production to Chicago, the recipe is still the same. A classic. This 4-lb mega mix bag comes with five different sizes. Gluten-free, peanut-free, and kosher. (P.S. I can't think about this candy without humming the 90's song conveniently spelled differently. "Let me see that Tootsee Roll!")
  3. Junior Mints -- From the Tootsie Roll family, these dark chocolate and mint candies are not small on flavor. Dark chocolate and ooey, gooey mint in the middle... Mmmm. These are one of my favorites to get at the movies. These bags of Junior Mints contain snack-sized boxes, perfect for doling out on Halloween. Gluten-free, peanut-free. Did I mention the dark chocolate?
  4. Candy Buttons -- Necco (you know, the people who make the candy wafers) produce 750 million candy buttons every year. I don't understand why I like these because inevitably one always ends up eating a fair amount of paper in the process, but there's something just fun about them. This Halloween version comes with 32 strips of orange and black candy buttons.
  5. Caramel Creams -- This 4-lb bag of these classic candies come with a vanilla caramel wrapped around a creamy, white center. Also available in strawberry, apple caramel, chocolate, double chocolate, and licorice flavors. Made in downtown Baltimore by Goetze's, a fifth-generation-owned family business. Nut-free.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!

(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.)

2 comments:

  1. I love this list! Thank you. I really, really, really, love that you mention if they are peanut free, gluten free, kosher, etc. Great article Amy! We get hardly any trick or treaters, either.

    It is hard to figure out where to take the kids out trick or treating when you live in an apartment building. Many of the bigger buildings have different systems, either hanging a special sign on your apartment door, or signing up with a doorman and the kids get a list of participating apartments. Either way it just loses something in translation to fun. And in my smallish building there is no system, so nothing much seems to happen.

    We are going to meet friends that live in the area of our neighborhood that is more "house concentrated" and go door to door the old fashioned way.

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    1. You're welcome! Two of my favorite kids have pretty serious food allergies, so I understand how tough it can be to plan for a group of kids.

      When I was a little kid, we used to live in an apartment building complex and it was awesome for trick-or-treating, especially when it was cold. All your candy needs could be met in one or two buildings. It's funny how I think now about how NYC kids have such a different experience with Halloween than most other kids.

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