How is Halloween just a week away? Do you have your costume? Have you watched your favorite Halloween movies? (Bold statement: The Nightmare Before Christmas is overrated.) And most importantly, have you bought your Halloween candy?
“No one knows Halloween like Hershey,” the company says. “We don’t just show up for the season of Halloween; we help define it.”
And thanks to the magic of mergers and acquisitions, Hersheyween covers more than just chocolate. In addition to producing roughly 150 million pounds of candy — 26 million pounds of which are various shapes of Reese’s — Hershey also offers salty snacks like Pirate’s Booty for trick-or-treating.
To get folks into the Hersheyween spirit, Hershey shared eight new and returning snacks with Snackology ...
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Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis. / Snackology
Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis
Growing up in the 1990s, Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis are what we would’ve called fruit snacks. You’d get like eight in a bag, and they would’ve been shaped like the most popular characters in pop culture at the time. So, obviously, Garfield.
Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis are shaped like various fruits. Despite not being a hardcore gummy like Haribo, the flavor on these gummies holds its own, and I found myself wanting to open up a second pack.
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Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis Snack score: 4 out of 5
OK, what if you love Jolly Rancher Gummies Minis but wish the flavors were more confusing? Like, why should the cherry-shaped gummy taste like cherry? What if it tasted like grape?
Well, you’re in luck. Jolly Rancher Gummies Trickies Minis take everything that works with the brand’s go-to gummies but mix up the flavors.
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Jolly Rancher Gummies Trickies Minis Snack score: 4 out of 5
The seasonal Kit Kat shapes are the best Kit Kat Shapes. Seriously. Forget the whole “break me off a piece” mantra for Kit Kat. The chocolate-covered wafers should come shaped like Counts, Witches, Bunnies, Bears, Santas and Reindeer.
The chocolate-to-wafer ratio in these seasonal shapes is far superior to the standard Kit Kat bars. They all have a wildly satisfying bite to the chocolate coating. I love that Hershey has introduced the two-character packs this year.
I remember when Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme was introduced. My dad used to work for a company that filled vending machines, and he brought home some of the newly released candy bars when they debuted. (We also would get cases of Coke to hand out at Halloween. If you’ve ever wondered how someone winds up writing a newsletter like Snackology, I’m a very simple case study.)
Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme Fangs are a super cute twist on the candy bar. You can pair two of them for a full set of teeth too.
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Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme Fangs Snack score: 3.5 out of 5
In the pantheon of seasonal Reese’s shapes, the pumpkin stands alone. Other holidays have their own shapes. Trees, ghosts, amorphous blobs. But Halloween gets Reese’s Pumpkins.
These guys can get a bit squished inside the wrappers, and they don’t have the structural integrity that a Reese’s Big Cup offers. But if you’re looking to scarf down some chocolate and peanut butter between houses during trick-or-treating, you won’t be let down by a Reese’s Pumpkin.
I get why Pirate’s Booty rebranded, but I’m still super bummed that the classic logo and mascot are gone. The snacks inside the bags remain the same, though, and Pirate’s Booty Boos & Bites delivers “ghost and monster shapes with the brand’s signature aged white cheddar flavor.”
As someone who recently housed a bag of Cheetos Bag of Bones White Cheddar, I welcome another version of that kind of snack for Halloween. Comparing Pirate’s Booty to Cheetos, I’d say that Cheetos are a bit more savory while Pirate’s Booty is a bit more crunchy.
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Pirate’s Booty Boos & Bites Snack score: 3.5 out of 5
One box. Four different kinds of Reese’s treats. The Reese’s Sweet & Salty pack comes with Reese’s Dipped Animal Crackers, Reese’s Dipped Pretzels, Reese’s Pieces and the iconic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. You could fully stock your Halloween candy with a few of these boxes alone.
This was my first time trying both the Reese’s Dipped Animal Crackers and Reese’s Dipped Pretzels, and I enjoyed the addition of a layer of peanut butter before the finishing chocolate touch.
This was the first time that I’ve tried LesserEvil. I’ve seen the popcorn guru’s face a million times as I’ve walked down the chip aisle, but I’ve never picked up a bag. (Our household usually stocks SkinnyPop and Smartfood popcorn. But I don’t trust the Smartfood FiberPop mascot.)
This is Snackology, so why not jump into a brand with a flavor like Pumpkin Spice Popcorn?
I really enjoyed this flavor. The pumpkin spice isn’t overwhelming, and the more kettle-corny popcorn kernels add some nice texture to the mix.
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LesserEvil Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Snack score: 3 out of 5
The Omnicosm founder. Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
