New Twists on Old-School Halloween Candy — Some Tastier Than Others

Recently, we’ve noticed that the kitsch factor on candy corn has really kicked up a notch. One kids TV channel has its own homage to (rather, against) the sugary treat, called “I Don’t Like Candy Corn”.

And lately there’s been a lot of discussion on the Web about how to make homemade candy corn, which we find pretty funny, considering it’s hard to imagine a more processed treat. Still, we were tempted. We’ve tried to make homemade candy corn once already this year, with pretty bad results (let’s just say an 8-year-old remarked that the dough looked like it was for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos) but we’re going to give it another shot with this recipe. We promise to share the results.

Meantime, we’ve been perusing the aisles at Walgreen’s and other candy-selling establishments, and have noticed a proliferation of variations on the candy corn theme — and we’re not just talking about Autumn Mix, where those adorable little pumpkins are mixed in with the traditional corn along with Indian corn (the kind with the brown — we’re not necessarily so sure they’re chocolate — bottoms).

Using Autumn Mix as our baseline, yesterday some members of the Phoenix New Times staff conducted a completely unscientific taste test of a variety of old-school Halloween candy, all of it with a new twist.

Sadly, our Chief Candy Expert, Sarah Fenske, was covering breaking news. But we gathered a team including Food Critic Michele Laudig, and others with a lot of expertise. Following is our take on eight new versions of the classics.

​7. Reeses Peanut Butter Pumpkin

Really, who cares what shape it is? Just bring it on.

8. Wack-O-Wax Fangs 

Wax lips, with a Twilight treatment. Better than the wax mustache we saw, which was hard to discern from a rat.