Peanut Butter On My…

DENISE NEIL, The Wichita Eagle

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Readers give thumbs-ups to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups but say Peanut Butter Kisses are misses.

Both come in orange and black wrappers.

Both have a peanut buttery flavor.

And both contain the mysterious ingredient “soy lecithin. ”

But that’s where similarities end between Wichita’s most loved Halloween candy (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) and Wichita’s most loathed Halloween candy (Peanut Butter Kisses).

Recently, in the spirit of our WichiTalk candy issue, we conducted an unscientific online poll asking Wichitans to name their favorite and least favorite Halloween treats.

The good candy poll drew 621 voters. The bad candy poll got 529.

In the end, the winner (and loser) was clear. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, those melty delights featuring two great tastes that taste great together, was named by 27 percent of voters as their favorite Halloween candy. Finishing a close second was Snickers with 21 percent, followed by candy corn with 18 percent.

Meanwhile, the candy most Wichitans hope to never find in their trick-or-treat bags is Peanut Butter Kisses, that chewy, taffy-like candy that tastes only vaguely of peanut butter and is most commonly found wrapped in orange and black waxed paper on the economy candy aisle. A resounding 38 percent of voters cursed Peanut Butter Kisses, followed by 12 percent against black licorice and 8 percent denouncing Dum Dum Pops.

Among the also-loved candies: M&Ms, Butterfingers, Tootsie Rolls and Kit Kat.

Among the also-hated candies: mints, gum and Almond Joy.

Now, go forth and purchase your Halloween treats with an informed mind.

Treats or tricks?

We asked a few well-known Wichitans about Halloween candies at the top and bottom of their lists.

Tanya Tandoc, Wichita foodie

Best: “My favorite is anything with chocolate. My brother and I used to fight over the Snickers bars. In fact, we used to fight so bad that my dad would take charge of the candy.”

Worst: “Candy corn. I hate it. We had a baby sitter who used to give us one piece of candy corn if we were good. To need to be good for a piece of crappy old hard candy corn, it was a pleasure and letdown all at once.”

Jay Prater, KAKE meteorologist

Best: “Before Reese’s were miniature, you could score the full-sized. I liked the full-sized Reese’s cup.”

Worst: “I cannot get into candy corn. It absolutely does nothing for me. And it doesn’t have a lot of flavor.”

Monica Flynn, Trick or Treat Street organizer

Best: “My personal favorite is probably the little Snickers bars. I always try to sneak one, although I try not to do it too overtly.”

Worst: “That peanut butter taffy. Blech! That isn’t anything that’s ever tempted me.”

Donna Tucker, singer and musician

Best: “When my kids would come home with their bags, I’d always pick out all the Tootsie Rolls and the Butterfingers and hide them.”

Worst: “My least favorite are those little candy corn things. I hate those. And those marshmallow things — Peeps. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Blech.”

Candy facts

• 76 percent of Halloween candy is bite-sized chocolate candy, while 30 percent is bite-sized non-chocolate.

• 90 percent of parents admit to stealing candy from their kids’ candy bags.

• 70 percent of parents said snack-size chocolate candy bars are their favorite candy to steal from their kids’ trick-or-treat bags.

• Two to one, kids ages 6-11 prefer chocolate candy to candy that doesn’t have chocolate.

• 66 percent of kids ages 6-11 said that if they were given lots of candy, they would share some with their family, while 7 percent said they would keep it all to themselves.

• The holiday with the most candy sales is Halloween, followed by Easter, Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

• This year, more than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced, which is equal to almost 9 billion pieces. If placed end-to-end, this is enough candy corn to go around the moon four times.

• The top two reasons people choose one type of candy over another are past experience and flavor.
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