I hate candy corn. How candy corn has become a mainstay of Halloween candy boggles my mind to no end. Along with tootsie rolls, Now & Laters, and other revolting candy, candy corn has run its foul-tasting course on Halloween. Gone are the days of candy dots, peppermint patties, Bazooka Joe gum, and Reese's pieces. The best candies have been replaced by cheaper, mass produced, would-be confectioneries.

First off, who came up with the idea candy corn? It doesn't even look like corn, and it sure doesn't taste like it. Why couldn't they make it more like chocolate covered popcorn, instead of the hard orange crap that they pass off as candy? And what's with tootsie rolls? Why in the nine hells would anyone make a chocolate substitute that barely tastes like chocolate and has a consistency more like a cross between caramel and taffy than anything else? Now & Laters bug me too. If you want a hard candy that tastes like fruit that you are supposed to suck on for an extended amount of time, go buy yourself a lollipop. They're cheaper, come in better flavors, might have gum in the middle, and have the stick that makes them easier and cleaner to eat.

There are some good Halloween candies that have withstood the test of time, however. Among these, my favorites would have to be Hershey's kisses, preferably with almonds. There's just something about a large chunk of chocolate wrapped in tinfoil that gets to me. Add almonds or peanuts, and it's perfect. The same theory makes M&M's so good, too. You just cant go wrong with a chunk of chocolate covered in a candy shell. Add the peanut, it gets even better. The mints are good too. My preference always brings me back to York peppermint patties and those single serving boxes of Junior mints. Man, those are good. And lets not forget the little mini chocolate bars! Nestle crunch, Hershey's, 100 Grand; they are all good for one reason or another, but the key ingredient is chocolate.