Greatest American candy bars of all time
Do you remember your favourite?

Tootsie Roll

This chocolate-flavoured taffy was invented by Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield and named after the founder’s daughter Clara, whose nickname was Tootsie. The recipe dates back to 1896 and a key but surprising ingredient are Tootsie Rolls from the day before. Initially they came in a single size and cost a penny, but now different varieties are available.
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate

"The Great American Chocolate Bar", Hershey’s Milk Chocolate is the candy manufacturer’s flagship product launched in 1900. It took much trial and error to create the formula as chocolate recipes were a closely guarded secret by the Swiss at the time. Eight years later Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds came out. It didn’t advertise for the first 70 years, but when competition built from other brands it was forced to change its strategy.
Goo Goo Cluster

The candy bar named after the sound babies make, the Goo Goo Cluster was created in Nashville in 1912. The first combination candy, it contained marshmallow nougat, caramel, roasted peanuts and chocolate. In the 1920s and 1930s it was marketed as "a nourishing lunch for a nickel" and the recipe has never changed.
Peanut Chews

Over a century old, Peanut Chews were introduced by the Goldenberg Candy Company in 1917. Available with a dark chocolate or milk chocolate coating, they contain peanuts and molasses. When it first came out it was a popular soldiers’ ration thanks to its high protein count. In 2004, 'Goldenberg’s' was taken off the label, much to customers' confusion, but it was soon put back on.
Clark Bar

The Clark Bar has a honeycomb and peanut butter centre, and a chocolate coating. Introduced in 1917, it was purchased by NECCO, but after the company's factory closed in 2018, it was nearly lost forever. Thankfully, Boyer Candy Company saved the day and bought the brand so it could continue being sold.
Oh Henry!

One of America’s oldest candies, Oh Henry! was first created by the Williamson Candy Company in 1920. It features layers of caramel and nougat like a Mars bar, but there are peanuts inside too like a Snickers. When it was first launched it was a single bar, but now you get two fingers in a packet.
Baby Ruth

Originally named Kandy Kake, this famous bar was reformulated and renamed Baby Ruth in 1921. Most people believe the inspiration was the baseball player, but The Curtiss Candy Company claim it's US President Grover Cleveland’s daughter who it's named after. A tasty combination of peanuts, caramel and chocolate-flavoured nougat, Baby Ruth is now owned by Nestlé.
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Mounds

Almost indistinguishable from an Almond Joy, Mounds is its older, richer sibling. It was created by the Peter Paul Manufacturing Company in 1921 and features a sweet coconut centre and a dark chocolate coating. It comes in red packaging and is now sold by Hershey’s.
Charleston Chew

Named after the popular dance, vanilla nougat and milk chocolate Charleston Chews were created by the Massachusetts-based Fox-Cross company in 1922. Later on, chocolate and strawberry-flavoured versions were released. The packaging encouraged you to freeze the bars and smash them on a hard surface so that they broke into little pieces. You can now also get Mini Charleston Chews.
Chicken Dinner

Thankfully, this candy bar tasted nothing like chicken. Introduced by the Sperry Candy Company of Milwaukee in 1923, at a time when underprivileged families may have been lucky to have one meal, comparing it to a whole dinner was an effective marketing tactic. It lasted up until the 1960s.
Milky Way

The candy bar inspired by the soda fountain classic, Milky Way claimed to have “more malted milk content than a soda fountain double malted milk!”. Launched by Mars in 1923, they were huge in size, weighing 85g (3oz) in comparison to today’s 51g (1.8oz).
Butterfinger

Coming up to its 100th anniversary, this “crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery!” bar, with a honeycomb, peanut, caramel centre and chocolate coating, was launched by Curtiss Candy Company in 1923. It’s best known for its humorous adverts featuring Bart Simpson in the 1990s, which was around the time Nestlé bought the brand.
Bit-O-Honey

This honey and almond taffy bar dates all the way back to 1924, when it was introduced by Chicago's Schutter-Johnson Company. It comes in six segments divided by wax paper, which is useful as it would be extremely chewy to bite into chunks. Much to fans' surprise, it's still on sale today and now produced by Nestlé.
Mr. Goodbar

One of Hershey’s most enduring bars, Mr. Goodbar, made from roasted peanuts and milk chocolate, was introduced in 1925. It got its name during a taste test when someone said “that’s a good bar” and Mr Hershey thought he heard “Mr. Goodbar”. During The Depression years, it had the nutritional edge over other candies thanks to the inclusion of high in protein peanuts
Heath

This crunchy toffee and milk chocolate bar was created by the Heath family at their store in Robinson, Illinois, in the late 1920s. For the first 20 years it was produced by hand and delivered to customers along with their milk. The business grew into a multi-million-dollar corporation and the family consequently fell out over money.
PayDay

Crunchy, caramelly PayDay was invented in 1932 by Frank Martoccio of the F.A. Martoccio Macaroni Company. Due to the uniqueness of combining sweet with salty, it has survived nearly a whole century. It became part of The Hershey Company in 1996 who also tried out spin-offs including a bar with honey and a bar with chocolate.
3 Musketeers

Have you ever wondered what this chocolate-covered nougat candy has to do with the 19th-century French novel The Three Musketeers? When it was introduced by Mars in 1932, you got three different flavoured sticks – chocolate, vanilla and strawberry – in one packet. Sadly, nowadays you just get the one.
Snickers

Everyone’s favourite nougat, peanut and caramel chocolate bar was launched by Mars in the US in the 1930s. It was named after its founders Frank and Ethel’s racehorse Snickers. In 2012, it was the most popular bar in the country with 15 million produced every day to keep up with demand.
Chunky

This four-segment chocolate bar was introduced by New York confectioner Philip Silvershein in the 1930s. Back then it contained cashews, raisins and brazil nuts, however the recipe was simplified to peanuts and raisins when Nestlé bought the brand in 1984.
Seven Up

This 1930s invention was made up of seven separate chocolate segments, each with their own unique flavour. These varied over the years but combinations included brazil nut, buttercream, caramel, cherry, coconut, fudge and orange. Sadly, but also understandably, it was difficult to produce and discontinued in 1979.
Krackel

Another Hershey’s creation that has 'withstood the taste of time,' according to its advertising tagline, the Krackel bar was launched in 1938. Made from chocolate and crispy, puffed rice, many fans have noted its similarities to Nestlé's Crunch. The full-size version was discontinued for a short while, from 1997 to 2014, but it has since made a full comeback.
Crunch

This much-loved milk chocolate bar with crisped rice was introduced by Nestlé in 1938. It has had lots of fun taglines over the years including “More fun to munch!” but behind the packaging, it’s almost identical to the Krackel bar introduced by Hershey’s the same year. Crunch bars came to the UK in 1965 and they're still on sale today.
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Denver Sandwich

Neither from Denver nor a sandwich, this chocolate and peanut wafer bar was introduced by The Sperry Candy Company. Described as a chocolate-covered salted nut roll, it only cost 7p (10 c) back in the day. However, when Pearson's Candy bought Sperry Candy Company in 1962, it was dropped from production along with the Chicken Dinner.
Old Nick

From the same producers as Bit-O-Honey, the Old Nick was launched by the Schutter-Johnson Company of Chicago in the 1940s. It was a bar of fudge and nuts coated in milk chocolate, featuring the tagline, "American’s Favourite Candy Bar". Sadly it was discontinued in the 1960s, while Bit-O-Honey is still available.
Almond Joy

Mound’s younger sibling, Almond Joy has almost identical packaging (except it's blue rather than red) and was launched two decades later in 1946. It has the same coconut centre but is topped with almonds and coated in milk chocolate. It is also now sold by Hershey’s.
Coconut Grove

This creamy coconut bar with a bittersweet dark chocolate coating was manufactured by Curtiss Candy Company in the 1950s. Sadly, it's no longer available – you'll have to opt for a Mounds to get your chocolate and coconut fix.
100 Grand

When the 100 Grand bar first came out in the 1960s it was called the $100,000 Bar and radio DJs played pranks on listeners, offering 100 grand for answering a question correctly. However, after one upset listener found out she was actually receiving the puffed rice and caramel chocolate bar, a Kentucky radio station was sued in 2005.
Twix

Originally launched in the UK in 1967, Twix made it to America in 1979. It features two biscuit fingers coated in caramel and milk chocolate and is instantly recognisable by its gold packaging. The crunchy, chocolatey bar is now one of the country’s favourites.
Space Food Sticks

A candy that has been to the moon, Space Food Sticks were developed by Pillsbury and NASA, and sent into space with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. They came in flavours such as chocolate, caramel and peanut butter. However, in the 1980s they were taken off the North American market.
Rally

This 1970s throwback was a fudge, caramel and peanut bar covered in milk chocolate. It was promoted as "The Crowded Candy Bar" when The Hershey Company started advertising its products. After disappearing from shelves, it was briefly revived in 2013, but we'd like it to be a permanent fixture.
Reggie!

This short-lived candy produced by Curtiss only lasted three years between 1978 and 1981. Named after New York Yankee player Reggie Jackson, it featured a rich caramel centre, roasted peanuts and a chocolate coating. Although there have been rumours it will return, it hasn’t since the 1990s. However, old bars are still sometimes sold on eBay.
Whatchamacallit

If you were lucky enough to try the Whatchamacallit in the late 1970s when it was first produced, you’ll remember it contained peanut-flavoured crisped rice covered in chocolate. In 1987 Hershey’s added a layer of caramel and in 2009, the company introduced Thingamajig which switched up the insides for peanut butter crème and cocoa crisps.
Take 5

Named after its five ingredients (milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter and pretzels), the Take 5 first appeared in 2004. In 2016, the bar was relaunched with the help of students, who designed a new wrapper and logo as part of its comeback campaign.
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