15 Must-Try Canadian Candies

As a Canadian millennial, we grew up with parents who were moderately adverse to junk food, but begrudgingly accepted that our sister and we would — like most kids — eat candy by the fistful. And we did. Early on we realized we had inherited a sweet tooth which, all these years later, we still have. We guess you could say we’re still a kid at heart, and we’ll still grab a chocolate bar from the display, while waiting in line at a drugstore. It’s nostalgic and quite cheap as far as treats go, in this economy. But here’s the rub: The candies in Canada are different than what ya’ll have down in the States, and not to get patriotic, but some are better here (and some are worse). For example, an American KitKat cannot hold a candle to its Canadian counterpart; the entire flavor profile in the American formula is off. Granted, in the battle of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, America takes it; you can’t win ’em all.

However, no Canadian who visits the U.S. can argue that there are simply more unique candies on offer — which makes sense given the population is almost 10 times ours. But we have our own flair up here, if less of it. In this list, we dive into candies that are either endemic to the Great White North or the Canadian version of what is already on U.S. shelves. Read on and don’t forget to brush your teeth after.

Of course we’re biased in writing this list — how could we not be? But we’re a journalist at heart, and we always try to maintain objectivity. That said, this is hands down our favorite chocolate bar, and if you haven’t tried one, we feel bad for you. The Swiss company Nestlé makes this it, and well, you know how seriously Europeans take their chocolate. But the bar itself, like so many other things in Canada, has British origins, dating back to the 1930s. As the story goes, it was then called a “Wafer Crisp,” before evolving into a coffee version, later introduced to Canucks. By 1948, the chocolate bar was a top seller in Canada, maintaining a presence in the confectionery space ever since.

Does it taste like coffee? Yes, if vaguely so. It’s truly a textural delight though, with thin crisp wafers sandwiched between coffee-flavored cream layers, and the whole bar dipped in a rich milk chocolate. It’s not overly sweet, but it definitely will scratch that itch, and if you’re a shameless dunker, we’d recommend dipping it into a latte or coffee of some sort. We had a friend who lived in San Antonio who knew about Coffee Crisps, and we used to fly down to Texas and with boxes of them in our luggage, at his request. They’re that good.

Back in the day, a bag of Fuzzy Peaches was as good as gold, a strong currency for all kinds of exchanges in the schoolyard. Highly mesmerizing, these candies fall in that sweet and sour category, mimicking the flavor of a real peach — if rather saccharine — with the acidity playing off the fructose sweetness. Somehow, the combination of modified corn starch and artificial flavors gets you in the wheelhouse to where, if you like peaches and candy, these are a no-brainer.

We always referred to them simply as Fuzzy Peaches, with Maynards being the original company behind the candy, which was later bought by the food conglomerate Mondelez. In any case, us Canadians are glad they are still going strong all these years later, enjoyed by generations of Canucks to the chagrin of local dentists. If you come up here for a visit and you’re into those chewy candies like Cherry Sours or Haribo ones, you must do yourself a favor — or, the kid in you — and grab a bag of these. You won’t regret it.

A Crunchie bar is a textural journey, one that starts as you may have guessed, with a crunch, and ends in gooey, melted toffee and chocolate swishing around your mouth. If you like sponge toffee and milk chocolate, this is for you. The recipe is simply just that, really good milk chocolate coating a bar of golden sponge toffee. However, this isn’t your everyday ordinary milk chocolate, and with all due respect, it is better than most mass-produced American milk chocolate. Cadbury, the company behind Crunchie bars, is a British company, and, well, it really knows how to make a nice creamy milk chocolate that shines.

But we can’t lie, this one is over-the-top sweet, which should come as no surprise considering sponge toffee is made from a ridiculous amount of sugar. The texture play is fun though, and when the mood hits, there’s really nothing quite like one of these.

These could be considered a cousin to Fuzzy Peaches, which makes sense considering they’re made by the same parent company and have an almost identical texture and sourness. The sour aspect is quite pronounced here as the name would suggest, and if you overindulge your tongue — and ego, possibly your stomach, too — will pay a price. That crystallized dusting of what looks like white sugar is actually citric acid crystals — the chemical behind the zip on your tongue, and reason for that mouth-puckering sensation you feel in the sides of your cheeks.

We fully admit that these are really intense and maybe not for everyone, but I happen to love all things sour — kombucha, sherry vinegar, yuzu juice, pickles, you name it — so they’re right up our alley. But we’re careful not to overdo it here. If you love this style of chewy and zippy sour candies, you must try Sour Cherry Blasters.

Some of you who are hip to the online food community discussing snacks around the world likely know a few candies in our list here. But we’re willing to bet you probably don’t know this one. With a bit of an obnoxious name, EAT-MORE is an absolute knock-out of a chocolate bar — one of our all-time favorites. However, it’s relatively rare; you can’t count on always finding one in the supermarket checkout. But when you see that yellow wrapper, usually on the bottom shelf — admittedly, it’s not the most popular chocolate bar, “slept on” you might say — the payoff is always there.

An EAT-MORE is one of the most, if not the most, chewy chocolate bars we’ve ever encountered, and as such, it ends up satiating your hunger. It’s made of a very dark, deeply caramelized toffee mixed with chunks of peanuts and chocolate. If you like a Snickers or Oh Henry! you will love an EAT-MORE, we can promise you that. This one is a real gem — if you’re a chocolate bar lover and visit us in Canada, make sure to secure one of these.

Okay, we have to come clean — this one might not be a bar we gravitate towards when we’re having a chocolate craving. We enjoy them on occasion for the sheer uniqueness and novelty of it, and because we really love Turkish delight in general. If you haven’t guessed by now, a Big Turk is a chocolate bar made with chewy Turkish delight candy in the middle. It’s a bit of a head scratcher for some, much in the way that Bounty bars can be divisive. And much like the aforementioned EAT-MORE, they’re in that category of old school and maybe forgotten bars, slightly rare in the wild, providing nostalgia to many Canadians.

Since they’re made with Turkish delight, the texture is chewy, with an almost floral note in the background, balanced by the milk chocolate. If you like that herbal, rosewater, or bergamot kind of flavor found in Turkish confectionery, you will probably find a Big Turk endearing. It’s a sleeper for sure, but definitely a fun chocolate bar.

Aero never made sense to us as a kid — the chocolate would melt in your mouth rapidly, or worse, inside the package on a hot summer day. But that is actually part of the appeal, and marketing, as it says on the bar wrapper: “Feel the bubbles melt.” It’s called an Aero bar because of those airy bubbles in the chocolate, and they do indeed create a unique mouthfeel as the bar melts in your mouth. The original version was simply pure milk chocolate — super sweet, and very creamy.

The peppermint bar came later, and it probably lands in that camp of love it or hate it, depending on where you stand with mint and chocolate coming together. Personally, we love it all — we adore a York Peppermint Pattie, and we enjoy a mint-chip ice cream on a summer night. But there are haters out there, and we can respect that. We don’t want to yuck your yum; we all like what we like.

But the peppermint version of an Aero bar hits the spot if you’re down for some minty chocolate vibes, and the neon green food coloring of the interior chocolate makes it visually appealing, too. This one is refreshing.

Canadian food may be hard to define, but we have many unique dishes that may entice our American friends. The same can be said for a Mirage bar, which is native to Canada and not found south of the border. Consider this one the cousin to an Aero bar, since they both fall under the Nestlé umbrella and appear to have emerged from the same food scientist’s playbook, sharing those bubbles and airy texture. A Mirage, however, is a bit more intense and rich, with a slightly darker chocolate and complex profile.

They are also taller, providing a bigger bite, but equally succumbing to that signature melt. The reason it’s called a Mirage is part and parcel to the modest marketing which says, “Here one moment, gone the next!” We’re quite existential up here in Canada, folks. Jokes aside, it alludes to the fast melting of that matrix of bubbles suspended in the chocolate, meant to be eaten fast, but also, it’s usually cold up here, so this one works. Maybe not so much in California or Louisiana.

Again, there is a historical British-Canadian connection that runs through much of our culture, with food being no exception. Mackintosh’s creamy toffee is exactly what it sounds like, a full bar of pure toffee, originating in Halifax, England, over 100 years ago. For fans of raw, unadulterated toffee, made in a traditional manner, you can’t go wrong here. Even as a child, with its stuffy packaging and lack of cool factor or any bright colors to appeal to kids, we still loved a Mackintosh’s toffee on occasion.

You may be asking yourself, what is the difference between toffee and caramel? On the surface, they may seem similar, but are indeed different, as toffee uses brown sugar and caramel recipes call for white. We usually say toffee is a bit richer; caramel perhaps sweeter, both with their own applications, and lots of overlap in the middle of that confectionery venn diagram. There’s not a ton to say about Mackintosh other than watch out if you have any teeth issues; they’re extremely dense and chewy have probably taken a few teeth out. Also, take it slow with these — they’re quite intense.

These are solid bars of pure milk chocolate made by a rather obscure and old-school company called Neilson. The branding and packaging is rather bland and uninviting if we’re being honest, but perhaps one could make the argument that it’s a more mature bar for adults, if you will. The name is obviously a reference to Jersey milk and Jersey cows, but if you’re unfamiliar, this type of dairy is renowned for its quality, with a higher protein and fat content. We’re no chocolatier, but we believe it may help with making a richer, more substantive chocolate.

Jersey Milk chocolate bars are delicious, and we would pit them against the Nestlé family of candy bars, or Cadbury, as exceptionally produced creamy chocolate. We’re not sure how it would stack up against its American counterparts, but you know where my allegiances lie. Jersey Milk bars are rare, too, but always appreciated when encountered in the wild.

Hot Lips are fun. This cinnamon flavored, slightly hot — as the name suggests — chewy candy resembles a set of bright red lips. As kids, we would often hold them between our teeth and make faces with our new fire truck red lips, laughing and carrying on. But they have, and likely still have, limited appeal. You have to love that intense and over-the-top fake cinnamon flavor, in addition to chewy gummy candies. If you do, then game on — these are really potent and might make you think us polite Canadians don’t take ourselves too seriously. Hot Lips are a quintessential Valentine’s Day candy, found in gift packs across the nation, for all demographics.

They are very tongue-in-cheek, or lips, often given to people as a joke. We highly doubt Hot Lips will ever show up on American shelves anytime soon, but for the Red Hots and Hot Tamale lovers out there, here’s to hoping.

Caramel lovers with a real sweet tooth are sure to enjoy tucking into one of these. Caramilk bars are over the top sweet — sometimes hard to finish — with a liquid caramel inside a bite-sized square of milk chocolate. Breaking off a square makes for the perfect bite, and when done carefully, is mess-free. However, this candy bar is prone to mess as the caramel can easily escape the confines of a square ending up on fingers or worse, on your favorite shirt. Here’s a little hack the Caramilk curious and fans alike: This bar is amazing when frozen. If you break the piece ahead of time, it makes for quite the treat, as the whole square melts slowly in your mouth, leading to a rich and dense, frozen caramel center.

We’ve already mentioned my affinity for Cadbury, the British chocolate maker behind a few other bars in this list, and it’s the same praise due here. The milk chocolate is on point, and it does punch above its weight for a grocery store bar. Our only complaint would be the insane sugar content, but like we said, these are for the real die-hard sweet tooth chocolate lovers out there.

Okay, by now we know what you’re saying: This list is chocolate bar heavy. Or, as Americans might say, candy bar heavy. And you’d be right, no question. But we just do chocolate really well up here, and we think ours are some of the best — biased that we are, yes, we know. Here, we present to you the Crispy Crunch. This is yet another banger from Cadbury and should be on your radar if you like the classic, undeniable match-made-in-heaven combo that is peanuts and chocolate.

To get more specific, this is a milk chocolate bar that features candy-like peanut butter flakes — more like shingles if you will, as a solid core. Texturally, it almost resembles a crumbly yet solid caramel, and flavor-wise, it reminds me of peanut butter brittle. They are really good, but not for the faint of heart, as that glassy peanut candy filling is quite rich and very sweet. These are to be savored slowly, maybe in two snack sessions if you’re like us and getting soft in your old age. You really need to try a Crispy Crunch bar someday.

These might seem weird, but they’re fun. We mean, where else would you find a candy like this? Okay, probably in the States, too, since there’s that whole Big Foot conspiracy theory. Jokes aside, because candy is a serious matter — no more monkeying around here — these Canadian candies are a raspberry-flavored chewy variation. They’re not dissimilar to Swedish berries, but more dense in texture and not quite as sweet as their Scandinavian cousins. We would say that these candies, like Hot Lips, are increasingly rare or under-appreciated, which is all the more reason they need to get their flowers.

Big Foot candies are nostalgic for many Canadians of a certain age, and perhaps on the radar of younger audiences, too. This is the type of candy your grandparents would give you a few dollars for, to go walk to your local convenience store or gas station, and buy a bunch. They’re fun, they’re weird, they’re tasty, and they’re uniquely Canadian.

A Pal-o-Mine is, and always has been, a pal of ours. This chocolate bar is particularly nostalgic for me as it hails from the East Coast, where we grew up, and feels very familiar to us. Not to get too self-indulgent here, but we’re just painting the picture because they have a unique story. Pal-o-Mine bars should have more of a spotlight on them. The bars never really took off outside of the Atlantic provinces, remaining sealed off as a regional specialty.

Enough with the back story, the bars are delicious. Once again, that combo of chocolate and peanut is on display here, combined with a rich fudge. The interior is a dense paste and amalgamation of fudge folded into a peanut butter filling, with the whole bar then dipped into a chocolate that, unlike all of the bars on this list, is dark. This more complex and slightly bitter high percentage dark chocolate helps to balance out the sweetness of the filling, which can by cloying if you’re not in the mood. All in all, this is a deep cut but one that you should keep your eye out for.