Gwynedd Stuart
The best Easter candy is fun and festive, it looks great atop a pile of plastic grass—and you probably can’t get your hands on it all year long. New Easter candy makes the season fun and special. And that’s what we wanted to focus on for this taste test of the best Easter candies.
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Yes, there are the perennial hits you can and should buy every year. Some of our favorites are Cadbury Mini Eggs, Cadbury Creme Eggs, Reese’s Eggs, and Jelly Belly Jelly Beans—unimpeachable and delightful, every one. But what we’ve ranked here are the unique finds that are either new or newish to shelves this year. So, while this list may not have the be all, end all best jelly beans and best chocolate Easter candy, you’re sure to find something new to toss in the ol’ Easter basket this year. Oh, and if you’re specifically in the market for the best chocolate bunny or the best vegan Easter candy, we have you covered there, too.
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- Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Bunny Bar
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If you’re building an Easter basket for a child who is easily wooed by glitz, this is the chocolate bunny to buy this year. The milk chocolate bunny itself is pretty small, but it’s absolutely covered in stuff—colorful non-pareils, candy gems that are kinda like M&M’s Minis, little crunchy bits of caramel, and a white chocolate drizzle, too. You literally can’t see ANY of the chocolate beneath all the stuff and you probably could have guessed this, but this thing is SWEET. If I were running things over at TJ’s, I would have built the entire thing atop a layer of crunchy, pulverized salted pretzels. Alas, this is mostly fodder for kids (and kids at heart), but it’s good.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Hershey’s Eggs
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Cadbury Mini Eggs are probably the best Easter candy of all time, so it’s no wonder Hershey’s finally got in on that action. We have good news and bad news about their efforts. The bad: These are bigger than Cadbury eggs (we needed two bites to get through one), plus the shell is much thicker and it doesn’t have that matte, eggshell effect that makes Cadbury eggs such a delight to eat. The good: They still taste great, especially if you like Hershey’s chocolate. If you loved those defunct mini Kisses that came coated in a candy shell, you’ll like these. The pastel colors are nice, too.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Tootsie Eggs
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Controversial pick alert! If you don’t like Tootsie Rolls, seriously, don’t bother reading this entry. Move on. Leave us alone. Personally, I love the chew and Yoo-hoo-esque flavor of Tootsie Rolls and I love these little pellets (warning: They aren’t remotely egg shaped). The candy coating is so light and the Tootsie center is so soft and fresh. Okay, my one issue is that eating one of these is a little bit like eating, chewing, and promptly swallowing a gumball, but just go with it.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Easter Joe-Joe’s
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These candy-coated sandwich cookies look like they would look good but taste bad. They are covered and coated. They have chocolate pieces, slabs of fondant, and sprinkles and spangles—all wildly sugary stuff. And they are cookies—cookies are sugary all on their own! I’m telling you, these are shockingly delicious for how nuts they look. We’re not even huge fans of Joe-Joe’s—Trader Joe’s take on Oreos—but we all really loved these. They’re not just for show!
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans
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It seems like every year an existing candy brand enters the Easter convo with bags of jelly beans inspired by their product. Sometimes they’re great (for instance, SweeTART jelly beans rule) and sometimes they’re pretty mid (we could all swear Starburst jelly beans used to taste better). These Sour Patch Kids jelly beans are a big success. In addition to being genuinely sour in the absence of the sour dust that coats actual Sour Patch Kids, the flavors are very accurate. These are tart and tangy and really fun to eat if you need a break from your usual Jelly Belly beans.
Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
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I know I can’t be alone in the opinion that Cadbury Creme Eggs are just too damn big. I have, like, one bite of the milk chocolate and goopy, sugary fondant center and I’m done. These little guys change everything. They’re still individually wrapped in foil, but they’re a fraction of the size of a regular Creme Egg (according to Google, .31 oz each versus 1.2 oz for the original). I could probably eat these in one bite, but I still like to look at the creamy center to see the “yolk” inside. These are a new go-to for me.
Credit: Target
New Easter Candy!
New Easter Candy!
New Easter Candy!
New Easter Candy!
New Easter Candy!
Justine Sterling
Ariana Losch
Naajia Shukri
