The Most Overrated Halloween Candy, According to Americans

Every trick-or-treat bag has a few fillers, the pieces that show up in every bowl and almost never get picked first. They aren’t always the worst candies out there. They’re simply the ones that keep earning a spot they haven’t earned.

Surveys and taste tests give a decent picture of which ones people quietly resent. These are the candies that show up again and again on those lists.

Tootsie Rolls

Few candies appear in more bowls, which may be the whole problem. Consumer Reports staffers who ranked Halloween treats lumped Tootsie Rolls among the pieces rarely appreciated, more likely to get tossed than traded.

Their reputation is built on availability rather than flavor.

The texture is a big part of it. A Tootsie Roll is dense and waxy, and it takes a lot of chewing for a mild chocolate taste that doesn’t deliver much payoff.

Twizzlers

Twizzlers are everywhere in the candy aisle, and they have loyal fans. They’ve also drawn a steady stream of complaints, with Consumer Reports staffers describing the flavor as something like strawberry plastic.

That stiff, rubbery bite is the core of the issue.

Compared with softer licorice or a juicy gummy, a Twizzler can feel like more work than reward. It’s a candy people often accept more than they choose.

Hot Tamales

Cinnamon candy splits people hard, and Hot Tamales land on the wrong side of that divide for plenty of trick-or-treaters. In a Shiny Smile Veneers survey of 1,000 Americans, 26.1 percent named them among their least favorite Halloween candies, second only to candy corn.

Consumer Reports staffers also ranked them near the bottom.

The heat is the sticking point. A sweet that burns instead of melts is a surprise nobody wants from a mini treat after a long night of walking.

Bit-O-Honey

Bit-O-Honey has a devoted cult following, but its wider popularity hasn’t kept pace. In the same Shiny Smile survey, 21.6 percent of respondents listed it as a least favorite.

The honey-and-almond chew is slow, sticky, and famously hard on teeth.

The survey also flagged it among the candies hardest on teeth. For many people, the long chew just isn’t worth the muted honey flavor.

Whoppers

Chocolate-covered malted milk balls seem like a safe bet, which is partly why Whoppers end up overrated. One Quartz taste test of 38 Halloween candies ranked them low, citing an initial satisfying crunch followed by an unpleasant aftertaste.

The result is a candy that feels forgettable the moment it’s gone.

They’re cheap and easy to grab in bulk, so they tend to show up more than their flavor justifies. That abundance keeps them in the rotation without making them a favorite.

Almond Joy

Coconut and almond in a chocolate shell can be a wonderful combination for some people. In a Consumer Reports staff poll, though, Almond Joy was tied for third in the worst-candy rankings, with 16 percent of votes.

The main complaint was that coconut doesn’t feel at home in a Halloween bag.

It’s a candy that’s loved fiercely by a smaller group and passed over by most everyone else. In a bowl of mixed mini bars, it tends to be the one left behind.