The 17 Scariest Halloween Candies
Everywhere you turn, there are bowls of Halloween candy that are full of spooky ingredients like sugar, fat, chocolate, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, sodium metabisulfate, resinous glaze, and carnauba wax — yum!
OK, let’s be honest — a list of sketchy ingredients isn’t going to stop anyone from hoovering a handful of [insert favorite Halloween candy here]. We’re not here to rain on your candy parade; you can still enjoy the scary good sweet stuff — if you eat them in moderation and if you know which ones you really should avoid (or eat less of).
Use this guide to tally up your sugary treats and don’t let the “fun-size” options fool you: They may be smaller, but the calories, fat, and sugar content still pack a significant punch.
For reference, when it comes to added sugars, the American Heart Association recommends no more than six teaspoons (25 grams) for women and kids aged 2 to 18, and no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams) for men. Per day.
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The Fattiest Chocolate Halloween Candies
Whether they’re stuffed with caramel, nuts or coating delicious crispy wafers, chocolate candies are hard to resist. Chocolate taps into our deep-seated love for both sweets and fats. Sadly, it’s not the good kind of fat since most chocolate candies are made with partially hydrogenated fat or palm oil. Beware of these top 10 offenders:
1. Whoppers
Nutrition facts (13 pieces):
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 5g
- Sugar: 17g
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated palm oil, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel oil, whey (milk), cocoa; malted milk (barley malt; wheat flour; milk; salt; sodium bicarbonate), sorbitan tristearate, confectioners glaze, lecithin, salt, artificial flavors, calcium carbonate, tapioca dextrin.
2. Milky Way
Nutrition facts (1 mini-bar):
- Calories: 38
- Fat: 1.5g
- Sugar: 5.25g
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, chocolate, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), corn syrup, sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, skim milk, less than 2 percent milkfat, cocoa powder processed w/alkali, barley malt extract, lactose, salt, egg whites, chocolate artificial flavor.
3. M&Ms
Nutrition facts (1 fun-size pack):
- Calories: 65
- Fat: 2.5g
- Sugar: 8.5g
Ingredients: Milk chocolate, sugar, cornstarch, less than 1 percent: corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, red 40 lake, blue 2 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 2), carnauba wax, gum acacia.
4. Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme
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Nutrition facts (1 mini bar):
- Calories: 65
- Fat: 3.5g
- Sugar: 6.5g
Ingredients: Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm Oil, Shea Oil, Sunflower Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Safflower Oil), Skim Milk, Corn Syrup Solids, Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Lactose, Contains 2% or Less of: Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Whey, Lecithin, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Chocolate, Baking Soda, Salt, Natural Flavor, Artificial Flavor, PGPR
5. Kit Kat
Nutrition facts (1 snack size bar):
- Calories: 70
- Fat 3.5g
- Sugar 7.5g
Ingredients: Sugar, wheat flour, nonfat milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, palm kernel oil, lactose, milk fat, contains 2 percent or less of: soy lecithin, PGPR, yeast, vanillin, artificial flavor, salt, sodium bicarbonate.
6. Snickers
Nutrition facts (1 fun size bar):
- Calories: 80
- Fat: 4g
- Sugar: 9g
Ingredients: Milk chocolate, peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, skim milk, lactose, salt, egg whites, artificial flavor.
7. Twix
Nutrition facts (1 mini)
- Calories: 50
- Fat: 2.3g
- Sugar: 5g
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, PGPR, artificial flavors), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, palm oil, corn syrup, skim milk, dextrose, less than 2 percent of modified corn starch, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, soy lecithin, artificial flavor.
8. Almond Joy
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Nutrition facts (1 snack size)
- Calories 80
- Fat 4.5 g
- Sugar 9 g
Ingredients: corn syrup, milk chocolate, coconut, sugar, almonds, 2 percent or less of vegetable oil, cocoa, whey, salt, hydrolyzed milk protein, lecithin, sodium metabisulfite.
9. Butterfingers
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Nutrition facts (1 fun-size bar)
- Calories 85
- Fat 3.5 g
- Sugar 7.5 g
Ingredients: Corn syrup, sugar, ground roasted peanuts, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa, molasses, and less than 1 percent of dairy product solids, confectioner’s corn flakes, nonfat milk, salt, soy lecithin, soybean oil, cornstarch, natural flavors, TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone, a preservative) and citric acid (to preserve freshness), annatto color.
10. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Nutrition facts (1 cup)
- Calories 110
- Fat 7.5 g
- Sugar 11 g
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, corn syrup solids, soy lecithin, PGPR, emulsifier), peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, TBHQ.
The Sugariest Halloween Candies
Straight sugar candies are mostly made with sugar, sugar, and more sugar, and dressed up with artificial flavors and dyes. These types of candy provide a quick sugar rush since they’re uninhibited by fat or protein, which can slow down their digestion.
11. Smarties
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Nutrition facts (1 roll):
- Calories: 25
- Sugar: 6g
Ingredients: Dextrose, citric acid, calcium stearate, natural and artificial flavor, color (red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, yellow 6 lake, blue 2 lake).
12. WarHeads Extreme Sour Hard Candy
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Nutrition facts (4 pieces):
- Calories: 90
- Sugar: 9 g
Ingredients: Corn syrup sugar, microencapsulated malic acid (malic acid, hydrogenated palm oil), citric acid, gum acacia, soybean oil, ascorbic acid, artificial flavors, carnauba wax, corn starch, blue 1, red 40, yellow 5.
13. Sour Patch Kids
Nutrition facts (1 treat-size bag):
- Calories: 55
- Sugar: 12g
Ingredients: Sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified cornstarch, tartaric acid, citric acid, natural and artificial flavoring, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1.
14. Airheads
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Nutrition facts (1 bar):
- Calories: 65
- Sugar: 10.5g
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, maltodextrin, dextrose, modified food starch (corn), palm oil, less than 2 percent of: citric acid, water, artificial flavors, artificial colors, red 40, blue 1, yellow 6, yellow 5.
15. Caramel Apple Pops
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Nutrition facts (1 pop):
- Calories 70
- Sugar: 10g
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, skim milk, heavy cream, malic acid, whey, salt, artificial flavors, sodium caseinate, soy lecithin, artificial color (includes FD&C blue 1, FD&C red 40), turmeric coloring.
16. Skittles
Nutrition facts (1 small pack):
- Calories 63
- Sugar: 14g
Ingredients: Sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, less than 2 percent of: citric acid, tapioca dextrin, modified corn starch, natural & artificial flavors, colors (red 40 lake, titanium dioxide, red 40, yellow 5 lake, yellow 5, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, blue 2 lake, blue 1, sodium citrate, carnauba wax.
17. Candy corn
Nutrition facts (15 pieces):
- Calories 110
- Sugar: 22g
Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze (shellac), salt, dextrose, gelatin, sesame oil, artificial flavor, honey, yellow 6, yellow 5, red 3.
