Coolest Halloween Candy

Coolest Halloween Candy

We know wax fangs aren't the tastiest Halloween treat, but they are a great way to scare the witch's hat off trick-or-treaters. Remember these from when you were a kid? They were great to gnaw on when all that sugar got to be a little too much. They go perfectly with a vampire costume, of course, and grown-ups look smashing in them, as well. Answer the door wearing a pair and give your trick-or-treaters a spooky thrill!

Motor Mouth wax fangs, 75 cents each at Economy Candy.

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"This year Halloween is on a Saturday, and that means parties will be going full blast," Dylan Lauren, CEO and founder of Dylan's Candy Bar, told ParentDish. What Halloween party would be complete without a spooky centerpiece? Dylan's Candy Bar offers this deliciously creepy Brain Freeze mold with Gummy Worms. The mold comes with green, apple-flavored candy powder and gummy worms. Mix the powder and worms with warm water, freeze and let the icy green matter float to the top of your punch bowl.



Brain Freeze mold, $12 at Dylan's Candy Bar.

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Kids too old to go trick-or-treating, but too young to give up Halloween completely? Throw them a party and serve Twilight Sweethearts, introduced this year by the New England Confectionary Company. Jackie Hague, vice president of marketing, said the company also revamped a nostalgic favorite just in time for Halloween: Necco Wafers are now all natural, with mom-friendly ingredients. Goodbye, high-fructose corn syrup. Hello, cane sugar, milk and pure chocolate.

Twilight Sweethearts, $10 for a 3-pack at Dylan's Candy Bar.

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Who doesn't love Pez? Economy Candy owner Jerry Cohen told ParentDish that these amusing novelty items are hot this year. Based in Orange, Conn., Pez proudly proclaims itself the "pioneer of interactive candy," and its dispensers are popular collectible items for grown-ups and kids alike. We find the kooky Halloween designs -- witches, pumpkins and sweet black cats -- hard to resist. Buy these for the special kids in your life, and maybe you'll start a lifelong hobby, or an eBay addiction.

Halloween Pez, $1.40 each at Economy Candy.

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Economy Candy, located in New York City's historic Lower East Side, has been making trick-or-treaters happy since 1937. Owner Jerry Cohen said that the recession is taking Halloween back to the basics -- simple, time-honored treats like peanut butter kisses and Mary Janes are more popular this year than "massive displays." His shop will be handing out plenty of candy Oct. 31, and Cohen expects to see "hundreds of kids" lining up outside his doors for a chance to collect goodies from this New York institution.

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Do rats creep you out? Us, too. That's why we love this candy rodent made by Jelly Belly. While these rats may be slightly more ominous than the gourmet jelly beans the company is best known for, they are still up to the candy-maker's high standards. Each 3-ounce, 9-inch rat offers 100 percent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C, and comes in four yummy flavors: Cherry, orange, marshmallow and licorice. Channel your inner Ozzy Osbourne this year and bite the head off of one of these babies. Next year maybe they'll do the bat.

Jelly Belly gummy rats, $1.99 at Economy Candy.

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Skip the peanut butter cups this year and give your trick-or-treaters something a little more retro-cool. The Abba-Zaba is made of thick, rich taffy with a peanut butter center and comes in two flavors: Original and sour apple. Made by the Annabelle Candy Co. Inc., the Abba-Zaba is high in protein, according to that company's Web site, and dates all the way back to the 1920s. Legend has it that this treat is only available west of the Rocky Mountains, but we found them at Economy Candy -- of course.

Abba-Zaba peanut butter-filled taffy, 75 cents at Economy Candy.

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Remember how you used to skip the houses that gave out the boring stuff like old-fashioned sucking candy? Or worse yet, pennies? Don't earn that reputation. Skip the cuddly gummy bears this year and get gummy brains instead. These smart treats are cool without breaking the bank -- you can buy them by the pound.

Gummy Brains, $3.79 per pound at Economy Candy.

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Dylan Lauren, founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar, was just 5 years old when she saw "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" for the first time, and later spent a year in Europe fine-tuning her taste for sweets. In 2001, Lauren, daughter of designer Ralph Lauren, opened the first Dylan's Candy Bar in New York City and now, eight years later, she heads up a candy dynasty. Her favorite childhood Halloween treats? Candy corn and pumpkin mallocremes are my favorites," she told ParentDish via e-mail. "I can eat them every day, but at Halloween, they are the freshest -- soft and chewy, pretty to look at."

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You're never too old for Halloween, especially when you get a look at this artfully arranged party centerpiece of four white-chocolate skulls on a platter overflowing with chocolate spiders and slithery gummy worms. Your soiree will be the talk of the neighborhood when your guests see these frightfully tasty treats up close. The spiders' gleaming red eyes and the gold-leaf dust on the skulls will knock the socks off even the most jaded guys and ghouls.

Spooky Skull Platter, $90 at Dylan's Candy Bar.

Damon Dahlen, AOL