Let's Set Odds: Which Halloween Candy is the Best?

Halloween is coming up this Sunday, October 31st and for many kids, this will be their first trick-or-treating experience since Halloween 2019 before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, as homeowners, it is imperative that we set a precedent as well: Don't be the house that gives out the crap-candy!

It may seem like a simple solution, but the easiest way to avoid the wrath of angry children for at least one evening is to give them what they want. Think society should be healthier and don't believe in giving out sugary, chocolate-filled goodness to the youth of America? Fine, but start your crusade on "Big Candy" on November 1st if you want to avoid those healthy cage-free eggs being chucked at your humble (or not so humble) abode.

Meanwhile, here at BetSided, the conversation amongst our team came up as to which Halloween candy is best? Which of these scrumptious treats, if you had the choice of any on the board, would you draft number one overall in a "Candy Draft?"

After our team made their submissions, I put on my oddsmaker hat as the lone objective voice in the room and set odds based on the following criteria:

• Overall Taste
• Popularity
• Versatility
• Presentation of the Candy Take

Here are the submissions for the top overall pick in the 2021 BetSided Halloween Candy Draft.

Top Halloween Candy for 2021

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

When it comes to Halloween candy, nothing is better than a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The taste, the texture, the stackability, there's literally no combination that can compete. 

Chocolate and peanut butter is literally the perfect combo. If you don't like peanut butter, I feel bad for you. If you don't like chocolate, why are you reading this article? No other candy bar out there can match that flavor, so on that alone, Reese's wins. 

But then you have the perfect packaging. The size of a Reese's is the perfect two-bite snack. You can have one and save another for the future. Or you can crush both as you walk from one house to the next. Again, perfection. 

Finally, the color of Reese's packaging is literally made for Halloween. Orange and black? Come on. Only the Bengals can say their colors are equally Halloween to Reese's.  

There is a lot of other Halloween candy I love. But nothing evokes Halloween to me more than that delicious peanut butter cup. -- Brian Giuffra

Rockets (Smarties)

The best Halloween candy is Rockets, or as you Americans call them, Smarties.

Nothing is more perfect than a quick, sweet, pop of candy in your mouth. No mess or bad breath like any chocolate treat will give you. and it's the perfect amount to immediately satisfy a quick candy craving. They also aren't overwhelming like sour patch kids are, and they won't get stuck in your tweet like toffee or starburst.

They're also extremely easy to unwrap and pop in your mouth. In terms of being the best, well-rounded, most likable candy on the Halloween market.

Rockets (I refuse to call them Smarties), are the best. -- Iain MacMillan

Kit Kat

This wasn't easy, but I'm more of a savory over sweets guy, and I'm looking for volume, so give me Kit-Kats.

Anyway you slice it, Kit-Kats making it into everyone's trick-or-treat bags and I'll happily take all of them. Not only are they delicious, they come in small "fun size" packaging giving you a chance to have a bunch in one sitting.

It's one of the stat sheet stuffers of Halloween candy, and I'd argue, the best. -- Reed Wallach

Snickers

I’m sticking to the traditional route and going with a candy that gives you a little bit of everything: Snickers. 

I know that Reese’s and Kit-Kat will get plenty of love on this list, but I love that I can enjoy a Snickers bar in a few bites rather than just popping one in my mouth and moving onto the next. Plus, the old “you’re not you when you’re hungry” commercials were pure gold.

And don’t let me get started on the Snickers ice cream bars… that’s a story for another day. -- Peter Dewey

Twix

Twix is the best candy bar on the planet.

It is more interesting than a regular Hershey’s bar, Snickers are overrated and can be hard to chew at some points, but Twix never does too much and hits the spot. 

Maybe it’s the chocolate on the outside, the light cookie that supports the entire bar or the silky smooth caramel (which is different from the Snickers' caramel) that adds a slight savory twist to the normal chocolate bar, Twix is the best option. 

For children, it’s not too big so they can eat it, not get full and still have room for more candy. For adults, it’s light enough to not make you feel bad about stuffing your face with candy, but both the left and right bars are filling enough to make you happy you chose it. 

Many of the other chocolate bars try to incorporate too much and end up overloading the palette. Twix stays simple. It consists of chocolate, cookie, caramel and happiness. -- Donnavan Smoot

M&M's

Everyone knows that if you looked in your Halloween candy bag and DIDN'T see some M&M'S in there, you were disappointed.

M&M's might seem like the safe pick here but how could anyone pass on them? They're perfect little bite sizes of chocolatey goodness kept safe by a hardworking candy coating. They keep you mess-free if you eat them on the go and stay solid when you buried deep in your candy bag.

They also make you feel like you really got your bang for your buck! Who could really say that any candy that comes as only one piece is better? A pack of M&M's makes you feel like you got a whole candy bag in one.

Then there's the versatility. You can eat them one at a time, a couple at once, or eat a whole pack as one. There's something for everyone. A real candy of the people; plus, they're bright and colorful. You can't help but smile when you open up a pack and see all those pretty colors staring back at you. -- Joanne Stoner

Halloween Candy Odds - Which Goes First Overall?

After careful consideration from all of our outstanding submissions, have set the following odds for this year's Halloween candy class:

• Twix: +125
• Snickers: +150
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup: +175
• M&M's: +250
• Kit-Kat: +400
• Smarties/Rockets: +10000

I have to give props to Donnavan for an outstanding argument for Twix, which I initially considered more in that +200 range where Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, the initial favorite, ended up falling. If the criteria is based on taste, popularity, versatility and presentation of the take, I have to admit that his take of simplicity and how it appeals directly to the masses holds up.

Peter's Snickers submission and Brian's Reese's Peanut Butter Cup take made for the toughest debate. Both are outstanding options in a trick-or-treat basket. Ultimately, I had to put it below Twix because of the large growing peanut-allergy crowd that cannot partake. That's a slight hit on the versatility and popularity of the two candies.

Props to Joanne for taking advantage of the team failing to submit a bid for M&M's. The candy that doesn't melt in your hand but does in your mouth paves the way from a versatility standpoint, but the traditional M&Ms pale in comparison to the others on the board in taste, well, maybe except for "Smarties/Rockets." More on that in a bit.

Reed, a very traditionally sharp guy on the BetSided team, really killed his own argument the moment he led with savory over sweet as well as pure volume. It's Halloween! Volume of candy is determinant on the amount of houses you trick-or-treat at! Still a terrific dark horse pick to go No. 1 overall, but no longer the favorite.

Lastly, I needed Iain to convince me that he wasn't doing a bit with the Rockets/Smarties. Turns out, he was completely serious.

Do they not kill your breath like chocolate does? Sure, but again, it's Halloween!

There's also almost no versatility to the Smartie candy. It's a glorified sugar cube smashed into little pieces. Hard pass.

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