Top 5 Candy Bars of All Time
(1) Bar None (Hershey): My favorite candy bar from the late eighties until it was discontinued in 1993. While it had a short run, this one sticks in my mind as the best candy bar ever from my youth. Thin chocolaty wafers covered in peanuts and a thin coating of chocolate, this one just melted in your mouth with just enough serious crunch to make it interesting. Ah, I miss you Bar None. (216 calories)
(2) Lion Bar (Nestle): Nope, you can't get them in the United States, but they are readily available to sweet tooths everywhere in Europe. I discovered my love for these little goodies while at a laundry mat in England... and they quickly became my laundry day treat. A Lion Bar is the love child between a 100 Grands and a Nestle Crunch bar -- as tasty and chewy as a 100 Grands, but with less caramel and a bit more chocolate like the Crunch bar. A glorious treat! (269 calories)
(3) Twix (Mars): While there is probably less actual product in this bar when compared to similarly sized junk food, the fact that there are two little bars in each package (FOUR in the King size!) fool me into thinking I've had a bigger snack every time. Chocolate, caramel and wafers... the winning combination in just about every candy bar on this list. And best of all? The least amount of calories per serving compared to any of the others that are still manufactured today - but just barely. (220 calories or 110 each)
(4) Whatchamacalit (Hershey): The older (and still surviving) distant cousin of the Bar None, this is a delightful little candy bar. While similar in many ways to Bar None, this one swaps rice for nuts and regular rather than chocolate wafers. It also has a little bit of caramel that is not in the Bar None... otherwise, exactly the same. Come to think of it, most candy bars suffer from 'Taco Bell' syndrome: mix the same six or seven ingredients around a bit, slap it in a different wrapper, and Presto! -- brand new product. (222 calories)
(5) Snickers (Mars) / Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (Hershey): I really don't like ties, especially in a short list like this one, but I simply couldn't decide which one of these bars I prefer over the other... despite the fact that they are just as completely different from each other as they are from the rest of this list! On the one hand, you've got a super-filling chocolate bar with peanuts and full of that chocolaty fluff like a 3 Musketeers bar, on the other you have a peanut butter filled chocolate disc of goodness. Both have their places (Snickers makes a great snack, while Reese's - especially the many holiday varieties - are a great treat when you're packing on the spare tire for winter), and both are simply yummy. (Yeah, I said it: yummy!) (Snickers: 270 calories; Reese's: 260 or 130 each).
The truth of the matter is that I don't eat nearly as many of these little morsels as I used too... although still far more than I should. I think my cravings come in chocolaty waves...but that doesn't mean they aren't empty calorie sinks! It's probably a good thing that the top two bars on my list are simply unavailable to me or else I'd be even chunkier than I am now. Mmm... now I want a chocolate bar. Dang it!
