15 Most Popular Chocolate Candies in America

If you’re heading to the movies sometime soon or simply feel a craving for something sweet, chocolate is the perfect cure! Companies are continually creating new chocolate candies for us to enjoy.

Kit Kat, is chocolate wafer covered with bar

Whether you’re looking for something crunchy and nutty or something soft and gooey, there is something for everyone’s taste.

With this in mind, there are hundreds of options for you to choose from, which can make your buying decision a little challenging.

If you need help picking the perfect candy, check out this list that I put together of the best chocolate candies you can find at your local grocery store!

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3 Musketeers

A 3 Musketeers bar has been around for quite a while, with its first launch in 1932.

It’s one of the best chocolate candies for those who love soft candy bars!

The delicious sweet consists of a soft, fluffy nougat bar that gets dunked in some indulgent milk chocolate.

That’s it! This candy is so simple yet remains a favorite among many.

These are one of my favorites to enjoy around Halloween time when the big bags of candy start arriving in stores.

It’s the perfect amount of sweetness without going overboard. The snack-sized ones are the perfect pocket fillers for on-the-go!

Almond Joy

If you’re looking for something with a little less chocolate, an Almond Joy might be more your style.

This confectionery treat came into the spotlight in 1948 but didn’t become part of the Hershey family until 40 years later in 1988.

Inside these candy bars, you’ll find sweetened, shredded coconut and some whole, crunchy almonds.

Then it all gets covered in delicious milk chocolate. The flavor notes are nutty with hints of tropical vibes from the coconut and, of course, chocolatey.

I like to enjoy these candies in the summertime, as they invoke a summertime feeling. However, they make a great treat at any time.

Kit Kat

Kit Kats have been one of the best chocolate candies for me since I was a kid.

However, they’ve been around way longer than my childhood, as they began production in 1935 and moved into the Hershey family in 1970.

There’s just something about their satisfying crunch and sweet layers that keeps us all coming back for more.

The bar consists of crunchy wafers, a type of chocolate cream filling, and the familiar thick outer milk chocolate shell.

Each bite is chock full of chocolatey flavor and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are another long-time favorite of mine.

Their creation was sometime in the 1920s through a Hershey employee, and then the company bought the chocolate peanut butter treat in 1963.

The candy consists of delicious Reese’s peanut butter and milk chocolate that gets molded into a muffin tin-like cup.

It’s a great mix of salty and sweet. The soft peanut butter pairs well with the hard chocolate shell, creating a little surprise inside.

These are the best chocolate candies for any season, time of day, or weather.

I recommend putting them in the freezer in the summertime for a nice frozen treat!

Snickers

Snickers candy bars are delectable confections that have been on the market since 1930, starting their journey in Chicago.

While the name origin isn’t completely clear, it seems like a horse’s name might have had something to do with it!

These treats are a balanced mix of crunchy, chewy, and sweet with layers of nougat, crunchy peanuts, and gooey caramel covered in a milk chocolate shell.

I love the mixture of textures and flavors. These are another one of my Halloween candy favorites.

I also recommend throwing this candy in the freezer for a summertime treat.

M&M’s

M&Ms have been a poppable favorite among kids and adults alike since their creation in 1941.

They remain some of the best chocolate candies today due to their simplicity and bright colors.

Fancy nougat and nut-filled candies are great, but sometimes you want a break from that stuff.

M&M’s are a classic plain chocolate candy to enjoy when you want simplicity.

These candies are just little drops of chocolate that get dipped in varying colored candy coatings. The flavor of them is all-around milk chocolate.

I love to use plain M&M’s in baking recipes like cookies, but they’re also one of my go-to movie snacks.

Milky Way

Milky Way candy bars are one of the first and oldest Mars chocolate products that are still proudly on the market today.

Mars wanted to create a delicious candy bar that featured the familiar flavor of a sweet malted milkshake.

So, the Milky Way was born, and customers were able to start buying them in 1924.

These candies are simply layers of creamy, chewy nougat and smooth caramel covered in milk chocolate.

It may sound simple, but the taste is rather close to a chocolate malted milkshake. I love how soft and chewy these candies are.

Twix

Twix bars are the best chocolate candies for those who like crunchy textures.

It started as a British candy bar, which eventually made its way to the United States less than 50 years ago.

So, it’s a little newer to us than other chocolate candies.

These tasty bars come with two in a package and feature crunchy cookie sticks covered in gooey caramel and coated in milk chocolate.

My favorite part is the mixture of sweet caramel with smooth chocolate. Nothing beats caramel and chocolate.

They are the perfect pair. The crunchy cookies kick the whole thing up a notch.

Butterfinger

The Butterfinger is a deliciously crunchy chocolate candy that’s been around since the 1920s.

It’s much different than other chocolate candies in the sense that it’s flaky and focuses primarily on its crunchy peanut butter center than the chocolate.

Butterfingers can be quite addicting with their layers upon layers of crispy, peanut brittle-like sheets.

The milk chocolate coating wraps it all up into one mouth-watering snack.

When you bite into one, you’ll get hit with a big crunch where you’ll taste notes of peanuts and sweet milk chocolate.

I love these candies as they aren’t overly sweet. The flaky peanut butter center tastes more like real nuts.

Hershey’s Almond

Hershey’s is a big name that has been offering us delicious chocolate products for well over 100 years.

Hershey's whole almonds creamy milk chocolate

While the plain Hershey’s bar came first in 1900, the almond Hershey’s bar came trailing not too far behind eight years later in 1908. Hershey’s chocolate is an old recipe!

The almond chocolate bar is the traditional Hershey’s chocolate recipe that we all know and love but with the crunch of whole almonds.

Hershey’s explains that each almond goes through quality control, so you can be sure you’re getting the best ones with their silky smooth chocolate!

Chocolate and nuts are another legendary combination. I love the combination of crunchy, a slight nuttiness, and sweet chocolate.

Hershey’s Kisses

Hershey’s Kisses became available between the launch of the traditional milk chocolate bar and the almond chocolate bar in 1907.

They’re very recognizable with their teardrop shape and bright silver foil, which used to get hand-wrapped by workers.

Inside their familiar packaging is the perfect drop of Hershey’s chocolate that’ll put a smile on anyone’s face!

These poppable delights are great for eating as is, or you can incorporate them into your recipes for an extra sweet treat.

I like to use them to make peanut butter blossom cookies. Or I’ll sometimes replace chocolate chips with chopped-up kisses.

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Cream

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Cream bars are one of the newer creations that came from the Hershey’s family in 1994. That’s almost 100 years after the original chocolate bar!

The cookies ‘n’ cream bar features white cream-based chocolate instead of the traditional milk chocolate we’re used to.

Within it lies little surprises of chocolate cookie chunks, bringing a reminiscent flavor of chocolate sandwich cookies.

It tastes a lot like cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream but without the cold part!

If I’m looking for a chocolate treat with a twist, this is what I’ll usually reach for.

It’s deliciously sweet with hints of chocolate, rather than full-on chocolate.

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate

There’s nothing like going back to the original with a Hersey’s milk chocolate bar!

This traditional favorite was the second Hershey’s creation coming in six years after Hershey’s Cocoa in 1894.

The Hershey’s milk chocolate bar was a remake of already existing Swiss chocolate recipes.

This chocolate bar is quite sweet but has notes of tanginess due to the milk products inside the recipe.

I think it makes a delicious sweet snack on its own, or you can use it to make a classic s’more on a warm summer night.

The bars are also great for melting if you want to use them as a sweet fondue.

Peanut M&M’s

Peanut M&M’s came into the spotlight in 1954, and they are my go-to sweet and salty snack.

There’s just something about the crunch and the delicious nutty flavor mixed with the chocolate.

Each M&M is about three to four times the size of the traditional ones due to the full-sized peanuts packed inside.

They’re essentially chocolate-covered peanuts with a colorful candy coating.

They’re a fun poppable snack that might even satisfy your hunger, as whole peanuts have a good amount of protein. I like to get these at the movie theater with my popcorn.

York Peppermint Patties

York Peppermint Patties are the best chocolate candies for an invigorating, chocolatey snack.

These sweet little disks from 1988 feature a sweet filling of peppermint confection, which gets dipped in decadent dark chocolate.

At first, the flavor can be quite minty, but it mellows out with the sugar that’s in the filling.

The dark chocolate is the perfect finish with sharp hints of cocoa, and it offers a satisfying snap when you bite into it.

I love these patties, as I’m a big fan of mint and chocolate together. I feel like the flavors complement each other well, as they’re both bold flavors.