I’m a Canadian, born and raised—but for the last 6 years, I’ve been proud to call myself a Texan, too. Since moving here for work, there’s a lot that I don’t miss about Canada (namely the winter) and a lot of things that I love about my new home. The food here is incredible, people are warm and friendly, and there may be no better place on Earth to be a sports fan.
There are some things I do miss about my home country, though. There are a lot of really tasty Canadian chocolates and candies that are just about impossible to find this far south of the border. I’ve ordered some of these candies for my Texan friends and their minds were blown; here are a few of my favourites:
The Milk Chocolate and Coffee Bliss of Coffee Crisp
Coffee Crisp is probably my all-time favourite chocolate bar (what most Americans would call a candy bar—but I have to stick to my roots on this one). The bar has crunchy layers of vanilla wafers fused together with coffee candy (it’s a sort of foamy coffee cream), all wrapped in delicious milk chocolate. The flavour is hard to describe; it’s mostly sweet, but the coffee notes that come through balance out the sweetness beautifully.
I love everything about Coffee Crisp—the taste, the texture, the nostalgia. My friends love it too, and anytime I go for a trip up north, they ask me to bring back a box of Coffee Crisps.
The Addictive Crunch of the Crispy Crunch Milk Chocolate Bar
Cadbury Crispy Crunch is the American Butterfinger’s Canadian cousin (though you can buy Butterfingers in Canada). There are a couple of noticeable differences, though; there’s less milk chocolate on the Crispy Crunch and the peanut butter core is a bit denser.
The result is a chocolate bar that’s a little more peanut-forward than Butterfinger—and a bit harder to bite through. I love the satisfying crunch you get from biting into the peanut butter core. I highly recommend doing a blind taste test to see which one you like best if you get a chance!
Maynards’ Candies: A (Sugar) Rush of Memories
Maynards’ candies bring back incredibly vivid memories of my childhood; staying up late playing the Nintendo 64 at sleepovers with my friends, ingesting unholy amounts of Sour Cherry Blasters and Fuzzy Peaches. How our parents tolerated us bouncing off the walls until 2 in the morning, I’ll never know.
Here in Texas, I find it impossible to find almost any candies from the Maynards line: No Maynards Swedish Berries, no Maynards Wine Gums (which, as an adult, I assume I’ll enjoy more than I did as a kid), and definitely no Sour Cherry Blasters or Fuzzy Peaches (my two personal favourites).
For Americans reading this, I’ve heard the texture of Maynards’ candies as being like a Haribo gummy bear that’s gone a bit stale. I don’t think that description really does the candies justice—they’re a perfect balance of firm and gummy—but it gives you an idea of what I’m talking about.
Maynards’ candies are really tasty—a truly magnificent snack—and I highly recommend getting your hands on some if you get the opportunity. I can’t find any American gummies that scratch the Maynards’ itch.
What Candy Can You Get in Canada But Not the US? The Best of the Rest
Maynards, Crispy Crunch, and Coffee Crisp are the three candies I miss the most, but there are a whole slew of other candies and chocolate bars I pick up when I go home on vacation. Here are a few others I recommend trying:
- Canadian Smarties (they’re like thinner, more candy-forward M&Ms)
- Mr. Big (The largest chocolate bar produced by Cadbury in Canada)
- Caramilk (a chocolate bar filled with liquid caramel)
Then there are all of the snacks like Lay’s Ketchup chips or All Dressed chips! Honestly, there are too many delicious snacks to name, and while I love a lot of the products available in my new home (as a sweetened cereal addict, America is a paradise), I always pick up some Canadian candies any time I feel nostalgic and want to get a taste of home.
