As you dump your basket of hard-earned candy onto the floor, you already have one treat in mind. It’s sweet, crunchy, and basically perfect. As you rake your fingers through the pile of candy, your eyes dart around, desperately searching for the glossy red packaging in a sea of various colors. Then, you finally see it: a KitKat. 

   Unlike the Smarties, Skittles, and Reese’s you’d put up for trade with your trick or treating buddy, this one’s staying with you. 

   You unwrap the tight, plastic packaging and admire the KitKat in all its trapezoidal glory. As you sink your teeth into it, a satisfying crunch rings through your ears. The crispy wafers dissolve in your mouth as the silky milk chocolate melts into your tongue, creating a sweet experience, one that’s unparalleled with any of the other Halloween treats you might have in your basket. 

   Not only is the original milk chocolate KitKat flavor delectable, but the various other flavors like mint chocolate, dark chocolate, pumpkin pie, and special international flavors like matcha and cherry blossom are also just as delicious. No matter the flavor, you can’t go wrong with a KitKat: the beauty of the wafer-and-chocolate combination transcends flavors and even countries of origin. As junior Meakayla Ambroise states, “KitKats are awesome because they combine two awesome things: chocolate and wafers. Put it together and you get a light, crispy treat.”

   Another bonus of its crunchy layers: providing it protection from becoming mushy and inedible when melted, like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, which, actually, doesn’t even require melting to become unpalatable. A simple squeeze between two of your fingers could be the end for a Reese’s cup. 

   Unlike KitKats, dense candies like Reese’s, 3 Musketeers, and Snickers turn your mouth into a muck-like mess. There’s no variation in texture: just soft and sticky. This lack of variation amplifies the overly sweet flavors in Reese’s peanut butter cups, specifically. The thick peanut butter layered with milk chocolate melts into a sickly sweet paste that leaves your mouth feeling heavy. For junior Jeylah Valdes,“Reese’s are way too sweet: just eating one makes me feel sick.”

   The light snappiness and crunchiness from the wafer layers of a KitKat make it a perfectly balanced treat: a direct contrast to Reese’s. 

   Whether you’re breaking a king-sized KitKat bar into pieces to share, or fishing out a fun-size one out of your trick or treating basket to dig into, the snappy, breakable nature of a KitKat never gets old. 

   Although Reese’s peanut butter cups are ranked by numerous sources like Forbes and USA Today as the #1 Halloween candy, it’s honestly hard to believe. If you went to a house while trick or treating, and they offered you a bowl of candy to choose from, would you reach for a peanut butter cup? The texture and the taste are all a no. But a KitKat? With all its chocolatey, crispy goodness, you’re in for a treat–no tricks. 

   When Halloween comes around, the first thing that might pop into your head is your biggest fear coming to life amidst the darkness of the night. Ghosts haunting your house, mummies rising from the dead, creepy clowns, you name it. But let’s face it, the real scare is finding out you didn’t pick up the best candy in the game: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Of course, there are so many other sweets to choose from in the dozens sitting scrambled in your bag, more than you can count, but they never deliver as perfect a taste as Reese’s.

   At the end of Halloween night when you’re exhausted from trick or treating or even partying, you’re ready to sit down and have a bite of your favorite candy. Not finding a Reese’s anywhere in my bag of candy at that exact instant brings such a disappointing feeling that no other candy can make up for, not Sour Patch, not M&M’s, and definitely not KitKat.

   You might be thinking, ‘It’s not a big deal,’ but it really is. After all, the entire Halloween season is an excuse to eat as much candy as you want, especially the best ones.

   When it comes to taste, arguably the most important factor in sweets, Reese’s is already ahead of the rest. You can always take a bite through the firm shell into the soft filling and never get tired of the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate. The sweetness of it will never overpower your taste buds, the candy melting into nothing but a comforting essence in your mouth. As sophomore Lucas Porven describes it, “the two distinct flavors are already so good on their own, but when they are combined they just use each other to make an even better savory taste.”

   Another person who has great taste, Sophomore Soluchukwu Okafor, makes the valid point that “KitKats don’t compare to Reese’s.” Sure, KitKats have that additional crunch from its embedded wafers, but it’s really nothing special. If you want crunch in your chocolate, you can simply eat a Crunch Bar, or even a Ferrero Rocher, but on the other hand, the original and simple peanut butter and chocolate combo can only be found in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

   What makes Reese’s even more special is the fact that people usually don’t have them just lying around because a number of kids are allergic to the peanut butter in them. So when they’re finally given away on that one night, it’s best to savor the moment and take as much as you can get. Junior Gianella Miranda has experienced this firsthand, normally not being allowed to eat Reese’s, now her favorite candy, because of her sister who’s allergic to peanuts. When she used to trick or treat as a young kid, picking up a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup made her feel “super super excited” and “super happy and lucky to have gotten it.”

   So as we get closer to Halloween, make sure you know what the best of the best is. Save Reese’s a spot in your mind, and a place in your stomach.