Candy is veddy veddy good.

So, due to Chris Christie's executive order to post pone Halloween, today I am passing out the finer things in life: high fructose corn syrup and smiles. The thing about candy, it connects people. It will remain a favorite treat for people of all ages from cradle to grave. Apologies for making that sounds morbid, but hey, when in Halloween :D

I always have exceptional difficulty when asked to pick a favorite of something, but for candy especially I suffer from a brain aneurism. Just kidding. My favorite candy is anything that has caramel or chocolate-mint in it, like those Andes after-dinner mints that don't actually count as candy but I'm still going to anyway. I also like Milky Ways, Life Savers gummies, Kit-Kats, gummy bears, Butterfingers and Whoppers holla. I'm going to give you a brief history on the Andes mint candy though, because it truly is my favorite.

Officially, they are called Andes Creme de Menthe Thins, a candy with one mint-green layer sandwiched in between two chocolate-brown layers. It's also wrapped in this signature green and silver foil.

In 1921, Andrew Kanelos opened a small candy store in Chicago, Illinois. Andes Mints got their start in the North Side neighborhood, and were a local treat for many years. While Kanelos initially called his store "Andy's Candies" in reference to himself, he quickly found that men did not like giving boxes of candy with another man's name to their wives and girlfriends. As such, he changed the spelling of the business to "Andes Candies". In 2000 Andes was sold to the Tootsie Roll Industries and is still popular to this day. 

In the US, Andes mints are a popular after dinner mint, which can be found at popular restaurants, including Olive Garden. The mint used at Olive Garden is a special flavor manufactured exclusively for the restaurant chain, but it is taste-wise similar to the Mint Parfait flavor; containing the same layers, but at different ratios. The common size Andes mint is 1.5 x .75 x .25 inches, weighs 4.75 grams and contains 25 calories. A larger size is available, measuring 2 x .75 x .25 inches, weighing 9 grams and containing 47.5 calories. 

(src: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_Chocolate_Mints)

Halloween just reminded me how much I love candy in general. But I'm going to end my post here because currently there is a very impatient Peter Pan and a banana banging at my door for some Reese's. Odd how trusting we are on this one holiday. Excited for a stranger's hospitality. Mmmm, Anthrax.