"I must treat you..." ~ Jane Eyre

According to Candy by Sign, a horoscope that indicates what candy is the favorite of each sign, this is what my candy outlook indicated:

Aquarius Candy (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)
Water-bearers are often drawn to containers built to transport liquid, hence their fondness for those freaky wax bottles filled with syrup. When it comes to chocolate, Aquarius will invariably reach for a box of Whoppers. Describing the taste of malted milk is always a challenge for this analytical sign. Hard-to-find candy like Necco Wafers also gives this sign a kick, since they like things that are off the beaten path.

Firstly, I think wax bottles are foul. I do enjoy Whoppers from time to time, but I prefer my malt in an actual milkshake, thank you very much. As for Necco Wafers, their consistency reminds me of the chalk I use each morning in my classroom.

Alas, this horoscope resigns me to a cruel candy fate. The candy of my dreams is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I have loved this chocolate candy since I was a child. I recall being a young child and sitting on a section of the oriental rug in my living room, candy sprawled out over its patterns after dumping out my bag after trick-or-treating. The more squares of brightly orange-wrapped cups accumulated, the more excited I became. I traded away Twix, Kit-Kats, and even Milky Ways to my sisters in exchange for PB Cups. Even the smaller cups made me happy since I knew my mother would place them in my lunch that week. I enjoyed the sundaes at Friendly's, and even now I treat myself to one a year (with lowfat fro-yo, of course!)

I don't recall learning about the PB Cup when J. Sarah and I were at the Hershey Museum last January. Ironically, museum tickets were included in our spa package! Hence, I did a little research this afternoon. This is from the Hershey Website:

The H.B. Reese Candy Company began manufacturing a product made with specially processed peanut butter and HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate in the 1920s. Introduced as simply peanut butter cups, the popular candy item is known today as REESE'S peanut butter cups. The name REESE'S has a unique heritage established by Harry Burnett (H.B.) Reese, a former dairy employee of Milton S. Hershey, founder of Hershey Foods Corporation. Reese was so inspired by Mr. Hershey's success that he left the dairy business to make his living in the candy industry. While that decision inevitably developed into something truly unique in America's food industry, Reese experienced much adversity before building a company that thrived on the manufacture of a single product.

Born in 1879 on a farm in Frosty Hill, PA (York County), Reese was not very fond of farming. As a youth, he took a variety of jobs including country butchering and oil burner selling before moving to Hershey, PA, in 1917. Following ventures in nearby Hummelstown and Palmyra, where he had some success with Johnny Bars and Lizzie Bars (caramel-like molasses and coconut candy), he moved back to Hershey, a few blocks from the already famous Hershey Chocolate manufacturing facility.

During the mid-twenties, Reese began selling his peanut butter cups in five-pound boxes for use in candy assortments. Ten years later, Reese added the cups which were sold for a penny a piece to the assortment line. Conditions during World War II prompted him to discontinue his other lines to concentrate on peanut butter cups, "a product that both the young and old alike can eat and enjoy..." Distributed through wholesale jobbers, vending machine operators and syndicated stores, the peanut butter cups, in their familiar orange, yellow and brown wrapping, continued to gain popularity on a nationwide scale during the '40s and early '50s.

By mid-1950, it was evident that a larger manufacturing facility was needed. A tract of land on the western edge of Hershey was selected and ground was broken for a modern, extensively automated plant. The 100,000 square-foot facility, built along Chocolate Avenue, opened in August 1957. Six years later, in 1963, the H.B. Reese Candy Company, Inc., was sold for $23.5 million to the Hershey Chocolate Company, currently known as Hershey Foods Corporation, its chocolate-making neighbor. Recently, the company introduced popular limited edition items including White Chocolate (now a permanent item), Dark Chocolate, INSIDE OUT and BIG CUP peanut butter cups.

Dear readers, please fill the comment section as a trick-or-treat bag fills with candy: indicate your favorite Halloween candy and lets see which candy has the majority of love! If you are not a regular commenter, it would be extra sweet to learn about your favorite candy...