30 Popular American Snacks Ranked Worst To Best
If there's one thing Americans know how to do, it's load up on snack foods like every supermarket on planet Earth was going out of business and have themselves a grand old time sucking down as much sugar, saturated fat, and processed chemicals as their stomachs can handle (and they can handle a lot). Even though it can be an unhealthy activity, oftentimes the stress of the day just calls for something sweet or savory to cap things off the right way. And there's certainly no shortage of options, either. Just stroll into any supermarket or convenience store, and you're slammed in the face with rows and rows of colorful packaging all begging for your palate's attention. Yeah, the world is a pretty delicious place when you want it to be.
Of course, not every snack is created equally, and everyone has their own guilty pleasure they choose over the rest. There's a texture and flavor for everyone out there. Whether it's something gummy, crunchy, or savory, they're all out there if you explore long enough. But if you're looking for a ranking of the most popular snacks Americans like to munch on, you're in luck. Here's a list of 30 hugely popular snacks ranked worst to best. Make sure to plan a trip to the grocery store after you read this. Your appetite's bound to be firing on all cylinders.
30. Animal Crackers
Most adults remember tossing back handful after handful of Animal Crackers when they were young. It seemed like every parent had boxes of them in the cupboard, and kids loved the fact that the crackers were shaped like different friends from the animal kingdom. Funny enough, even though they're called crackers, they're basically just cookies.
The main problem is that these "crackers" are just plain bland, which makes it extremely hard to compete against opponents that are coated in chocolate, full of sweet fillings, or blessed with a hearty dose of salt. The color of the snack is also a dull beige, which is aesthetically unappealing, which makes you less likely to want to take a bite — or indulge in a binge. If you're looking for something to scratch that snacky itch, look elsewhere. But, hey, at least you'll feed your hunger for a nostalgic snack when you eat some Animal Crackers.
29. Graham Crackers
The history behind these brown crackers you always see on the shelves of supermarkets is likely to leave you with your eyes wide open in shock. "But how? They're just graham crackers. How could the history of a pretty boring boxed snack shock anyone?" Well, as the history lesson goes, in 1829 a New Jersey Presbyterian minister named Sylvester Graham invented the crackers because he was disgusted with his parishioners giving into their passionate desires toward others, and he believed the only way to avoid eternal damnation was by consuming a strict diet of boring food to quell any internal urges, according to Entrepreneur. And the minister sure nailed it with the whole "boring" aspect of his creation.
Even though we usually associate graham crackers with s'mores, the crackers on their own hardly pack any kind of a punch. They're incredibly dry when eaten alone, which leaves your mouth craving some kind of liquid to wash the relatively flavorless, sandy texture down. Who knows if it actually dulls your carnal urges toward others, but it certainly dulls your excitement to eat any more of them.
28. Fig Newtons
You may think of Fig Newtons as the only cookie your grandma has in the entire house. Or perhaps if you grew up in a slightly more granola household, they were regarded as a special treat. But unfortunately, when compared to the other delicious snacks on this list, this one falls short.
Now, the outer casing of Fig Newtons does have a great mouthfeel. It's super soft and gentle, so your teeth aren't cracking into something that might chip your enamel. However, it's the fig jam inside that leaves you disappointed. The jam isn't really that sweet — it has somewhat of a dull flavor profile as well as tiny little seeds that tend to nestle their way in between your teeth, which leaves you searching for floss or a toothpick immediately after eating one. Luckily, Nabisco came out with a line of Raspberry Newtons and Strawberry Newtons for those turned off by the fig taste.
27. Twinkies
It's difficult to imagine a world before the Twinkie. As soon as you hear the word, your mind immediately conjures up that spongy yellow cream-filled log full of sugary ingredients. But prior to 1930, if you asked someone for a Twinkie, they'd stare at you completely puzzled. It was that year a bakery manager Jimmy Dewer, who worked at Continental Baking Co. in River Forest, Illinois, dreamt up the insanely popular snack. According to Today, they were named after a "Twinkle Toe Shoes" billboard that caught Dewer's attention. Apparently, the first batches of Twinkies were filled with banana cream as opposed to the vanilla cream we know today. The vanilla flavoring came about when bananas were rationed during World War II. However, just because Twinkies are insanely well-known doesn't mean they're worth indulging in.
Listen, if it's a straight-up sugar rush you're seeking, then Twinkies do the trick (as does literally anything else that has enough sugar to send dentists everywhere screaming in horror). But if you're looking for something with a flavor that leaves you more satisfied, most other Hostess snacks pull in ahead of Twinkies. The taste of the spongy yellow cake gets old quickly, and the cream inside is far less vanilla-flavored than it is just plain ridiculously sugary. You can almost feel your teeth cowering in fear at the thought of potential cavities.
26. Kit Kat
We all want people to give us a break, and, according to the commercial, there's no better way to do that when it comes to the snacking landscape than to crack off a piece of a Kit Kat bar for a friend. Well, we have our friends across the pond to thank for allowing others to give us that sugary break. Created in 1935 in England, the chocolate-covered wafers were originally called "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisps," according to Hershey. But two years later the name was changed to "Kit Kat," which, let's be honest, is a heck of a lot more fun than the original title. There have been plenty of Kit Kat varieties over the years, such as white crème and mint & dark chocolate, but the original milk chocolate-covered wafer is the most well-known. But that doesn't necessarily mean you should sprint out to the store to get some.
The layers of wafers inside the Kit Kat bars are really dry, which doesn't play well on your tongue unless you have a big glass of milk handy, and not everyone always has one available. When picking a snack, you want something that can stand alone and satisfy, not require the accompaniment of anything else. If you're looking for a break from the stresses of the day, it might prove best to search somewhere else.
25. Cheez-Its
Those little orange squares with the circular hole in the middle are immediately recognizable as Cheez-Its, the cheddary, flaky boxed snack that so many kids bring to school in plastic bags as a treat during lunchtime. Funny enough, in 1921 when the Green & Geen cracker company trademarked the cheddar-flavored snack, they marketed it as "baked rarebit." As historian Brady Kress explained via Smithsonian, "People were familiar with rarebit, a sort of melted cheddar beer cheese spread over toast. Cheez-Its offered the same great taste, only baked down into a cracker that will last." So, it was the flavor of beer cheese Green & Green wanted to preserve, and they seemingly did it with success, but that doesn't mean Cheez-Its are the end-all-be-all of the snack world.
The main issue is that the cheddar flavor can get old quickly. At first, the cheesy taste might play well in your mouth, but after a few handfuls, it can feel too overpowering, and you'll want something that doesn't taste like such an intense rush of cheddar cheese. Best to opt for another snack if you don't want something that'll get tiring very quickly.
24. Fritos
For those obsessed with these curly chips made from fried cornmeal, Charles Elmer Doolin is the man to thank. According to Snack History, the crunchy snack was originally created right in Doolin's mother's kitchen where The Frito Company was first established. When the family first began cranking out batches of the corn chips, they made about 10 pounds a day. After about a year of work, that number increased to about 100 pounds a day all thanks to a contraption called the hammer press, which made the process much easier and more efficient. Nowadays, Fritos are a staple item in every chip aisle throughout America. They also come in different flavors, such as barbecue, ranch, and chili cheese, but it's the original that reigns supreme. However, Fritos may not be the greatest go-to snack around even though the name is well-known.
First of all, they're incredibly salty, which leads anyone eating them to a much-needed glass of water shortly after they break into a bag. Obviously, salt is one of those ingredients that can tap into the salivary glands and keep you wanting more, but it's a quick turn-off when you consume too much. You end up not wanting any more, and the mouth-drying feel long after you finish is pretty unpleasant.
23. PEZ
PEZ might be one of the most entertaining candies available today all thanks to the plastic dispensers that hold them. It seems like every single cartoon character, beloved holiday figure, and popular movie character has their own scaled-down version of themselves ready to dispense those colorful fruit-flavored rectangles into the mouths of kids looking for an interactive way to eat candy. Interestingly, PEZ actually started as peppermint-flavored tablets designed to help adults stave off smoking cravings, according to Smithsonian, and when they were first created by an Austrian confectioner named Eduard Haas III, they were packed in metal tins and foil wrappings. The fun PEZ dispensers we know today came about when the flavor of the tablets changed from minty to fruity and they were marketed toward children. But as fun and collective as PEZ dispensers are, the product that pops out of them doesn't really leave a positive impression.
Even though the candy is supposed to taste fruity, the fruit flavor is incredibly weak, and the consistency of the candy is chalky. It's easy to mistake the candy for tasting better than it actually does due to the incredibly colorful and fun dispensers you pop them out of (it truly is a unique way of eating something sweet), but when it comes down to the colored tablets themselves, not even a dispenser in the shape of your favorite cartoon character or movie star can truly mask the fact that the candy holds a faint, boring flavor.
22. Goldfish
When it comes to fish-shaped cheddar snacks, there's only one brand that comes to mind: Goldfish, of course! Goldfish came about in 1962 after the founder of Pepperidge Farm, Margaret Rudkin, made an agreement with a Swiss cookie manufacturer to take a similar product they made and bring it to the United States, according to Campbell's. The man who created the original product, Oscar J. Kambly, gave them to his wife as a birthday present. But why the fish shape? Well, his wife's astrological sign was Pisces, a fish! The cheddar cheese flavor we associate with Goldfish actually didn't come about until four years after the product launched, but even though the "snack that smiles back" is super popular, the flavor is, well ... eh.
Cheddar cheese is definitely the most popular flavor, but Goldfish also come in plenty of other varieties like pizza, barbecue, and Parmesan. Pepperidge Farms also has a line of Flavor-Blasted Goldfish, which means whatever flavor you choose is even more intense than the original. However, unless you're absolutely in love with whatever flavor you choose, the taste gets old quickly. How much cheddar cheese flavor could you possibly want in one sitting? Not that much.
21. Fruit by the Foot
Kids and gummy candy go together like snow showers and winter. Not only is the insane amount of added sugar addictive to those young palates, but there's something about the gummy texture that feels fun. It's stretchy, chewy, and oftentimes, super colorful, which is exactly what draws kids to them. And when General Mills created the gummy strip they named Fruit by the Foot in 1991 (per Snack History), it was nearly impossible for kids not to love unrolling a three-foot-long sheet of colorful gumminess. These things are huge! Even though they are paper-thin, the sheer length of them is enough for any kid to feel like they're eating a massive snack. However, just because kids love the three-foot treat doesn't mean the actual flavor of Fruit by the Foot is anything to write home about.
The problem is that there's really no flavor other than just plain sugar. Sure, you can buy the strawberry-flavored Fruit by the Foot, and maybe there'll be a hint of strawberry pumped into the strip, but it's a far cry from biting into an actual strawberry. It's just a big, sticky strip of cavity-inducing ingredients, and as you get older, the last thing you want in life is additional trips to the dentist.
20. Planters Classic Peanuts
Nuts, in general, are a great thing to have handy as a snack or as a part of an appetizer spread if you're hosting a party. They're full of nutrients, they don't fill you up quickly and leave you feeling bloated, and there are plenty of varieties to choose from. Now, peanuts actually aren't classified as nuts, even though the word "nut" is literally in the name. They're legumes, like beans and peas, according to Healthline. However, they have very similar nutritional benefits and characteristics and are therefore often grouped in with other nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, and pecans. However, if you're looking to wow guests with a flavorful handful of snackable nuts, you might want to get something other than the plain Planters Classic Peanuts.
Let's be clear: It's not that the peanuts have an unappealing flavor. They just don't really have that much of a flavor in general, which means after snacking on a few handfuls, your palate will still crave something that actually packs a punch. Luckily, Planters offers several other varieties of peanuts, like Sweet N' Crunchy, Chili Lime, and Chipotle-flavored, so you can actually have something with flavor. If you're looking for a snack that has both nutritional value and flavor, stick with the flavored peanuts.
19. Gushers Fruit Snacks
What's better than tossing back a colorful nugget of gummy sugar to give yourself a little sugar rush to help push you through the next hour of the day? Filling those little nuggets with a thick, sweet syrup that erupts into your mouth once you bite down, of course! Well, according to Snack History, in 1991, General Mills embraced the whole syrupy-burst idea and created Fruit Gushers, the chewable gummy snack with an added bit of liquid sugar in the center of each piece. The stand-out trait was the shape of the gummies, which were elongated hexagonal bipyramids. Yeah, that may be a difficult string of words to remember, but the snacks are interesting to look at nonetheless. But even though kids loved biting down into these snacks and tasting the fruity syrup in the middle, Gushers are a far cry from a snack considered we would consider tasty.
If it's a pure sugar rush you're looking for, then maybe throwing a couple of bags of these gummies down your throat will do the trick, but if you're older than a middle school student and you're looking for energy, embrace adulthood and stick to coffee instead. The fruity flavors of Gushers are weak, and you're really not getting much more than a concentrated taste of sugar. The syrup in the middle changes your tongue all sorts of colors, and when you're an adult who has to face other adults, that's not the look you're going for.
18. M&M's
Arguably the most recognizable candy in the world, M&M's are a staple candy in every corner store, supermarket, and anywhere else that sells sweets. Heck, M&M's even have their own stores in major cities throughout the world, like New York City, London, Shanghai, and Las Vegas. Yeah, it's safe to say M&M's have made quite the name for themselves since hitting shelves in 1941 thanks to a man named Forrest E. Mars, Sr., per the M&M's website. They quickly gained popularity, and they even started traveling to space in the '80s when astronauts began including them in their food supply. But even though everyone instantly recognizes the candy, it doesn't necessarily mean they're worth all the attention.
Nowadays, M&M's come in different varieties, such as Peanut M&M's, Peanut Butter M&M's, and Pretzel M&M's. But the original chocolate is what we're discussing here, and overall, unless you're craving an enormous chocolate overload, one of the other options might suit you better. The outer shell does lend a nice textural crunch, but the chocolate can feel overpowering pretty quickly. The flavor ends up far less enticing than the adorable M&M's cartoon characters on the television commercials.
17. Sour Patch Kids
"First they're sour, then they're sweet," the television commercials say about these sugar-coated gummy candies. The commercials always have an anthropomorphic gummy candy pulling a mean-spirited prank on an unsuspecting kid, only to befriend them afterward with an act of kindness. The commercials are a great marketing ploy, as they certainly grab your attention, and that attention leads to curiosity, which leads to sales. Even the gummy characters in the commercials are glistening with a sugary coating, and they honestly look like a fun and tasty gummy treat. However, there are some major problems with these things.
The first issue, which isn't even the worst one, is that the flavors don't smack you in the face like you want them to. It's just a basic sweet gummy taste with barely a hint of fruit. The real problem is with the sour sugar coating. After half a bag of these things, the inside of your mouth is absolutely torn apart by the sour sugar. The skin on your tongue starts chafing, and it can take days for it to feel better. Do your mouth a huge favor and give Sour Patch Kids a hard pass.
16. Slim Jims
If someone approached you and asked if you'd like to munch on a meat stick, you'd likely call the police and file a restraining order. However, if that same person asked if you'd like to munch on a Slim Jim, you might very well take them up on the offer, which is funny because a meat stick is exactly what a Slim Jim is. Invented by a man named Adolph Levis in the '40s, the beef sticks were originally sold as bar food to patrons who were busy tossing back tons of booze, according to Mel Magazine. The cured beef sticks wee skinnier than the typical large logs of pepperoni, which made them an enticing treat. But as convenient as they were (and still are today), anyone who's health-conscious knows to stay far away from these greasy animal sticks.
One look at the nutritional facts of Slim Jims lets you know the human body just isn't supposed to contain most of the ingredients. They're chock-full of salt because of the curing process, high in saturated fat, and they contain "mechanically separated" animal parts, which likely means the tough outer casings aren't exactly stuffed with high-quality ingredients. These sticks of meat leave a lot to ponder, and even though "Macho Man" Randy Savage shouted at people everywhere to "Snap into a Slim Jim!" on those television commercials, it's best you snap into something else entirely.
15. Pop-Tarts
Breakfast can be a tough meal to sneak in every morning, especially when you have a hectic household full of kids or are stressfully scrambling to get yourself ready for work because you forgot to set your alarm. There's often little or no time for a morning bite much of the time. However, any nutritionist will tell you the importance of filling your body with food early in the day so you have energy to overcome all the hurdles thrown your way throughout the course of 24 hours. That's why Pop-Tarts are such a popular go-to for families with chaotic morning routines. Of course, Pop-Tarts are far from a nutritious breakfast, but they get the job done when you're pressed for time.
One of the most convenient aspects of Pop-Tarts, aside from the fact that all the prep takes literally no effort (pop them in a toaster for a minute, and you're ready to rock and roll), is that parents could send their kids to school with the pastries. Instead of having to carve out time to make breakfast at home, parents could hand their hungry children the grab-and-go food and let them enjoy it either on the bus or once they arrived at school. No mess and no frills. Simply flaky pastries with fruit filling. Plus, they're sweet enough to eat any time of day as a quick and easy snack.
14. Snickers
"Hungry? Why Wait?" and "You're Not You When You're Hungry," have been two hugely successful marketing slogans at the end of Snickers' commercials, urging people not to allow the hunger growling inside their bellies to exist for any longer. A Snickers bar will satisfy that urge to consume and leave you with a smile on your face. No one likes someone exhibiting "hangry" tendencies, and this pocket-sized chocolate bar filled with caramel, nougat, and peanuts holds the cure for those afflicted. Funny enough, the man who invented snickers, Frank Mars, named the candy bar after one his favorite horses who trotted around their Tennessee ranch, according to Candy Favorites. The ranch was ironically called the Milky Way.
When the candy bar first hit shelves in the 1930s, people didn't take too kindly to the price point. These bars cost 20 cents, which was around four times as much as most other candy bars that cost only a nickel. (It's tough to imagine getting upset over anything costing 20 cents nowadays, right?) However, once people actually splurged on them, they realized the combination of all three flavors and textures played perfectly on their tongues, and Snickers soon shot up the charts as one of the most popular candy bars in the world. So, if you're hungry, don't wait.
13. Cheetos
One thing that truly helps a product sell is a cool mascot, and Chester Cheetah certainly embodies the word "cool" more than most others. He's got a deep, smooth voice and a pair of sleek shades that jump off every bag of Cheetos. Interestingly, Chester wasn't always the sly-talking mascot of the brand, according to a timeline of the snack's history. In 1971, Cheetos had a mouse flaunt the product until the late '70s. But the mid-'80s saw the arrival of the coolest Serengeti animal of all time. But it's not just the mascot that draws people to Cheetos. It's the fact they're pretty darn tasty and come in different flavors and textures. Cheetos are a clutch go-to option when you want a quick snack.
The option to choose either crunchy or puffed means you can get two completely different mouthfeels while still enjoying the same great dusting of cheese on each kind. The crunchy version feels almost like you're eating chips (the cheesiest chips of all time, of course). The puffed Cheetos almost collapse into themselves inside your mouth due to all their airiness, and they dissolve on your tongue, which makes for a super-pleasant texture. Plus, if you're bored of just plain cheddar, you can try flavors like Jalapeno Cheddar, Limon, and Flaming Hot if you want an extra kick of heat.
12. Entenmann's Little Bites
Sometimes, when you look at an entire muffin, you feel a little intimidated, and for good reason. It seems like pastries of all kinds nowadays are created dauntingly large. Honestly, everything in America seems like it's made oversized to fill our guts, and muffins certainly slide into that category. Even though a blueberry or chocolate chip muffin will absolutely hit the spot when you're craving something sweet, you likely don't want that much sugar. However, if you see that same amount of pastry split up into bite-sized morsels, your mind tells you to go ahead and tackle your craving. That's where Entenmann's Little Bites work their sweet wonders.
Each packet of these little doughy nuggets of deliciousness contains four miniature muffins waiting to satisfy you. Popping back four mini pastries feels so much easier than taking on one behemoth softball-sized muffin. They come in flavors like blueberry, chocolate chip, party cake, butter, and banana. You can also eat a few different kinds in one sitting to get a variety of flavors without overstuffing your belly with bread.
11. Tostitos Chips
Whenever the thought of salsa comes to mind, there's usually just one word that almost immediately pops up: "Tostitos!" You can't throw a party without a heaping supply of chips and dip available, of course, and they're one of those snacks that's a hit with almost everyone. It's difficult to turn down a crunchy corn chip piled high with a zesty salsa or a warm, gooey cheese sauce. There are plenty of brands of chips out there, but Tostitos has carved its name out as one of the go-to options when it's time to host a party or just munch on a snack while you binge on your favorite Netflix show.
Now, even though regular Tostitos don't technically have a flavor, these salted corn chips have just enough sodium to set off those savory sensors on your tongue without leaving you desperate for water. And if you're craving a chip that does have some flavoring to it to complement whatever dip you're pairing it with, Tostitos comes in flavors like guacamole, hint of lime, and habanero. Plus, the genius invention of the scoop-shaped chip allows the maximum amount of dip possible every time you go in for a dunk.
10. Pringles
When doesn't the fun stop? Once you pop, of course! Or, at least that's what Pringles guarantees us. Well, the fun that's had once you pop into a cylindrical Pringles can is all thanks to Procter & Gamble. P&G wanted to solve the two main problems many people had with chips, according to Thrillist: They were far too greasy, and because they were so brittle, many of the chips would bread, leading to a pile of crumbles in the bottom of the bag. This was not the kind product people wanted to fork over their hard-earned cash for. So, P&G sought the advice of a mathematician named Fredric J. Baur for help, and he was one who developed the saddle-shaped stackable disc to prevent breakage. There was initially an issue with a poor flavor, but that was handled, and nowadays, Pringles hop off of the shelves into people's grocery carts every day.
One of the reasons Pringles are so popular is because of their genius marketing campaign to encourage people to pop off the top and get to eating. They're fun and exciting, which are two huge reasons consumers are drawn in. There's some debate as to exactly when Pringles truly took off as a consumer favorite, but with a wide variety of grease-less flavors like BBQ, Cheddar and Sour Cream, Ranch, Pizza, and plenty more, Pringles are here to stay.
9. Ritz Handi-Snacks
There are few better food items to pair with crackers than cheese than Ritz. The crunchy texture of the baked crackers complements the creamy texture of cheese perfectly — just ask any charcuterie board. (You may not get an answer, though.) If you were a child of the '90s, you likely remember these handy snacks that came with the small red stick to help apply the creamy cheddar cheese dip onto the rectangular crackers.
Handi-Snacks found their way into many paper-bagged middle school lunches, and the combination of the salty crackers with the rich cheese was exactly what those young palates wanted after tossing back peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Plus, the red stick that applied the cheese made the snack an interactive experience, which kids loved. You can still get Handi-Snacks today, but don't expect the inclusion of the red stick. Nabisco did away with them for a more environmentally friendly product.
8. Rice Krispies Treats
Snap, Crackle, and Pop are three of the most well-known cereal characters in the world, and they've served breakfast eaters with pride for years. Rice Krispies is one of those fun cereals that actually feels like it's alive when you place a spoonful of it into your mouth. The mascots are literally named after the sensation that plays on your tongue, and since the rice-sized cereal isn't chock-full of sugar like so many others, it's a great way to start your morning.
But Rice Krispies knew that if they did add a bit of sugar to their product, they'd attract even more people looking to satisfy a snack craving, and that's exactly where Rice Krispies Treats come into play. Forget the milk, bowl, and spoon. Handheld cubes of Rice Krispies cereal bound together with a sweet marshmallow goo makes for an awesomely delicious treat. At one point, you could even buy Rice Krispie Treats cereal to kick off your morning with a sugary rush, but the product was discontinued in 2020, according to Brand Informers.
7. Sno Balls
Hostess is one of the most popular purveyors of baked treats in the U.S. Every snack aisle at the supermarket is stocked full of Twinkies, Cupcakes, Ring Dings, Yodels, and many more Hostess options. But the almighty Sno Ball is one of the best options you can get. Not only is there a fluffy marshmallow outer layer coated in shaved coconut, but once you bite through the creamy mallow, you hit a layer of moist chocolate cake that contains a vanilla cream center. Yeah, there's a lot going on with Sno Balls, and there are enough different flavors to make your head spin. But it's all worth the price of a box.
Now, while the Sno Ball doesn't initially look similar to any other Hostess option, according to Business Insider, the chocolate center is actually an upside-down Hostess Cupcake, which means you're basically eating a cupcake that's been enhanced tenfold. Plus, you can buy Sno Balls in a variety of colors, which makes for a fluffy, fun treat even during the seasons when it's too warm to make actual snow balls.
6. Oreo Cookies
People love when cream is in the middle of their desserts. There's something about a sweet center that makes a sugary treat all the more enjoyable. That's exactly why Oreos are such a popular cookie choice when perusing the aisles of the supermarket. Small circles consisting of two chocolate cookies with a layer of thick vanilla cream in the center are delicious on their own, but they're made infinitely better when you send one for a dunk in a glass of cold milk. The chocolate softens and absorbs the liquid, and that moist bite leaves you with a massive smile from ear to ear.
Oreos came about in 1912 when Nabisco came up with the idea that closely resembled the Hydrox cookies created in 1908 by the Sunshine Biscuit Company, according to ThoughCo. Of course, the people who created the Oreo never admitted that they used Hydrox as an inspiration, even though the two cookies were incredibly similar. Funny enough, no one really knows where the name "Oreo" came from. But just because the origin of the name is a mystery, the fact that they're a delicious snack is not.
5. Reese's Pieces
If you ever encounter an alien, besides being completely mind-blown, you might want to have a handful of Reese's Pieces on hand to give as a peace offering. Hey, it worked on E.T., so maybe all extraterrestrials love the stuff. Regardless of whether or not our UFO-piloting friends from another galaxy enjoy the peanut butter candies or not, plenty of humans turn these candy-coated morsels for a delicious sugar fix.
One of the reasons these are more enjoyable than their brethren, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, is because they're nowhere near as heavy and rich. The cups have dense chocolate surrounding a thick peanut butter center. The pieces, however, have a lighter peanut butter–chocolate concoction surrounded by a crunchy coating. The contrasting textures work great together, and the peanut butter isn't too sweet, which means you never feel like your mouth is suffering from an overload of the flavor. If there's one thing you want in a snack, it's something that doesn't quickly overwhelm your mouth.
4. Chex Mix
When you're looking for a snack to munch on, finding something that has several different flavors in it is always an optimal choice so your palate has a variety of flavor profiles to enjoy, and it doesn't get inundated with one boring taste. This is where Chex Mix comes in swinging like a champion and hits a grand slam out of the park just about every time it's served at a party. While Chex originally started as a cereal, several other ingredients were paired alongside the squares of wheat to make an awesome mixture sure to get all your friends and family stoked.
Of course, the foundation of the mixture is made up of both corn Chex and wheat Chex, but then you toss in rye chips, pretzels, and miniature breadsticks for a variety of flavors and textures that never leave you bored. The last thing you need in your life is boredom, and Chex Mix never lets the party in your mouth flounder.
3. Bugles
Before General Mills was the powerhouse of a company it is today, it was simply another corporation trying to carve out a name out for itself among the dozens of other companies that were producing popular snacks. General Mills knew that in order to stand out, they had to ramp up their efforts, and so when Bugles hit debuted nationwide in 1966, they were one-third of a new trio of snacks, which also included Whistles and Daisy*s, according to MeTV. The latter two didn't impress consumers nearly as much as Bugles, and General Mills stopped producing them shortly after release. But the almighty Bugles made quite an impact.
Over the years, Bugles have come in a variety of different flavors, such as ranch, barbecue, and buffalo, but nowadays, shoppers have four staple flavors to choose from: original, nacho cheese, chocolate peanut butter, and caramel. The first two options have a super crunchy texture with a nice salty kick that hits your taste buds in the best way possible, and the latter two varieties are both sweet and salty, a combination that makes these snacks a true winner.
2. Flipz Pretzels
The combination of sweet and salty is one of those amazing culinary marriages that was meant to be from the beginning of time. The two flavor profiles play perfectly on your tongue, and you're never left with so much salt that you need some water or so much sweetness that you feel a cavity starting to form. This is exactly why Flipz Pretzels are one of the greatest snacks available.
Obviously, a savory pretzel can hit the spot, but when you coat one in either milk chocolate or a white chocolate glaze, they're nearly impossible to resist. Plus, the crunchiness that a pretzel offers is still very much present, which offers a fantastic mouthfeel alongside a superb flavor. The next time you feel a hankering for something that'll hit the spot after a meal (or in between meals), snag yourself a bag of Flipz Pretzels and treat yourself to a delicious day.
1. Combos
Everyone knows that when they're in the mood for a snack, you shouldn't settle for any old food. When that belly rumbles, you need to heed its call, and treating yourself to anything less than something fantastic is a complete waste of your time. That's why when the appetite creature starts calling out from the depths of your gut, a few handfuls of Combos will almost always quell his rage. Combos are a savory delight that will leave you reaching into the bag again and again for another round of flavor-packed joy.
The initial idea for the Combos we know today came about in the early 1970s when a production plant in Battlecreek, Michigan, drilled holes in pretzel nuggets and filled them with cheese, per the Combos website. Pretzel Combos then hit store shelves in 1980, and five years later the cheddar cheese, and cracker version was introduced. But the company wasn't done yet. They again upped their game with Pepperoni Pizza, Spicy Honey Mustard, and Buffalo Blue Cheese. Don't make the mistake of leaving your pantries Combos-less. These things are always worth your time.