Almost 60% Of People Say This Is Their Favorite Seasonal Candy

For many, part of what makes a holiday season pop is the special themed candy that appears. After all, Peeps came back from a months-long hiatus in order to ensure their goods were ready for the upcoming Easter 2021 season. Is there one kind of seasonal candy that tops everyone's list? Mashed surveyed 58,000 people worldwide to determine the top favorite seasonal candy, and the result was rather unanimous.

The lowest ranking of the options were Sweethearts, with just 7 percent of respondents liking the classic conversation hearts. Peeps managed 11 percent of the vote. Tied with Peeps was the "other" write-in category, with 11 percent of the vote. A strong contingent of the write-ins made the case that we overlooked Cadbury eggs — which is fair. Other write-ins included candy canes and peppermint Hershey's kisses.

In a distant second place, candy corn wrangled 15 percent of the vote, much to the surprise of some, with one person writing in the survey's comment section: "Can't believe people like Candy Corn more than Peeps." But there was one top favorite seasonal candy that stood out from the rest, with an overwhelming majority of the vote.

Winning the survey with almost 57 percent of the total vote, Reese's eggs proved itself the undisputed favorite of the poll. Considering its flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter, that may not surprise you.

However, it does raise the question of why people are so taken with this particular pairing. After all, as Tasting Table noted, the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg is the largest selling Easter candy in America, meaning it has a strong draw. 

In 2017, Mic asked Gregory Ziegler, a Penn State University professor of food science, for the science behind the obsession. In cases of chocolate containing whole peanuts, the contrast between the melting chocolate and the solid peanut is particularly pleasing, Zeigler noted. More importantly, however, he continues to say they are "complementary because they produce flavor through the Maillard reaction." The Maillard reaction is the reaction foods produce when they are cooked at 310 F or higher, similar to caramelization, The Spruce Eats says. The last suggestion Zeigler has is that the balance between the chocolate's sweetness and the salt of the peanut, like that in the Reese's eggs, creates a contrast we find irresistible.

Looking at the survey results, Reese's eggs are truly too delicious to pass up each spring.