Canadian Smarties, honeycomb bars and 12 international candies way better than Snickers

Ferrero

Pocket Coffee

$24

$24 at Amazon

This is Italian chocolate with real espresso in the center, making it both a sweet treat and a caffeine boost. Italian markets tend to stock it during winter, and it can be hard to track down outside those months. It’s a unique candy and a souvenir I always try to bring back from Italy, as it’s not always available and hasn’t been introduced in the US like other Ferrero candy products (such as Nutella, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher and Tic Tacs). Michael Sainato, Guardian US labor reporter

Rot Front

‘Grilyazh’ Russian Chocolates

$18

$18 at Amazon

It’s a nutty toffee that tastes a little more toasty (dare I say almost burnt?) than American counterparts. It may crack your teeth, and the choice to put a rodent mascot on a food wrapper may be questioned by some. But the texture and the vintage packaging are all part of the charm. Tea time is a fixture in Russian homes, and this sweet was always on offer in our family when I was growing up in the 90s. Today, I buy it on Brighton Beach, and I’m glad to see it available online. Childhood memories are fallible, but I think it tastes just the way it used to. Ivan Kuraev, engineer

Heartbeat Hard Candy

$15

$15 at Amazon

Growing up in Abu Dhabi, these hard Thai Heartbeat candies were everywhere. We would find them at school, in the candy bowls our teachers kept in the classroom as well as in supermarkets and baqalas – our local corner stores. After spending recess running around in the Abu Dhabi heat, getting handed one before heading back into the freezing air-conditioning was always a real treat. I love the lychee flavor most, but strawberry and orange are just as fruity, sweet and tangy. My friends and I would sneak a few extras from the bowl into our uniform pockets when our teachers weren’t looking – only every now and then, of course! Maya Yang, breaking news reporter and live blogger

Patchi

Assorted Chocolate Eggs

from $24

$24 at Patchi (0.5lb)$91 at Amazon (1lb)

These Lebanese chocolates are simply the best chocolates in the world – and a core part of a childhood spent in the Gulf. Their gold- and silver-wrapped chocolates seemed to be in every home, brought out when guests came over, and at weddings, baby showers and other celebrations. My friends and I always went for the milk chocolate squares, especially the ones filled with wafers or hazelnuts. Plenty of chocolate shops have come and gone across the UAE, but Patchi has stayed a constant. For many of us who continue to grapple with our third-culture kid identities, a Patchi chocolate is a comforting link to our Gulf childhoods – a reminder that despite constant change, some things stay the same. Yang

Havanna

Alfajor de Dulce de Leche

from $35

$35 at Amazon (12 pieces)$50 at Costco (31 pieces)

Alfajores are a little piece of Argentinian heaven. They are pillowy soft cookies with luscious dulce de leche in the middle and covered in dark chocolate. What makes them especially fun is how varied they are: different regions and provinces have versions with different cookies, fillings, coatings and textures. You might find the classic dulce de leche-filled alfajor from Buenos Aires, or regional favorites including the alfajores from Córdoba or Mar del Plata, which come with quince jam and are covered in white powdered sugar. Some are soft and crumbly, others are cakier and spongy. They’re the kind of candy that makes every trip through Argentina a chance to discover a new favorite. Ana Cutello-Edgar, senior manager of editorial operations

Cadbury

Honeycomb Crunchie Bar

from $24

$24 at Amazon (12 pack)$30 at Walmart (four pack)

This chocolate-covered honeycomb bar from the UK has a light, crispy texture that shatters as you bite into it and then melts in your mouth. I love the contrast between the smooth chocolate and the crunchy honeycomb, and there’s something wonderfully nostalgic about it. It’s also the kind of candy that feels distinctly British to me, which makes it exciting to seek out when I’m missing a trip or craving something I can’t easily find at the grocery store. I make a special trip to McLean Avenue in Yonkers, where there’s a heavy concentration of all things British. It’s sweet, a little messy, incredibly satisfying and totally worth the visit to that part of New York. Cutello-Edgar

Hi-Chews

from $18

$18 at Amazon (six bags)$26 at Candy Store (six bags)

Rare is the candy that can sneak chia seeds in and not tarnish the appeal. Hi Chews are a staple of my pantry – a taffy-like texture that doesn’t coat or risk breaking my teeth, and consistently strong flavors that resemble real fruit better than most gummies. Hailing from Japan, Hi Chews are increasingly prominent in the US and boast a wide variety of flavors to keep your taste buds guessing. The Superfruit pack is a personal favorite, differing from the more traditional “tropical fruit” options in the candy aisle, with the kiwi and açai especially tasty. Jeff Rueter, soccer correspondent

Nestlé

Smarties

$49

$49 at Amazon

You and I probably have very different ideas of Smarties. Whereas your Smarties might make your nose crinkle a bit at their fruity tartness, mine make me think of the perfect chocolate topping for a sundae (bonus points if it’s TCBY frozen yogurt, a brand that had us collectively losing our minds when it came to Canada in the late 80s). Canadian Smarties are best characterized as flatter and wider M&Ms, with a creamier and softer chocolate interior offset by a satisfying crunchy candy shell. As kids, we used to trade Smarties colors at recess with the enthusiasm of Pokémon cards, and to this day, getting a blue one ignites that same thrill. They’re delightful one by one but even better by the handful. Marissa Miller, Filter US contributor

Coffee Crisp

Chocolate Bar

$10

$10 at Amazon (pack of four)

I wasn’t like other kids on Halloween: I wasn’t pining for the lollipops, the gummy bears nor the Sour Patch Kids. Even before my parents allowed me to ever take baby sips from their morning espresso, I was holding out my pumpkin-shaped bag with high hopes for a Coffee Crisp (jackpot for a full-sized bar). An iconic Canadian treat, it gets its airy yet satisfying bite from coffee-flavored cream sandwiched between light vanilla wafer cookies. The whole bar is enrobed in milk chocolate that melts so instantly it barely requires chewing. While it is by no means a premium chocolate bar, nor particularly hard to find in stores, it’s worth popping into your carry-on if Canada is ever on your bucket list. Miller

Haribo

Orangina Pik

from $4

$4 at My French Grocery (0.6lbs)$10 at Amazon (0.5lbs)

Is there anything better than a grocery store in a country where you don’t live? The produce, the packaging and – crucially – the Haribo. Even the varieties you can get in the States are better abroad (give me a Schtroumpf over a Smurf any day), but France’s Orangina Pik is undefeated. It’s the gummy sour candy form of an afternoon at a brasserie; you might be choking on an old man’s secondhand smoke, but you’re sipping the most refreshing beverage of your life – worth the airfare to Paris but mercifully available online. Ruth Baron, senior editor, US newsletters

Kinder

Bueno Chocolate Bars

from $5

$5 at Walmart (pack of 18)$8 at Amazon (pack of 20)

I first tried these as a teenager during my family’s big trip to Italy when I was 14, and I was instantly hooked – I ate them by the dozen. Since then, I’ve located every store near my parents’ house on Long Island and my New York City apartment that sells them in case I need an emergency bar or two. (I’m devastated to say I also eat them in smaller quantities less frequently now.) With milk chocolate, a crispy wafer and creamy hazelnut filling, these bars have everything you could want in a candy (unless you’re allergic to hazelnuts – in which case, I’m so sorry for your loss). My husband argues that Ritter Sport is better, but he’s wrong and what is marriage if not a union where you can agree to disagree? Anyway, someone needs to create a cake version of a Bueno bar because I’d probably never have another birthday cake! Jenna Amatulli, Guardian US deputy head of news

White Rabbit

Creamy Candy

$10

$10 at Amazon

These milky and chewy candies are a childhood staple for generations of Chinese kids, from Lunar New Year celebrations to everyday snacks shared with friends on the playground. The candy is wrapped in edible sticky rice paper, which melts immediately in your mouth and leaves with the sweet, creamy and nostalgic aftertaste of the candy. Hazel Tang, video producer

Candy Kittens

Treets Vegan Salted Peanuts

from $7

$7 at Shop.com$25 at Walmart

In every new country, one of my must-see attractions is the local grocery store. I love knowing the in-season produce, the potato chip variety and, as a vegan, if there are new and interesting snacks free of animal products. To my enormous surprise, I found an entire wall of Treets in a local supermarket in the small-ish city of Dortmund, Germany. My favorites were Crispy (chocolate-coated puffed rice) and Peanuts, which is essentially a Peanut M&M but better, since it’s cruelty-free. The company gets bonus points for paper packaging, even if that means you need to snack quickly for peak freshness (oh, the horror!).

(And as a Canadian, it’s my patriotic responsibility to endorse the Crispy Crunch, a chocolate and peanut butter bar. Americans might recognize the flavor profiles from Butterfinger: it’s crispy, it’s flaky, it’s filled with peanut butter – something we first patented. The second a vegan version rolls out, I will buy a thousand.) Jessie Willms, SEO strategist

Candy Corn

from $6

$6 at Nuts.com$18 at Amazon

Candy corn is probably one of the most controversial sweets of the Halloween season. But as an American living in London, far from the tooth-aching sugariness of this confectionary delicacy, I am here to tell you that just as the song says, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. Candy corn tastes the way that the inside of your Halloween candy sack smelled when you were a child: a mix of sugar and plastic, a soothing balm of delicious potential after a long night of trick-or-treating. “What do you mean it tastes like sugary plastic?” my British friends ask whenever I wax poetic about the sweet. Listen: like our gooey orange cheese namesake, some things are just an acquired American taste. Acquire it while you can. My husband once had to pay £23 ($30) to get me three small bags from some back alley American candy dealer. It was worth it. Vivian Ho, freelance journalist