Our Favorite Products From The Sweets & Snacks Expo

Frittle from Newfangled Confections based in Indianapolis is a new spin on classic peanut brittle. Except it is softer, doesn't stick to your teeth and is both vegan and gluten free. It was our favorite new candy we tried at the Expo, perfectly salty and sweet. Our tastebuds love the brittle flavor while our teeth thank us for the lack of hard crunch and lasting stickiness.

Of all the types of jerky products we tried at the Expo, Country Archer was by far our favorite. With no MSG or preservatives, the company takes a very classic and simple approach to making jerky. The meat wasn't too tough or stringy, just the right texture. The hot flavor was our favorite, packing a significant kick while dotted with chili peppers, subtle flavors of pineapple juice and tamarind giving it nice balance. We'd gladly grab a pack on our next road trip.

We love freeze dried fruits and vegetables and Nature's All line has a lovely selection to choose from. Their roasted corn added a nice extra level of flavor for snacking. Forget freeze dried astronaut ice cream, we'll stick to the fruits and veggies!

If you've had a Tastykake before, you are likely pining for them to make their way to Chicago with their delicious and far superior snack cake options. When we asked the man at their booth when they'd be for sale in our fair city, he gave us an ominous answer of "soon" before handing over their new Tastykrisps. A perfect balance of peanut butter and chocolate and light years better than anything that rhymes with futty tars. Tastykake, soon can not be soon enough.

We're a sucker for good gummi candy, one that isn't too hard or too chewy and full of flavor. Albanese hits the mark with their gummi bears, with their wide range of flavors to choose from. We were able to snag two flavors; banana and cinnamon. Banana had that classic candy banana flavor which you either love or hate (thankfully, we love) while the cinnamon bears were perfect. They reminded us of those cinnamon candy hearts, the perfect kick of spice. We can't wait to try more.

Of all the big name brands with new products, Snickers impressed us the most with their new Rockin' Nut Road Snickers. It's a spin on Rocky Road, packed with marshmallow flavored nougat, caramel, almonds and covered with dark chocolate. The almonds really shine and the dark chocolate ties it all together. We'd even happily grab one of these over the classic Snickers bar.

This here was the dark horse of our Expo haul. We got A LOT of popcorn this year and most of it was pretty boring. But we couldn't stop eating this pickle popcorn, which made us feel a little disgusted with ourselves. This is the snack we'd eat a whole bag of after a night of drinking at 2 a.m. leaving our fingers covered in pickle flavor dust and shame. If you like salt and vinegar or pickle chips, you'll be a fan of this.

A Tic Tac is a Tic Tac, although we do appreciate the new flavor additions, but we have to share our Chicagoist blend we concocted at the interactive Tic Tac booth. A little bit sweet and a little bit tart with a mix of cherry and lime, just like Chicagoist.