Classic Candy Review: Hershey’s Skor Bar

Friday, August 24, 2007 - by Jamie

There were only two reasons my sister and I went grocery shopping with my mother. One: we were kids and we had no choice, and two: if we didn’t smack each other, fight over the lunchbox merits of Shark Bites vs. Fruit Wrinkles, or knock down an entire display of Pop-Tarts while playing “Supermarket Sweep,” we’d usually get to pick out a candy bar on our way through the checkout aisle.

My sister was predictable: she always went with Ouch! brand bubble gum. “It’s band-aids, but gum!” she’d say, clearly excited about the crossover. (She’s a professional chef now. I guess her eye was on fusion from the very beginning.) I’d usually go for something with peanut butter, we’d have to grab a Butterfinger for my older sister, and Dad liked the old school Hershey bars. My mother had her favorite as well: the often overlooked, under appreciated, and overshadowed toffee masterpiece known as the Hershey Skor Bar.

As a kid, I couldn’t figure out why my Mom liked the Skor bar so much. The bar was thin, the wrapper was boring, there were no peanuts involved (the horror!) and the name was… confusing. “Skor” apparently means “Shoes” in Swedish, and there is nothing delicious-sounding about a candy bar named “Shoes.”

As I got older, however, and discovered the wonder that is toffee, I decided to give the Skor bar a go for myself. I’m not sure if it’s possible to inherit candy bar preferences from your parents, but my mother was dead on in picking the Skor.

It’s a tremendous candy bar: a thin, crisp, buttery slice of toffee, coated in a soft layer of Hershey’s chocolate. The nice surprise about the Skor bar is Hershey’s decision to let their chocolate take a back seat, applying just enough to add to, but not overshadow, the marvelous crunch of the toffee. The toffee is firm and can be cracked into pieces, a delightful topping for any ice cream sundae and a highly recommended addition to any Death by Chocolate trifle.

The Skor is comparable to a Heath bar, which is also made by Hershey (and also a very good candy bar), though in my experience I’ve found that the Skor is a bit sweeter, more buttery, and has the better flavor of the two. The Heath vs. Skor debate is akin to Coke vs. Pepsi: some people can’t tell the difference at all, and some people have fierce brand loyalty. I recommend trying both bars, and deciding for yourself.

And if you happen to have trouble deciding between the two, ask your Mom what she thinks. Odds are, she’ll probably be right.

• Skor Website

Buy Skor Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Old Time Candy
• at Amazon.com

toffee, Heath, Hershey, chocolate