I am a native So Cal boy. As such, See’s Candy was a staple of my youth, along with In-N-Out and Thrifty’s Ice Cream. And it’s true what they say: You never know how much you care about something until it’s gone! Well, after moving to Austin, I now know.

I recently got into graduate school and needed to fly to Los Angeles to tie up some loose ends. Yes, picking up my diploma (finally) and seeing the family were all very important things on my to-do list, but there was one that was above all the rest.

I remembered the Awesome Nut & Chew Bar from Steve Almond’s latest additions to his Candyfreak candy list. He was in love. How could I not plan a trip to California just to try one?

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There are certain things my family has to have at Christmas time: a giant tree, a copy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and a lovely box of candy on the table at all times. As I come from a family of Candy Addicts, the holiday candy box is always an important choice; normally, we keep things old school and traditional, preferring old-fashioned boxed chocolates to anything else. There’s something very special about a well-made box of chocolates, and this year, our family holiday chocolate box will be coming from a company who knows a little something about quality and tradition: See’s Candies.

Founded in 1921, See’s is an old-fashioned candy company that, according to a friend of mine in Los Angeles, “is all over the place” on the West Coast. As I’m an East Coast kid, I had never had a box of See’s chocolates until about a week ago, when one arrived in the mail. I was immediately excited when I saw the old school packaging: a silver box wrapped with a thin gold ribbon. Good stuff. What I found inside the box, of course, was even better.

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Every human being, I conjecture, has an area (or two, or a handful) of expertise – fields in which he shines, topics about which she possesses unparalleled knowledge. For me, these areas include ladies’ figure skating from 1994 through 2006, the television show Friends, and the makings of a perfect Easter basket. Free marshmallow Peeps to anyone who can guess which will be explored here.

As a Communications/Chocolate Studies double major (ah, if only…) and author of a highly regarded list detailing the essential Easter basket treats, I’ve seen my share. You can imagine, then, the way my world was rocked upon my recent discovery of a creation so delicious that it makes me regret every single holiday I have celebrated without it. This transcendent treat is See’s Candies Scotchmallow Egg and it is an Easter candy for which I (the Easter Bunny’s mistress herself) would abandon all other Easter candy.

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