This isn’t your typical Halloween candy: Here are 9 Jersey Shore shops to explore
It's not fair that kids get free candy just for putting on a costume.
It's also not fair that adults have to buy an overpriced bag simply because of the Halloween-themed packaging.
Wouldn't it be nice to buy fresh, homemade candy actually meant to be indulged in, and not eaten fiendishly from the bag while children dressed as Fortnite characters come knocking at your door?
Well you can. Several Jersey Shore candy shops have been perfecting their craft for decades.
Mrs. Hanna Krause's Homemade Candies
One of them is Mrs. Hanna Krause's Homemade Candies (aka Hanna Krause Candy) in Toms River, which opened in 1982. But the family behind it has been making candy much longer than that.
Alfred Krause was a child apprentice to a master candy maker in Germany before coming to the United States when he was 13. He settled in Long Island, where he worked long hours to make ends meet. During his free time, he studied his passion: candy and chocolate making.
In 1929, Alfred and his wife Hanna opened a gas station in Wyandanch, N.Y., where they would give out free homemade lollipops with gas purchases. Customers soon wanted to buy the lollipops, so they began selling candy. Because of the war and rationing mandates, gas sales went down and they began depending on candy alone.
They opened a coffee shop that also sold ice cream, cakes and homemade candies. That's where Mrs. Hanna's Candies was born. Four generations later, the Krause's children and grandchildren run the original Paramus store, which opened in 1957, and the Toms River store.
All the candies, including rich milk and dark chocolates, fruit wedges and jelly beans, are made with fresh ingredients, cooked and hand-dipped in the shop, the same way Hanna and Alfred did it nearly a century ago.
Go: 2220 Route 37, Toms River; 732-270-9236, hannakrausecandy.com.
Jenkinson's Sweet Shop
You won't find many year-round spots on the Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach — but business is always booming at Jenkinson's Sweet Shop.
Open since the 1900s, the shop is known for a variety of sugary mediums, like salt water taffy in flavors like strawberry banana and chocolate sea salt, and fresh homemade fudge in varieties like chocolate or orange creamsicle.
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But the real star of the spooky season (and the rest of the year) are the caramel-, candy-, or fudge-dipped apples.
It wouldn't be fall without one, and these come topped with sweets like mini M&M's, chopped peanuts or crushed Oreos.
Go: 300 Ocean Ave. North, Point Pleasant Beach; 732-892-7576, jenkinsons.com/sweet-shop.
Lucille's Candies (aka OH FUDGE), Manahawkin and Beach Haven
If you're a real fiend for Jersey Shore staples, like homemade creamy fudge or stretchy, chewy salt water taffy, Lucille's Candies is the spot to get your Halloween fix.
The Eismann Family has been in the candy-making business since 1927, when they first started in Philadelphia.
Surviving the Depression on candy sales alone, their business continued to grow. In 1947, they opened the original Manahawkin location just minutes away from the current shop. In 1965, they opened the shop in Beach Haven (which is more commonly known as OH FUDGE).
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Top-selling fudge flavors include chocolate or vanilla, peanut butter, peanut butter cup, chocolate peanut butter, and cookies and cream.
The salt water taffy stretches over a foot when pulled, which owner Janice Eismann said is the true test of good taffy. Some of the most popular flavors are banana, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and watermelon.
Go: Manahawkin: 156 East Route 72; 609-597-7300. Beach Haven: 4105 Long Beach Blvd.; 609-494-3700. For more info, visit https://bit.ly/3TAJYMC or https://lucilles-own-make-candies-oh-fudge.business.site/.
Lucky Leo's Sweet Shop
If you're still really jealous of those kids devouring Halloween treats, check out this decades-old shop that sits right next to a historic arcade.
Grab M&M, French vanilla, chocolate peanut butter or walnut fudge before popping over to play some games at the arcade that Leo Whalen opened nearly 70 years ago. The family still owns the candy shop, which opened in 1953.
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Leo's is also known for using authentic Belgian chocolate. Some popular bites include Belgian chocolate-covered Oreos, as well as pecan and cashew turtles made with homemade caramel and drenched in Belgian chocolate.
Go: 217 Boardwalk, Seaside Heights; 732-250-8555, luckyleossweetshop.com.
River Street Sweets and Savannah's Candy Kitchen
This dynamic duo of dessert connoisseurs share the same store front, dedicated to providing an authentic taste of the South to the community of Asbury Park.
One type of candy that's popular here, inspired by desserts from Savannah, Ga., are pralines, a sugar-coated type of nut candy.
They also specialize in something they like to call "loggerheads," but most of us know them as turtles.
Fit for the season, they sell chocolate and caramel covered apples, and other classic Halloween bestsellers, like Warheads, lollipops and more.
Along with candy, the store sells baked Southern staples like pecan pie, and caramel layer cake.
Go: 550 Cookman Ave. Suite C109, Asbury Park; 732-359-6550, ilovepralines.com, Facebook.
Other candy shops to try
Berkley Sweet Shop has been hand-pouring and pulling saltwater taffy since 1910; 1205 Boardwalk, Seaside Heights; 732-250-4230, berkeleycandy.com.
Country Kettle Fudge offers up salt water taffy, fresh traditional fudge and more next to Fantasy Island Amusement Park; 830 North Bay Ave., Beach Haven; 609-492-2800, and 1915 Long Beach Blvd. #8, Surf City; 609-494-2822, countrykettlefudge.com.
Van Holten's Chocolates is known for their zany popcorn flavors, and delectable fudge. For Brick: 1893 Route 88; 732-840-0888. For Seaside Heights: 819 Boardwalk; 732-830-2220, vanholtenschocolates.com.
Gabriela L. Laracca joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2021 and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to glaracca@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Halloween candy: Jersey Shore shops offer homemade treats
