(WHTM) — Sunday, Feb. 11 is not only Super Bowl Sunday, but it is National Peppermint Patty Day, and why not celebrate it by talking about one of the most famous peppermint patties: York Peppermint Patties?

The history of this cool treat goes back all the way to 1920 when Henry Kessler opened the York Cone Company, right in York, Pennsylvania. About 20 years later, the peppermint patty was introduced.

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According to Penn State University, before the creation of York Peppermint Patties, the idea of peppermint covered with chocolate was not very popular. But, Kessler was able to figure out how to prevent the patty of the candy from becoming gooey.

These parties are made from dark chocolate which covers a white, round granular peppermint mixture. When the confection first came out, each pattie had to pass something called the snap test. If the candy didn’t break cleanly down the middle, it wasn’t packed for sale.

So what would happen to the ones that didn’t pass the test? People would come to the original plant on South Pine Street and pick up any imperfect batches because they still tasted great.

Why do we give chocolate on Valentine’s Day?

The name York Peppermint Patty comes from the town they originated (York, Pa.) and the soft gummy payment center, which is the patty. The York Cone Company merged with the Hershey Company back in 1988.

According to Hershey, it is estimated that around 1.5 billion York Peppermint Patties are made every year. That is a lot of cool sweetness to go around!

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