February 24, 2008

Review: Atkinson's Chick-O-Sticks

I had never seen this treat until I moved to Arizona, I don't think they are available back East, but I could be wrong. Chick-o-Sticks are made by Atkinson Candy Company, located in Lufkin, TX. The company has been family-owned since 1932. Candy Snob loves family-owned, vintage candies.

So initially we picked this piece up wondering what the heck it was. What we found was an absolutely addicting, super crunchy, peanut butter and toasted coconut candy. Atkinson roasts Texas Grade A Jumbo peanuts, sprinkles them with salt while they're still warm, grinds them with pure granulated sugar, and finally dusts them with lightly toasted coconut. The texture is not completely unlike a Butterfinger inside, flaky but more dense and harder. Its the unique flavor combination of peanut butter and coconut that completely puts it over the top. This has become a Candy Snob check-out counter favorite.

But what's with the name? "Chick-o-Stick" sounds like a fast food chain, not a candy. Well, we looked around, and according to nicely noted, it gets the name because it looks like a chicken leg. Hard to tell if this is fact or a theory, but sounds logical to us so we'll go with it. Of course, I don't know of any chicken that's the distinctive orange color of Chick-o-Stix, but what the heck.

Chick-o-Sticks are available at Amazon here.

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