There are many philosophical questions that will continue to be asked until the end of time. What is love? Why is the sky blue? Why is Easter synonymous with eggs and bunnies when the latter don’t even lay eggs? And will there ever be a more popular Easter candy than Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs?
Time explains Easter eggs and the Easter bunny have separate roots. The eggs have a religious origin, as Christians were at one point forbidden from consuming eggs during Lent; the eggs that couldn’t be eaten were therefore painted and gifted to kids instead. The origin of the Easter bunny, though, is a little less clear. Supposedly it dates back to an 18th-century German tradition where kids left out carrots for the bunny. Why? Not exactly sure. Perhaps there was a surplus of carrots at the time.
Regardless of the reason, both traditions live on, thanks in no small part to good old fashioned American commercialism. Much like Christmas, Easter ushers in entire lineups of limited-edition holiday-specific candy—and one of them is far and away the most popular.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs are on top of the world
Candy shoppers during the Easter season may buy marshmallow Peeps and chocolate bunnies in massive quantities, but more than anything, they can’t get enough Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs.
Data gathered from both DoorDash and Instacart indicate that Reese’s eggs are easily the most purchased Easter candy nationwide (people with peanut allergies be damned)! I don’t find this terribly surprising. I’ve always preferred eggs and Halloween pumpkins to the standard peanut butter cup, because as any Reese’s enthusiast knows, the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate is far more ideal in the seasonal releases. The best part of the egg is the middle, where you basically get a mouth-filling mound of peanut butter—the whole reason you’re eating a filled candy in the first place. It makes regular Reese’s cups look like pancakes in comparison.
Interestingly, DoorDash found that while most of the country is gobbling up Reese’s eggs, the West Coast prefers a different filled chocolate egg: the Cadbury Creme Egg. I’ve personally never really cared for Cadbury Creme Eggs because I don’t like things that are overly sweet. Part of the magic of Reese’s candies is that the sweet shell is complemented by a salty filling. Creme Eggs’ sugary filling combined with its already sweet exterior is just too much. Maybe Californians have more peanut allergies?
While Reese’s eggs are the undeniable hit of the Easter season, they’re not my favorite Easter candy. That title goes to Starburst Jellybeans, which I was pleasantly surprised to find listed in both Instacart’s and DoorDash’s data sets. Instacart listed them fifth most popular Easter candy overall, and DoorDash found them to be the most popular candy in New Hampshire. They’re the best tasting jelly beans I’ve ever had—sorry, Jelly Belly—and I consider them historically underrated, so I’m happy to see them getting the recognition they deserve. Maybe one day they’ll upend the supremacy of Reese’s eggs.
A version of this article originally appeared on The Takeout.