Queen of Candy Dylan Lauren Talks About Halloween, Costumes, and More
Dylan in one of her NYC stores. Photo: Dylan’s Candy Bar
If anyone knows her Halloween candy, it’s Dylan Lauren. The founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar sells 7,000 types of candy at her sugar meccas at 11 locations across the U.S., the latest opened in New York’s Union Square this fall. She also became a mother to twins in April and will be celebrating their first Halloween this year. Lauren — who’s also the daughter of legendary fashion designer Ralph Lauren — spoke with Yahoo Food about what she’ll dress her babies in for Halloween, and her picks for the best treats to satisfy those scary trick-or-treaters.
You and your husband in April welcomed twins — son Cooper Blue and daughter Kingsley Rainbow. Are you going to dress them up for Halloween?
I’m definitely exited for dressing them up! I love bunny rabbits, and l received these pink and blue bunny costumes that are very fuzzy [recently]. I think they’ll look very cute.
What Halloween costumes are your most favorite from years past?
I love dressing up. My favorite costumes are usually ones that are clever. One year, I was a dumb jock and wore sports equipment in all the wrong places —volleyball knee pads on my elbow, a helmet on my arm. That was fun. I don’t know what I’ll be this year, but maybe I’ll be a rabbit to match the bunnies. Maybe I’ll be a different color, and have my husband get in on the action, too.
What are your best selling candy for Halloween at Dylan’s Candy Bar?
What sells best is the gross factor. We have an item called the Graveyard Dirt and Worms. It’s crushed chocolate cookies with sour worms in it. It’s delicious, the Oreos with the sour of the worms. We also have these 3-packs of chocolate-covered Oreos that look like eyeballs, and that does well. We have colored hot chocolate packages in red that looks like blood. They’re great for an adults or kids party — you can mix it with alcohol for an adults party.
The Graveyard Dirt pot of treats are filled with gummy worms and crushed cookie “dirt.” Photo by Dylan’s Candy Bar.
Are you ever too old to trick or treat?
Absolutely not. Our average customer is about 30 years old, so we get more adults than kids going for candy. In fact some people use Halloween to eat even more candy. We get a ton of people who want candy year round. The candy that comes out around Halloween is [candy] we all grew up with. It brings out some nostalgia.
What will you hand out to trick or treaters knocking on your door?
I try to give out some of our best stuff. One of the things I’ll give out is the Dylan’s chocolate bars in different flavors, like Bones and Bits, which is basically chocolate with popcorn and crispies in them, so you think you’re crunching body parts. I’m also going to give out a bunch of our themed lollipops in witches and ghosts.
What’s a great, special treat that someone can make at home for Halloween?
I’m a big fan of mixing together all the Halloween candy, and making a Rice Crispy treat with it. You buy any kind of cereal, like Boo Berry or Count Dracula cereal, or use Rice Crispies and Honey Grahams, and melt butter and marshmallows, maybe add orange food coloring in, and mix all the candy corn or chocolates into the cereal. Form a pumpkin with it, and it’s a basically a pumpkin-shaped Rice Crispy treat. It’s also a fun dessert with all of the candy that’s leftover. But I usually don’t leave much.
Want more fun ideas for a festive Halloween? Check out these stories:
6 Insanely Cute Halloween Treats That Your Party Guests Be Dying to Try
7 Fancy Halloween Sweets Fit for Adults
9 Halloween Recipes for Grown-Ups
