8 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Reese's

• Harry Burnett Reese's First Attempt in the Candy Business was a Total Fail.
• Reese's Second (and Wildly More Successful) Shot at the Candy Business Began in His Basement.
• You Can Purchase Half-Pound Reese's Cups.
• E.T. Was Supposed to be Eating M&Ms, Not Reese's Pieces.

How does the peanut butter in Reese's differ from peanut butter in a jar? The peanut butter in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is candy. It has been sweetened by the addition of powdered sugar and corn syrup. I've made Peanut Butter Cups at home, and that is exactly how to do it.

Reese's includes the overall top-selling confection item - the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups King Size - as well as six of the top 20 chocolate/non-chocolate items.

MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, CHOCOLATE, SKIM MILK, MILK FAT, LACTOSE, LECITHIN (SOY), PGPR), PEANUTS, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OIL (PALM OIL, SHEA OIL, SUNFLOWER OIL, PALM KERNEL OIL, &/OR SAFFLOWER OIL), HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (PALM KERNEL OIL, PALM OIL), SALT, PGPR, TBHQ & CITRIC ...

The candy was introduced to the US market first in September 1978. Shortly after, Reese's Pieces were introduced to the Canada market in 1980. The then relatively new product became very popular with the 1982 release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, in which the candy is featured.

1: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. This perennial favorite easily finished first in the candy derby, earning the title of most popular Halloween candy in 18 states, including densely populated ones like California, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

Unlike, say, Nerds or Pixy Stix, Reese's are more than straight sugar - there's saltiness and depth to the peanut butter that balances out the sweetness (that's what we in the food biz call “nuance”).

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were named after their founder, Harry Burnett Reese, so it's a possessive form of his last name.

Are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups vegan? Because they're covered in milk chocolate, the original Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are not vegan. However, a new dairy-free, oat-based version of the recipe, called Reese's Plant Based, has recently been released (more on that below!).

Is a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup healthy? While most people can enjoy a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup as an occasional treat, the candy isn't healthy. One package that contains 2 candies weighs only 1.6 ounces and has almost 14 grams of fat and 21 grams of sugar.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Reese's Peanut Butter Cups For the past 91 years, they've been the standard for all things peanut butter and chocolate. Not surprisingly, as the original, they're still the bestselling Reese's product. If you're not afraid of change, try these limited-edition Chocolate Lovers and Peanut Butter Lovers flavors.

World War II was Instrumental in Reese's Success Both sugar and chocolate were rationed during the war, which made it tough for candy companies to keep up with the demand for sweets. Luckily for Reese's, peanut butter was never rationed, which lead Reese to use automated production when making his peanut butter cups.