21 lesser-known snacks & desserts to try on National Junk Food Day

We’ll forgive you if you thought Abba-Zaba bars are no longer around—or if you’ve never even heard of Abba-Zaba bars. Not only are they still being produced, but they’ve been in existence since 1922, which predates old standards like Milky Ways, Snickers, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. These peanut butter-filled tāffy bars have been featured prominently in pop culture, including TV shows like “Gilmore Girls” and “The Goldbergs,” films like “Half Baked,” and songs like “Abba Zaba” by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.

If you’re not afraid to sample something exotic, try ais kacang, a Malaysian dessert that translates to “bean ice.” Also known as “ABC” (air batu campur), this dish consists of shaved ice, red beans, jelly, and sweet syrup—however, it could also contain ingredients like creamed corn, nuts, or seeds.

Most peoples’ experience with Cadbury candy is limited to its Creme Eggs around Easter Time, but stick with us. The British confectionery company also produces numerous other candy varieties, including variations on the traditional chocolate bar—still: stick with us. One of these variations is a “Fruit and Nut” variety that contains raisins and almonds, and stick with us one last time when we say this one is absolutely worth trying because, against all odds, it just works.

If you’ve been out of the Oreo game for a while (which is understandable if you’re not a kid and don’t have kids), you might be surprised to find that Oreos come in more varieties than just original and Double Stuf. Lemon Oreos, Mint Oreos, Chocolate Oreos, Golden Oreos, Chocolate Hazelnut Oreos, Java Chip Oreos, and Peanut Butter Oreos all exist, but our favorite new flavor is Chocolate Peanut Pie, which is made with graham cracker-flavored cookies and a chocolate-peanut butter creme center.

Coffee Crisp bars are made by Nestlé, but you probably haven’t heard of them unless you live in Canada, where they are exclusively produced. However, American supermarkets like Publix and Wegmans have begun selectively selling them in the last decade, so if you see these milk chocolate-covered bars filled with vanilla wafers and coffee-flavored creme, buy them!

We got hooked on cracker nuts while living in Asia, where they are available in numerous countries, sometimes under the name “Japanese-style peanuts.” If you’re unfamiliar with this snack, it’s exactly what it sounds like: A peanut baked into a crispy cracker shell, sometimes seasoned with spices. Look for these at your local Asian market!

Garrett Popcorn is sold in numerous shops in the Chicago area, but there are also a few stores scattered across the country in select locations near Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, and Houston—as well as eight other countries! Garrett Popcorn comes in flavors like Buttery, CaramelCrisp, CheeseCorn, and Garrett Mix, which is a mix of cheese and caramel. 

Although it’s made in Nashville, Goo Goo Clusters have fans around the world thanks to their classic combination of marshmallow nougat, caramel, and roasted peanuts covered in chocolate. We can call it classic, as Goo Goo Clusters have been in existence since 1912, and are often referred to as the first combination candy bar!

This type of candy goes by many names—including honeycomb toffee, cinder toffee, sponge toffee, and honey pokey—but you still may have never heard of it. As the moniker suggests, this is a sugary, molasses, or corn syrup-based treat, and the “sponge” name doesn’t refer to the texture, it refers to the appearance, as carbon dioxide forms little bubbles that make the candy melt in your mouth.

Here’s one you can make at home! There are a few variations of this regional treat, but this version from Tasting Table is made of pecans, cocoa powder, cookie crumbs, confectioners sugar, corn syrup, and, as the name suggests: bourbon. 

The further you live from Canada (or New England), the less likely that you’re familiar with maple candy. These creamy, melt-in-your-mouth treats are so tasty, so adorable, and so simple, as they only contain two ingredients: maple syrup and butter.

If you’re not already a fan of Moon Pies, you might not even notice them inconspicuously hanging out on gas station and supermarket snack racks. Yet these packaged treats—which are sort of like smores, but with the chocolate on the outside—have been around for more than 100 years, and are still made by Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee. 

We know you’re familiar with mozzarella sticks, and we’re guessing you’ve dipped them in marinara sauce every time you’ve eaten them. Unless you’re from Albany, New York, that is, where numerous restaurants serve mozzarella sticks with a side of raspberry melba sauce. It may sound odd, but the flavor combination totally works. Hot tip: The melba sauce is also great with sweet potato fries and jalapeno poppers.

Pocket Coffee sounds like a brand of K-cups, but they’re actually bite-sized chocolates (made by Ferrero!) filled with liquid espresso. Yes, real espresso, so be forewarned that these candies will perk you up a bit. They’re difficult to find outside of Italy, but check your local international food market or search online!

Finding Route 11 chips far from their home turf of Virginia is a chance encounter, but one to take full advantage of if you ever get the opportunity. (Or just order them online!) Try Chesapeake Crab, Dill Pickle, and Mama Zuma's Revenge, the latter of which is a spicy barbecue and habanero combo.

Šakotis is hard to spell, it’s known as “tree cake” or “spit cake,” and it looks like a sea urchin, but darn it if it’s not delicious. It’s made of eggs, butter, flour, sugar, and cream, and the name “spit cake” comes from the fact that it’s cooked on a cylindrical spit. Šakotis is Lithuanian, but similar desserts also exist in Polish and Belarusian cuisine.

We understand the hesitation with the Take 5 bar. It has only been around since 2004, it has changed its packaging (and name!) numerous times since then, and sales have never been high. But Hershey’s has continued to explore ways to promote this bar for good reason, as the combination of chocolate, caramel, pretzels, peanuts, and peanut butter (Reese’s peanut butter, no less) blends together well to form a crunchy, tasty, and satisfying treat.

Tavuk gogsu is made from milk, rice flour, vanilla extract, and a heaping scoop of sugar. It’s so good that you won’t even notice the secret ingredient is chicken breast! (Really!) Even if you knew, you might not taste the poultry in this popular Turkish pudding, as it’s cooked in milk until it dissolves completely. We know this probably doesn’t sound appetizing, but you’ll have to trust us and try it!

They aren’t guaranteed to be on every candy rack, they don’t appear in mixed bags of snack-sized bars at Halloween, you won’t see current commercials for them, and they have a name that is frequently misspelled, but somehow Whatchamacallit bars have managed to build up a cult following since their introduction in 1978. The other reason these chocolate-covered crispy peanut butter bars are still around is the fact that they’re owned by candy giant Hershey’s.

Maine and Pennsylvania both claim the whoopie pie as their own—and a few other states do, too—but what they all agree on is that whoopie pies are delicious. These little dessert sandwiches are usually made of two round mounds of chocolate cake with vanilla frosting in between, but there are endless flavor combinations of cake and frosting available.

Zapp’s is a well-known brand in the South, as they hail from Louisiana, which means much of the country isn’t familiar with these kettle-cooked chips that come in popular flavors like Regular, Salt & Vinegar, Cajun Dill, Hotter ‘N Hot Jalapeno, and Spicy Cajun. Zapp’s—which are fried in peanut oil instead of vegetable oil—has been owned by Utz since 2011, but still continue to be produced in their own Louisiana facility.