Treats For Your Perfect Halloween Bag

Check out the designs of Midunu Chocolates. (Photo Credit: Midunu Chocolates)

Halloween and horror go hand in hand. You really can't have one without the other when talking about this ghoulish holiday. Can anyone remove the idea of Dracula floating as a bat at his castle in Transylvania, Freddy Krueger terrorizing dreamers on Elm Street or Michael Meyers surgically carving up victims while wearing his white mask on October 31st? No, right? Sure, ghosts and gore get all the attention, but we know really what Halloween is really all about. The treats. Remember those deep bags of candy, chocolate and sweets harvested after your evening of going door-to-door like a scary salesperson in full costume? Your cheerful requests were met with mini-bars of Snickers, Milky Way and Kit Kat, tiny bags of Skittles, M&Ms, Reese’s and SweeTarts, those classic baked goods from TastyKake and Little Debbie and that one York Peppermint Patty that always seemed to find a way into your bag by night’s end. Air Heads, Jolly Ranchers and of course--The Sour Green Apple Blow Pop--were all the artificially-dyed classics that made your parents shake their collective heads after your dentist handed them the bill. You’ll never outgrow the love you have for those flavors, but your taste has matured. Now it’s time to add some new goodies to your personal bag this Halloween and to keep in your pantry all year long. Here are five black-owned snack brands, independent bakeries and master chocolatiers ready to make this scary time and every time of the year much sweeter. 

Some of the delicious options Sweet Mae’s Cookie Company has for you. (Photo Credit: Cincinnati Refined)

Sweet Mae’s Cookie Company

Some cookies really aren't cookies at all. They're actually bite-sized desserts masquerading as baked goods on grocery shelves. The cake-and-pie-inspired flavors baked into each serving of Sweet Mae's Cookie Company come from southern kitchen-made deliciousness you can taste as you chew, smell as you inhale. Lemon White Chip, Sweet Potato Pie, Caramel Apple Crumble and limited edition Peach Cobbler represent the flavors that are making tasters put these servings on a plate to enjoy after dinner with a fork and ice cream. Owner Tiffany Biddle brought her family’s cooking tradition to the treats currently making cookie lovers everywhere rethink their favorite dessert. Giving Sweet Mae's Cookies a double take in surprise after the first bite is common, but the crumb-by-crumb sweetness of each flavor is no trick.

The product line for you to sample. (Photo Credit: Partake)

Partake Cookies 

This Vegan, Non-GMO cookie-making company's name says it all when it comes to how it wants you to indulge in the goods it's been making since opening in (year). Partake Cookies, founded by Denise Woodard, blends soft-baked and crunchy health-conscious recipes that amplify the flavor for the sweet tooth-having public out there. The soft-baked and bestselling Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate selections are astounding the masses and the Carrot Cake, Ginger Snap and limited edition Pumpkin Spice perfectly match well with the fall theme about us now and the coming days of ice slowly creeping up on the calendar. Awesome for those short sweater weather days and long, chilly nights long after the smiling jack-o-lanterns are long gone. 

Things to do while savoring African inspired chocolates from Midunu. (Photo Credit: Midunu)

Midunu Chocolates

Straight from Accra, Ghana--home of The Chale Wote Festival and prime destination in black travel--comes Midunu Chocolates. This brand has been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times Style Magazine, The Washington Post and on NPR for its definition of sophisticated chocolatier-ing that dates back to the nation's tastemaking history of the late 1800s. Founder and entrepreneur, Selassie Atadika, has taken that longstanding history and has brought it into modernity.  The rich, dark coating of each piece deceives as a velvet interior of contrasting flavor greets and educates any palette. Midunu's total chocolate experience is best seen in the Chocolate + Beauty Gift Box. With a six-piece sampler so good that you may need a passport to enjoy, the company matches with each bite with its facial oil and lip whip combination from Ghanian company True Moringa furthers the aromatic goodness into a quick moment at the spa. 

Close up of The Milk Bar. (Photo Credit: Loshes Chocolates)

Loshes Chocolates

Ethically sourced from several regions across Nigeria, Loshes Chocolate is giving a new standard to artisans of cocoa beans everywhere with its new heights in taste. The colors of chocolate prove that these are not your average bars that reach cocoa level nearing seventy percent. Standouts in this collection of flavors like The Milk Bar, White Bar and Dark Bar each have the bouquets slowly becoming synonymous with Loshes Chocolate. Femi Oyedipe has brought her bean-to-bar tastes to international markets where waves of new sweet seekers are learning the unique notes of Nigerian chocolate. This brand's focus on becoming the leading maker of the nation’s chocolate brings a complete indulgent getaway from the norm. It is what makes it one of the forward-leaning giants of the chocolate industry.

The Whiskey Pecan Brownie, a treat with some heat. (Photo Credit: LilaLue)

LilaLue Sweets

Chocolate enthusiasts in the Memphis area, another favorite locale on the black travel scene, are being satisfied to a chewing silence as they devour the treats at LilaLue Sweets. Owner Ashley Bouknight, who was inspired by her grandmother Lila’s cooking legacy dating back to her time as a cook at the University of South Carolina, has baked her way to quickly becoming a delicacy of the city the way the blues is to Beale Street. This local bakery produces cookies, brownies and cakes with whiskey as the warming ingredient fans can taste. One of the bakery's signature delights is its Whiskey Pecan Brownies that have that hint of smokiness drinking connoisseurs can taste and savory-worthiness appreciators of fine chocolate will take note of with a nod. If you’re craving this item but don't have the time to hop on a flight to Music City, no worries at all. This brand ships nationwide, fresh to your front door and arrives in a less annoying way than those trick-or-treaters are right now.