Adults Love These 4 Chocolate Candies Way More Than Kids Do

Chocolate is one of the most common types of candy, a sweet treat often marketed toward children. But while chocolate is delicious enough that its appeal transcends age brackets, there are some chocolate candies that adults seem to favor far more than children do, likely because of flavor profiles that veer away from concentrated blasts of sugar.

According to a 2015 study published in Physiology & Behavior, children are biologically wired to prefer sweet flavors because sugars often correspond with high-calorie foods that fuel their growth. Conversely, people often don't appreciate bitter flavors until adulthood, when the evolutionary association with rotten or poisonous food may be tempered by age and experience.

While children and adults often have different palates, that may not always be the issue. With one of the following chocolate candies, its distinct flavor likely reminds children of a twice-daily chore they often loathe. Or, in another case, what once passed for a sugary childhood treat has since been eclipsed by even sweeter candies, yet this nostalgic snack still has an appeal of its own (that admittedly trends older). Here are four chocolate candies adults love that kids can't stand — and why they appeal to a more mature palate.

York Peppermint Patties are a classic chocolate candy named for York, Pennsylvania, the town in which they were invented in 1940. Chocolate-covered peppermints already existed, but their centers had an unpleasant gumminess. What the Peppermint Pattie changed was the center, giving it a firm bite that melts in the mouth.

These chocolate candies had a stronger appeal to children in earlier eras when candy was generally not as sweet as it is today. That said, it's not unheard of for present-day children to enjoy a York Peppermint Pattie, even if its strong minty flavor does call to mind one of a child's least favorite activities: brushing their teeth. Adults, however, are more likely to appreciate a candy that leaves their mouth feeling fresh.

Another adult appeal of Peppermint Patties is that they're also relatively healthy. Two snack-size Patties have just 120 calories between them and only 2.5 grams of fat, though they, of course, have a lot of sugar. But it's not just the mintiness or the fact that they're a somewhat healthy option that may lead kids elsewhere. It's also the dark chocolate coating.

Dark chocolate is noted primarily for its bitterness, in stark contrast to the sweetness of milk chocolate. The latter makes an ideal component for candies marketed to a child's palate. The former, however, is often marketed for its more intense flavor, with higher cacao percentages on the label generally corresponding to greater bitterness. And many adults go for higher percentages.

However, perusing 20 ranked dark chocolate brands, notes of earthiness, spice, mocha, fruitiness, and tobacco appear throughout. When it comes to bars of dark chocolate, it's not just the bitterness that appeals more to adults. It takes a more sophisticated palate than your average child's to appreciate pairing flavors like these with chocolate.

Ironically, Godiva stood apart from other dark chocolate brands as our number one pick, in part by contravening conventional wisdom. These confections are slightly sweeter than most, with a smooth flavor and little in the way of bitterness. Don't be surprised if this is the first brand a dark chocolate hater enjoys.

Tootsie Rolls have been around for well over a century and haven't changed much since. The Tootsie Rolls from their 1896 debut are essentially the same as the ones that became Frank Sinatra's favorite candy and the ones that are available today. And like Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Tootsie Rolls have a certain timeless appeal for people who grew up with them — even if they may not be as big as they once were.

The taffy-like candy was something of a marvel at the end of the 19th century. Although they contain no actual chocolate, the prominent cocoa powder flavor gave consumers the new sensation of chocolate that didn't melt in their pockets. It's easy to see how that would become popular.

But children's candies nowadays have more prominently sweet flavors than these not-quite-chocolates from the Grover Cleveland administration. Even their similarity to melt-proof chocolate has been surpassed by the real thing, since candy-coated chocolate became common with the introduction of M&M's in 1941. What's left for the humble Tootsie Roll is its kind of chewy, kind of chocolatey experience unlike anything else — but kids craving a creamy sugar rush have better options.

Speaking of old-school candies, Heath bars get their signature taste from one type of candy that isn't as common as it used to be. Though similar, toffee and caramel differ in that the former is heated to a brittle hardness, while the latter is soft and chewy or creamy. Caramel remains popular in candies, but the buttery crack of English-style toffee is considerably rarer.

Although Heath bars can show up in big bags of assorted candy, they seem like they're there for the adults. Toffee's unfamiliarity to children may lead them to abandon Heath bars in favor of flavors and textures they recognize. One more popular candy that mostly fills Heath's specific niche of chocolate, caramel flavor, and a crunchy layer is Twix bars.

The same unusualness that turns kids away also makes Heath bars more appealing to adults. There's nothing else quite like them on the mass market, making them a special treat for the more developed palates that also enjoy their caramel flavors with a hard bite.