when i was growing up in the suburbs of chicago, there was only one major gourmet candy store chain: Fanny May. before developing such a sophisticated palate (HA!), i used to believe that Fanny May was the height of deliciousness, particularly the trinidad. as a built-in convenience factor, many Fanny May products were also available at local grocery stores and drugstores.

nowadays, i live in southern california and my tastes have changed a bit. i suppose the closest equivalent to Fanny May is See's, but for whatever reason, i find See's to be about a 1,340,000,000% better. everything at the See's counter tastes remarkably fresh, the nuts are toasty and crisp, the fruit centers are all natural and delightfully authentic (except for the godawful Apple Pie Truffle... blurrghhh)

in fact, i prefer See's to Godiva, to Neuhaus, to just about any other confectionery i've come across. (the one exception being a selection of belgian truffles purchased from this nondescript London location...)

and even though my first love will always be chocolate, there's something about the See's Scotch Kiss (#19 on their custom mix page) that is ridiculously delicious. it's just a marshmallow, wrapped in caramel, wrapped in waxed paper. that's it. but the texture is PERFECT: soft, but substantial and satisfying, not too chewy. the flavor is PERFECT: sweet, yes, but with a nice salty/buttery hit from the caramel. the portion size is PERFECT: hmm, well, i could probably eat a dozen of these at once. but everything else is oh-my-god delicious.

for those of you without a See's... uh... i feel for ya!