Yummy chocolates. Delicious fudge. Fun-flavored jelly beans. Gooey brownies. Crunchy almond bark. There’s nothing better than a local sweet treat to for your Easter basket or Monday morning pick-me-up.
Don’t be fooled by Easter’s late arrival on April 21st: it’ll be here before you know it! Last-minute shopping leaves a higher risk of not getting those Peanut Butter Smidgens your daughter loves for Easter, so hop to it! Here’s a list of the best candy shops in NEPA to get all your favorite goodies.
Dunmore Candy Kitchen
206 E. Drinker Street
Dunmore, PA 18512
The Dunmore Candy Kitchen has been a staple of Dunmore since 1904, and the traditional recipes are still used today to create the delicious homemade chocolate treats. They have a seemingly limitless variety in chocolate molds and figurines for Easter including different-sized bunnies, crosses, chicks, lambs, and Happy Easter plaques. You name it; they probably have it.
Don’t get me started on their array of fine chocolates. Chocolate almond bark, chocolate-covered Oreos, chocolate cherries, chocolate nonpareils, and chocolate sea salt caramels are only a few of the many types they offer. You are bound to not only find goodies for Easter baskets but also fill them to the brim.
Ebb’s Candy Jar
60 Bridge St.
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
This adorable little shop has a whimsical garden theme which surrounds the store. Inside Ebb’s Candy Jar you’ll find old-fashioned penny candies along with gourmet chocolates fit for Easter baskets. Plus, there are jars stuffed with taffies, jelly beans, gummies, and other confectionaries. You’ll have no trouble stocking up on Easter goodies at this one-of-a-kind candy store in Tunkhannock.
Gertrude Hawk
901 Keystone Industrial Park Rd
Dunmore, PA 18512
At the age of 12, Gertrude Hawk worked in a candy shop in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She used her skills later in life to provide for her family. Thus, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates began in 1936 and became so successful that they expanded to a new location in Dunmore. Today, this local chocolate factory employs over 500 people, and tours are available. There are also other locations, so check out their website to find the one closest to you!
Let’s get to the sweet stuff. Gertrude Hawk’s selection of candy is unimaginable. They even have a whole section dedicated to Easter Basket Essentials. We recommend heading out to one of their many stores to witness the variety in-person. They’re most known for their Smidgens, but don’t leave out their chocolate bunnies, gourmet jelly beans, candy apples, chocolate-covered peeps, and more. If you are indecisive about what to pick, Gertrude Hawk offers pre-made Easter Baskets.
Jon Stopay
17 N River St.
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18705
The year was 1946 when Jon L Stopay started to make delectable milk chocolate candies filled with peanut butter, more famously known as the Peanut Butter Chiffon. To this day, everything is done by hand from molding to decorating. The chiffons come in milk or dark chocolate and range in price from 10 to 39 dollars. While that is their specialty, Jon Stopay offers other treats perfect for Easter. Chocolate ladyfingers, chocolate fellies, chocolate pizza, and chocolate credit cards are just some of the fun candy they provide.
Michael Mootz
1246 Sans Souci Pkwy
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18706
What started as a family-owned grocery store blossomed into a candy store thanks to Catherine “Gammy” Mootz who sold her extra homemade chocolates from the holidays at her and her husband’s grocery store. The customers loved it so much, so the Mootz family closed the store and created Mootz Homemade Candies in 1919. Fast forward to 1977 when the first Michael Mootz Candies was established at the Wyoming Valley Mall but eventually closed in 1997. Their newest location at the Sans Souci Parkway continues to use Gammy’s recipes as well as new creations.
What’s the perfect Easter basket goodie? Try a whole pound Decorated Easter Egg filled with the center of your choice. Chicken wing-shaped chocolate is the perfect Easter present for the meat-lover in your family. Michael Mootz also carries the traditional selection of Easter candies. Foil wrapped chocolate Easter eggs, jelly beans, peanut brittle, and bunny corn is available as well. You can even buy gift cards ranging from 10 to 200 dollars.
Nibbles & Bits
205 S Blakely St.
Dunmore, PA 18512
This small business was purchased by cosmetologist Maggie who had no experience in the business world. After writing her business plan, she met up with many local banks who all turned her down until the very last one. Maggie has rebranded Nibbles & Bits to focus on gourmet chocolates with pristine wrapping techniques.
You can create your own personalized bag or basket for Easter with Nibbles & Bits. Bestsellers include Dark Chocolate Cashew Caramel Daisy’s, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels, Drizzled Milk Chocolate Pretzels, Milk Chocolate Mini Buckeyes, and Milk Chocolate Nibbles & Bits Bars.
Something Sweet Candies
300 North Centre St.
Pottsville, PA, 17901
This store is a blast-from-the-past with its selections of old-fashioned candies. Something Sweet Candies also offers candy buffets and candy bouquets. If you plan on hosting a huge Easter party, this might be the perfect option for you.
Great Easter basket goodies to consider are their Handmade Peanut Rolls, Chocolate Caramel Almond Bark Bites, Handmade Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Australian Soft Licorice Bites, and Gummy Bears. As a bonus, they also sell cotton candy and fudge.
Sugar Plum Chocolates
900 Rutter Ave.
Forty Fort, PA 18704
A newer candy store compared to the rest (doesn’t make it any less delicious), Sugar Plum Chocolates began in 1995. Frann Edley and her son Neil aim to give the world a little sweetness one bite at a time. They offer humongous chocolate trays along with unique candies such as the Carrot Cake chocolate Bar. More eclectic items they offer include a Sriracha-Infused Dark Chocolate Easter Bunny and a Limited Edition Chocolate Zombie Bunny & Victim Set. If eccentric candies aren’t for you, Sugar Plum Chocolates sells typical Easter candy, too.
Victoria’s Candies
51 N Laurel Street
Hazleton, PA 18201
Victoria’s Candies is a candy store with a sweet beginning. George Esposito opened a store in 1934 and named the business after his wife. His siblings carried on George’s business when he suddenly passed away in 1969. The family legacy continues today with George’s nephew, Paul Esposito, running the business. They are known for their cooked buttercreams and use the same recipes and techniques that their family used for the past 80 years.
Victoria’s Candies has an entire Easter collection from which to choose. Milk and white chocolate figures ranging from rabbits to ballerinas to trains are available. The store also has jelly beans, chocolate carrots, Robbin eggs, and deviled eggs.
Victoria's Candies also has a location you can visit at the Gateway Plaza in Edwardsville as well as one inside the Laurel Mall in West Hazleton.
