Lauri Robinson: Bit-O-Honey

Recently, I’ve had a series of book signings at a local Barnes and Noble stores for my Daughters of the Roaring Twenties series, and I bring along a candy dish full of Bit-O-Honey candies for the table each time.

Why? Because Bit-O-Honey candy bars—I can only ever find the individual pieces—were one of the most popular candies in the 1920’s. Invented in 1924 by the Schutter-Johnson Company out of Chicago, the ‘candy bar’ was a ‘brick’ of six individual pieces wrapped together in wax paper and then covered with a candy bar wrapper. The long chewing honey-flavored taffy with its bits of almond quickly became a hit from coast to coast.

The recipe for Bit-O-Honey candies has not changed over the years, but the company making them has a couple times. The last time was in 2013 when the Pearson’s Candy Company of St. Paul, Minnesota bought the brand.

I was excited a couple of years ago when I found a bag of Bit-O-Honey candies because I hadn’t seen them in years, and I’ve kept them in my candy jar ever since. It’s amazing the amount of people who are thrilled to see them. The same thing has happened at the book signings. The candy dish full of them certainly has been a conversation starter.

Other popular candy from the 1920’s includes Charleston Chews (named after the dance of course!), the Baby Ruth candy bar (yes, named after the old grand-slammer himself, Babe Ruth), Slo Pokes, and Teaberry Chewing Gum. This is also the era that brought us Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Butterfingers, and Milk Duds. So, in other words, candy lovers have a lot to appreciate about the 20’s!

Are any of these favorites of yours?

For me (beside the Bit-O-Honey) it’s the Butterfinger, and I have a fun recipe that tastes remarkable close to them. Just take two Cheez-It crackers, put a dab of peanut butter between them and dip the mini-sandwich in melted chocolate almond bark. (Try it, you’ll be amazed!)

The Forgotten Daughter, the last book in this series, will be released October 1st. RT reviews had this to say about it--Robinson completes her Daughters of the Roaring Twenties series by exploring a dark problem of the era: human trafficking. With a courageous heroine and stalwart hero, the story moves quickly, losing nothing of the ‘20s atmosphere Robinson infuses into these stories. The addition of characters from past novels, Babe Ruth, a few gangsters and revealing secrets add to the fans’ pleasure.

Amazon link for the Forgotten Daughter