Remember Brach’s Pick-A-Mix? This was the best part about going to the grocery store as a kid. My favorites were the Neapolitan Coconuts. The Milk Maid Royals 
The one thing that stands out in this picture to me more than anything are the red yarn ribbons in the little girl’s hair. Cindy Brady always wore them on the Brady Bunch. My mother didn’t like them and she never let me wear them. When I did wear ribbons, they were always satin, preferably double-sided.
Brach’s Candy
I don’t know whatever happened to the Brach’s Pick-A-Mix bins. You could always find them in grocery stores, but they just disappeared one day. It’s the one vintage brand I’ve never seen paraded on T-shirts, and it’s very difficult to find items with the old Brach’s logo. Images of the bins are also really hard to come by.
For another post on the a favorite candy of Generation X, visit Collecting Candy.
Where To Buy Brach’s Candies
There are several online candy companies that sell Brach’s Candy. I’ve had the best luck finding the Jelly Nougats
I was quietly sitting here before the sun rises, reminiscing of my childhood and found this thoughtful missive that inspired some youthful emotions.
Both summer vacations and Christmas trips to Grandma’s farm in Idaho would always be highlighted by Brach’s candies. Grandma would prepare the house (and her Chrysler land yacht) with plenty of bowls filled with jelly bean nugates, Neapolitan Coconuts, caramels, Royals, and hard candies like Butterscotchs and peppermints. My favorites were also the Neapolitan Coconuts.
By the time the week was over, nary a wrapper was to be found nor any latent piece candy. I was thorough in my salvage and overhaul efforts of those bowls.
Indeed, I would love to see a Crystal bowl on the table filled to overflowing Brach’s Candies again, but all that’s left is a rusty old file cabinet of memories tucked somewhere between my ears…. And a small chalice of caramels my beautiful wife bought at the grocery store yesterday, ?
Absolutely, positively adored your post about yesteryear and these delectable candy memories. ☺️
Thank you!
I would LOVE to see these back in the grocery stores. That was my favorite part of grocery shopping! Picking all my favorites…yum!!!!
Never could afford them but I sure stole a bunch of it.
You and half of Generation X. LOL!
Now we know why the candy bins eventually disappeared, lol.
Yup. Probably a big part of why they disappeared.
Me too.
How about the individually wrapped large cinnamon gummy bears❤
Please bring back the Brachs, Pick A Mix – what’s the big deal ???
I used to work as a vendor in some grocery stores in the early 2000’s around the northern MN/WI border. Remember seeing them back then, but seemed to have disappeared around 2005-2007. There was a sample box on the display (10cents each, or 3 for 25 cents or something), so I was dumping change in there several times a week grabbing a few candies.
I remember when the sample boxes started appearing! I really miss those Brach’s displays. They were the highlight of trips to the store with my mom.
Ahhhhhh. I remember the anticipation of getting to the part of the grocery store where the Pick-A-Mix stand was. I’d start watching my mom’s face to see if she would look over there or look at us to give us the “okay” signal. It was rare thing for us to be able to make room in the food budget for such a treat, but when we did–the chocolate ones filled with orange or cream nougat were my favorites. MMMmmmm!!
Loved the chocolate covered creams!!!!!!! I haven’t had much luck finding them
Last time I found them was more than 15 years ago at a store up north. The orange were my favorite.
Orange for me to.
The orange cream chocolates are exactly why I’m searching in here now!! My fav!!
Yum. Takes a special person to love orange cream chocolates. =) I like them!
Yup, the orange for me too, wish I could find them or something similar but no luck
I liked the sparkles fruit flavored candies and the gumball zingers
I have no memory of gumball zingers!
They were like cherry blowpops without the stick. I thought they were called “Gumdingers”.
Abbracabubble was the most recent name.
I don’t think those were Brach’s candies or from the Brach’s Pick-A-Mix bins.
Don’t forget Circus Peanuts by Brach’s! I loved filling those bags up with the white nougat and juju bee chunks. Bring those bins back!
Do you still make the gum zingers ?Their were red and looked like a fire ball..
I loved those! They were called abracabubble and yes you can still get them!! Here is a link from amazon: Amazon.com : SweetGourmet Abracabubble Cherry Hard Candy With Gum Center | Brach’s Bulk Wrapped Candy | (1Lb) : Grocery & Gourmet Food
https://www.amazon.com/Brachs-Abra-Cabubble-Cherry-Candy/dp/B00NY6307C
Thank you!
Hey I remember my pa keeping a bag, and would allow me a piece or two a day, they were very poor but made room for candy. Don’t remember anything that I did not love.
omg love this. My grandmother use to get me and my sister bagfuls of Brach’s candy, with all the flavors there. And back then, it wasn’t too big of a deal with all of it being out in the open like that, so one time, I decided to let my fingers do the walking, put some in my pocket, and when I got home with my grandmother, she was like “how did you get all of that extra? I have a lot here.” I was like, “um,,, I reached in the bag, when you weren’t looking.” She new better then that LOL.
Laura – You just made me realize that one of the universal experiences — a collective experience — of Gen-Xers the world over — was stealing Brach’s candy. LOL!!
No, the world all over was not stealing the candy. I grew up with the displays in the stores and lived the candy but never took one that wasn’t paid for.
Dont think those sweets were available outside North America.Instead we had “pick”n mix” most famously available in Woolworths and known to all gen x’ers as “pick ‘n nick” i.e. steal. Most likely a contributing factor to Woolworths going tits up in the UK
That’s so funny! I’ve never heard it called pick ‘n nick until now. Accurate!
I loved the coffee candy. It was so good! I wish they still made them.
Me too, and i have been looking for them or any trace of what happened to them but no one seems to remember they existed.
Same. Trying to find the Brach’s coffee candy I remember from the 70s. I can picture the wrapper with tiny coffee cups on it. With coffee being so big now, thought they could be popular again.
Bring back Brachs coconut neapolitan squares.many miss them.
Amen!
Yes, please!!
This is funny me n my mom was just talking bout those and the pick n mix stations
Brach’s was a sweet memory I shared with my mom. Thanks for stopping by!
I loved the fat chocolate candies with a filling. Some were raspberry or orange. I loved them. what were they called?
Right! I loved those. I think they were called cremes. I’ll have to do some research. I liked the raspberry ones!
I believe they were call Chocolate Cremes.
Do they still make these? I’ve tried looking for them and didn’t know what they were called. I want them so bad!
Royals. I liked the vanilla.
Has anyone found the chocolate cremes? I was going to order some for the holidays!
They need to bring the pick a mix back!! Oh how I miss it!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Mmmmmm!!
I miss picking from the buffet of candy in all the bins!
Amen they do
I recently found Brach’s Pick a Mix at the Topps market on Ft Myers Beach, Fl. Got a few handfuls of the milk maid caramels, slightly stale. About 2013 There was also a pick a mix at the Publix Market at Ft Walton Beach FL.
Thanks for letting us know! I love the Royales!
I wish I could buy just the Rum flavored Milk Royals caramels. They were the best.
I would love to be able to find a Pick A Mix display in my area, but just like many things from my era, they will never be seen again. Too bad, miss the old days.
That is so funny that you liked them. And, you have such great taste in food. It must be me! I liked the cinnamon discs, too. And butterscotch. =)
There’s a FB page for everything including “Bring Back Twigs.” Yes, I came back and updated the post. Sorry about that! They were difficult to unwrap. LOL!
Ha-ha the nougat jellies were my favorite – still love them although I rarely eat them! My palette was not sophisticated enough to enjoy coconut yet! My second favorite was the cinnamon discs – yum!
I loved the jelly nougats too. I found a bag of nougats at dollar General before Easter. But they are no longer thick rectangles. But flat rounds of candy. I miss the royals and the jelly
(Ha! Funny – I read this earlier on my Kindle but when I came back to comment, I forgot that you had called out the Neapolitans also. I remember they were often hard to unwrap, but I didn’t mind.)
Oh! I had forgotten all about these. I remember seeing them now, but my mom would rarely indulge in this kind of thing. I really liked the look and taste of the pink and white and brown ones. I guess they’re called Neapolitan Coconut Sundaes, I learn now, and, OH NO! Horrors! According to a couple of web sites, they’ve been discontinued. Just this summer. This is as bad as when I learned they no longer make Twigs.
I didnt like the jelly nougets or those weird sesmame ones. My favorite were Royals–YUM!!! We still have them here in NH at Market Basket.