When it comes to holidays, Thanksgiving can be pretty predictable. Even if you’re lukewarm about turkey, there’s a good chance you’ll roast one anyway (88 percent of people do, according to the National Turkey Federation). And you probably stick to roughly the same menu, year after year, even if you spend hours scrolling for inspo for new sides, appetizers and big-batch cocktails to get you through all that togetherness. It’s a holiday rooted in tradition—even if those traditions may not be historically accurate—but this year, a handful of brands are betting big that you’ll want to mix things up in the most Willy Wonka-esque of ways. You can now have your turkey…and drink it, too.
Like Violet Beauregarde enjoying a feast while chewing a single stick of gum, you can down an entire Thanksgiving dinner by noshing on a handful of candy corn, or while sipping soda. (Though, thankfully, minus that whole turning-into-a-blueberry part.) Companies ranging from Brach’s to Salt & Straw are infusing their classic treats with traditional Turkey Day flavors—like stuffing, apple pie and green bean casserole—to get you psyched for the holiday.
After sampling Thanksgiving Dinner candy corn, we’re not sure we’re ready to snack on these on the regular, but there’s a certain intrigue to trying them. You know, in a “how closely could this cone of waxy sugar mimic the actual taste of cranberry sauce?” Or even a middle-school-ish, “ew, this is gross! Try it!” sort of way. It’s a conversation starter, and a way to bond while distracting relatives from the “why are you still single?” or “what did you do to your hair?” topics that inevitably come up as everyone waits for the bird to get out of the oven.
If you want to mix things up this year, try one of these Thanksgiving dinner-themed treats.
