tasty things in life: tastykakes

My college roommate introduced me to Tastykakes. She was from outside of Philadelphia and she would bring them back from vacations or her mom would send her care packages with these little goodies tucked inside.

Getting letters or mail of any kind was incredibly exciting back in college, but care packages were something special. And these Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes were my favorite (with the Butterscotch Krimpets in a close 2nd place).

I didn’t think I’d ever have these little gems again post-college. They’re not sold in stores here on the West Coast – heck, back in college, they didn’t even have them in stock in Boston! I had to get my peanut butter chocolate fix with Drake’s Funny Bones (which I also love).

Luckily, a few of our area Philly Cheesesteak shops have taken up the reigns to provide these delicious treat in limited quantity to us San Diegans. If you’re in such a shop (such as Eddie’s, Gaglione Brothers, or Philly Frank’s – I’ve also seen them at Jersey Mike’s) that sells these little treats and you’ve never had one before, I highly recommend it.

Little round vanilla cake, peanut butter on top, all covered in chocolate.  A beautiful creation.


Do you have a favorite regional snack food?


12 thoughts on “tasty things in life: tastykakes

  1. PB Candycakes and Butterscotch Krimpets are my favorites, too! Since Travis is from PA, he introduced them to me on a visit back east. They also do a candy cane Krimpet during Christmas that’s really good. They all keep in the freezer nicely and eating a frozen PB Candycake is delightful.

    1. Oh, a candy cane krimpet sounds awesome! I’d probably only eat one though. Maybe I can get my old roommate to send me a box to stick in the freezer!

  2. Hey CC – Hope you guys get to try them! The ones I got here were from Gaglione Brothers, each place seems to carry different types. Last time I was in Eddie’s they only had dark chocolate kandy kakes, but that was awhile ago.

  3. I love that you featured these guys. These are my two favorites, too! I have actually had so many peanut butter kandy kakes over the years, that I can actually tell if they are super fresh or not. The cake has a certain flavor when they are (acquired taste which can only be learned) and the peanut butter part is slightly separated from the cake. Slightly embarrassing that I know that, but what can I say?! Philly rules and these are the best!

  4. hi mary – we went to eddie’s earlier this evening. had some philly cheese steaks, and yeah, some tasty kakes. man, those pb ones were super sweet. one bite and that was a sugar high already. i liked the butterscotch krimpets but could only handle about 1 piece. my husband liked the pb ones better and thought the krimpets didn’t have enough of a butterscotch taste to them. eddie’s actually had a great selection that day – about 5 or 6 diff’t kinds. i didn’t see the dark chocolate version you mentioned. i would have wanted to try that. next time!

    1. They are different for people with major sweet tooths! You might like the dark chocolate better since the chocolate coating is less sweet. Nice to know they’re getting in a good selection at Eddie’s!

  5. Do you remember a grocery store here years ago called Alpha Beta? I swear they used to sell them. Very tasty! Are Little Debbies regional? My youngest loves all their sweets. 🙂

  6. hi kellypea! 🙂

    re: alpha beta! i miss that store! there used to be one by my old high school down in otay mesa. it’s long gone now. i’ve seen little debbie’s at the stores here. my mom used to buy their snacks for us when we were young…

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