No trip to the Hawaii Island is complete without a visit to Big Island Candies. My taste buds had first been introduced to their wonderful creation of chocolate-dipped mac nut shortbread cookies during a fifth grade day trip.
The blend of smooth and crunchy, sweet and salty really made an impression on my taste palette, and it seems, they haven’t forgotten the taste! Whenever I am on the island, those cravings for chocolate-dipped shortbread take me straight to the Hilo storefront. I’ll usually buy a couple of boxes to take back to my Oahu family, without ever guaranteeing they will get there unopened.
Big Island Candies has since come up with a variety of chocolate-dipped flavors – including white chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel chocolate, mint chocolate, green tea chocolate; the list is seriously endless. On top of that, there’s the different cookie combos. Do you want regular shortbread or coffee shortbread? Lemon shortbread or coconut?
Don’t even get me started on their chocolate assortments and coffees… It can really be quite stressful shopping here. So many choices! Luckily, the shop caters to indecisive sweet-teeth by selling boxes of assorted flavors. That way, you can try all of the flavors without having to stress because we all know DESSERTS is STRESSED spelled backwards! Hence, the compulsive shopping and spending way more than our travel budget allows.
Big Island Candies has been around since 1977, earning numerous awards for their innovation in the cookie/candy/coffee departments. Although they’re known more for their cookies – they still manage to make other mouth-watering goodies. The company prides itself on using all-local ingredients – from the Kona coffee to the island eggs. Definitely a shop worth spending several sweet moments in!
Photo Courtesy: Makana Kane
BIG ISLAND CANDIES
• 585 Hinano St., Hilo, HI 96720 • Opens Mon-Sun 830am to 5pm • 808-933-5510 • www.bigislandcandies.com
