Review: Dunkin's Candy Bar Signature Lattes Are More Treat Than Trick

The fall season lasts a mere three calendar months, but the season's longevity is largely dictated by the menus of restaurants, fast food spots, and the ubiquitous coffee chains that dot the American landscape. Toward the end of fall menu season, a Halloween menu tends to pop up in October to scare up some fresh business. Burger King got creative this year with fun-shaped Vampire Nuggets and McDonald's dropped new Boo Buckets, while rival Wendy's is toying around again with the return of the Frosty Frights Kids' Meal. Dunkin' has really gotten into the spirit of the season over the last decade, and in 2025, it is looking to deliver more treats than tricks. The newest item whipped up in Dunkin's imaginative kitchen isn't leaning on pumpkins, bats, ghosts, or other ghoulish things that go bump in the night. The focus here is on the sweet stuff. That's right: This year, Halloween candy is featured in the chain's Candy Bar Signature Latte.

By its name alone, the Candy Bar Signature Latte sounds tailor-made to get us all in the mood for October 31. The real question is: Is this candy beverage dandy, or is it a bad sugar rush omen for the holiday ahead? I went to my nearest Dunkin' and took these lattes out for a spin. I literally took candy from a stranger — keep reading to learn whether that was a wise decision. 

This Halloween season, Dunkin' is introducing a new latte to its lineup that will be available until the big day: the Candy Bar Signature Latte. While there have been candy bar-inspired Dunkin' drinks in the past — like Milky Way, Almond Joy, and Heath flavored beverages — this "signature" candy bar selection is brand new. The latte, ordered either hot or cold, is standard-issued with whole milk. The espresso is dressed up with chocolate, toffee, pretzel, and peanut butter flavors, and the drink is topped with whipped cream, mocha drizzle, and candy bar pieces. The beverage can also be ordered as an iced coffee or a frozen coffee.

In addition to the latte, Dunkin's Halloween menu is headlined by the return of the Spider Donut, which features a chocolate-glazed Munchkin as the spider's body. This donut is also the inspiration for the lid that tops a special Halloween Munchkin bucket, and a slew of merch including straws, keychains, clothing, hats, and costumes.

The Candy Bar Signature Latte and other Candy Bar-flavored drinks are landing at participating Dunkin' locations nationwide starting October 15. They will remain on menus through October 31.

The drinks are available in three sizes — small, medium, and large — and the lattes can be ordered hot or iced. Also available are a Candy Bar Iced Coffee (the only drink in the lineup I didn't try) and a Candy Bar Frozen Coffee. The prices will vary by location, but at my local Manhattan Dunkin', a small Candy Bar Iced Latte runs $3.99, a medium for $4.39, and a large for $4.79. At the same locations, the hot Candy Bar Signature Latte is sold in the same three sizes for $3.49, $3.89, and $4.29, and the Frozen Coffee for $4.09, $4.79, and $5.49, respectively. These drinks are completely customizable, from the dairy type to the ice level, and you can even sub in decaf brew. Additional costs may apply to add-ons, delivery orders, or orders placed through third-party apps and websites.

The lattes and other candy bar drinks are available, while supplies last, anytime Dunkin' is open for business. They can be ordered in-store or at the drive-thru where available. Advance ordering for dine-in, pick-up, or delivery can be placed through Dunkin's app and website.

The Candy Bar Signature Latte is a special brew comprised of milk, brewed espresso coffee, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, water, brown sugar, and whipped light cream. It's topped with a mocha-flavored syrup and a candy bar mixture that includes chocolate cookie pieces, mini pretzels, rainbow chocolate chips, and toffee pieces. It contains milk, soy, and wheat, and may also contain eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts like almonds, coconuts, and pecans. The frozen coffee version also adds a coffee syrup swirl and liquid cane sugar into the mix.

A medium Candy Bar Signature Latte (hot or iced) nets a drinker 440 calories with 14 grams of total fat, 65 grams of total carbohydrates, and 58 grams of total sugars. A medium Candy Bar Frozen Coffee contains 820 calories with 31 grams of total fat, 127 grams of total carbohydrates, and a whopping 105 grams of total sugars.

With the air getting crisp and chilly these days, I figured there was no better way to start this taste test than with the only hot beverage in the Candy Bar lineup. I popped off the plastic lid and was greeted by a sad presentation of the hot Candy Bar Signature Latte. It's no fault of my Dunkin' barista, as what I imagined was once a tall spray of whipped cream had turned into a muddled pool. Obviously, it was no match for the warm drink. Whatever toppings the cream once held were now drowned in the coffee. The only visible survivors from the wreckage were floating pieces of pretzel; rather than being crunchy, they just turned into a mushy paste.

I brought the drink up to my nose for a quick whiff, and it had a strong mocha smell to it. With the whipped cream melted into the drink, it formed a rich flavor with the mocha drizzle, but it all seemed like a waste, as the candy bar parts didn't come through. Sip after sip, my mouth held out hope to taste any of the candy pieces, but alas, all I got was pasty pretzel bits.

I already knew the iced version of the Candy Bar Signature Latte was going to be a step up from its warm sibling. The evidence was right there in the whipped cream, which held its own atop the iced latte. Finally, I was able to see what this "candy bar" mix was all about. Since pretzels were all I had encountered in the hot drink, I started with them here. While they fared much better with their structure intact, they were a tad stale. Oh well.

The good news is that all the other candy pieces fulfilled the promise this drink touted. The chocolate cookie pieces had a nice, firm texture and a solid taste. The rainbow chocolate chips were essentially enlarged nonpareils, which had an indestructible shell that retained a large crunch in a small package. My favorite were the toffee pieces, which looked like rock candy pebbles. They, too, had an excellent crunch that gave way to a beautifully sweet flavoring.

When sipping through a straw, though, none of the above treats were to be found. It just tasted like a typical, overly milky, cold Dunkin' drink. The real fun began when I used the straw to stir the cream and candied elements into the liquid. After that, I did get tastes of the candies, with the rainbow chips being standout pulls from the straw.

With a successful test drive of the Candy Bar Iced Signature Latte in my rearview mirror, I was confident that the Candy Bar Frozen Coffee would also result in a net positive. With a colder, thicker body of liquid, the shipped crew was holding up really well, and the candy was well-highlighted as Dunkin' intended.

The candy pieces on the top were able to retain their original consistency, so I decided to spoon-feed myself, as if I were indulging in an ice cream treat. After somehow stopping myself from doing this over and over, I switched to sipping it with a straw and instantly gave it a seal of approval. While more slushy than frozen, it was easily the best drink base of the three, and a suitable partner for the textured toppings, rich mocha drizzle, and candy flavoring. After mixing the top elements into the base, the drink took on an even more exciting form — a pseudo-Dairy Queen-like Blizzard. That's quite the sugar rush to add to any morning!

Because I tried the hot Candy Bar Signature Latte first, I later returned to it to see if it was somehow improved by sitting around. While it surprisingly retained its heat for longer than imagined, I still only tasted those dreaded floating pieces of pretzels that were akin to soggy logs. The drink itself had a nice chocolatey taste to it, but I would advise skipping the hot one, as bolder choices exist with the colder options.

The Candy Bar Iced Latte is a smooth sipper. Heavy on the dairy, it's almost like chocolate milk with the bonus of abundant candied textures. While some of the candy pieces are too big to make it through the straw, the chocolate-shelled pieces kept coming through with no issue, and to much delight.

I can't imagine finishing any of these drinks, but I would still highly recommend trying the Candy Bar Frozen Coffee above all else. First, it will last the longest, which is key when you're grabbing one on the way into the office or classroom. Also, being frozen, it does a better job of keeping the candy textures and flavors in place and delivering the intended "signature" taste. I really loved those crunchy, sweet toffee pieces, and I wished they were a little smaller so the straw could rescue them from the bottom of the cup. Be careful with this drink, though — it's highly seductive, and too many sips in a row will haunt you with a spell of brain freeze.