The Old-School Great Depression Candy You Can Find At Cracker Barrel

Candy connoisseurs who are bored with the same old Hershey and Mars products have numerous opportunities to explore lesser-known candies. At Dollar Tree, you may find some that have been discontinued (or you just thought they were), while Five Below has all the trendy candies you've seen on TikTok. (Which came first, Five Below or SweetTok?) If it's historical candies you're after, though, consider a road trip to your closest Cracker Barrel to stock up on retro treats without paying hefty shipping and handling fees charged by online candy retailers. Not only is this family restaurant-slash-general store one of the few places you'll find the nostalgic old-school candy called sherbet mints, but it also carries crunchy peanut butter bars that have been around since the 1930s.

This candy, which now goes by the name of Zebra Bars, is a crunchy concoction of peanuts and sugar syrup that has been compared to a chocolate-free Butterfinger bar. It is one of the original products made by Atkinson Candy Company in Lufkin, Texas, and dates back to 1932, a time when the Great Depression was in full swing. The company founders figured — and rightly so — that candy was one of the few fun things that was cheap enough for everyone to enjoy. Betting on the business paid off since the company and its candies are still going strong today.

Atkinson's Zebra Bars may not be featured on the Cracker Barrel website, but they're an old school candy that's been spotted in its stores. They're not a Cracker Barrel exclusive, however, since they're also sold at stores including Walmart and Blain's Farm and Fleet. If you don't recognize the name, this doesn't mean you've never seen the candy before, since its current moniker only dates back to mid-2025. Before that, the product was simply known as Peanut Butter Bars, a name which, for obvious reasons, could hardly be trademarked.

Zebra Bars are made from the exact same recipe that was developed 90+ years ago, although this hasn't been the case for some of Atkinson's other items, which have been tweaked to feature more natural ingredients and get rid of artificial colors. The company produces quite a few other nostalgic non-chocolate candies besides crunchy peanut butter bars, including Black Cow, Chick-O-Stick, and Mary Janes (the last-named can also be found at Cracker Barrel). Perhaps in an effort to shed that "old-timey" label, Atkinson is now marketing its candy to appeal to more modern concerns by pointing to the fact that Zebra Bars are gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and made from fresh-roasted peanuts. The new name has also allowed it to freshen up the packaging and even adopt a mascot, which is, of course, a zebra.