This is one of my favorite candies ever! I first discovered it at the base gas station when I was stationed in Albuquerque.  After moving to Boston, I was absolutely unable to find it again, and went into a small period of mourning.  One of the main reasons I was excited to visit Spain was to retry this candy. 

It’s absolutely addictive.  A soft, sweet, cremey center - a bit chewy and fruity tasting, but the actual flavor of fruit will be forever indistinguishable to me.  A harder, licorice like exterior.  Lots of fun to peel the outer shell off and then enjoy the center.  I am totally unable to stop at half a bag of these - they’re extremely dangerous in that regard.  I ate loads of them in Spain and miss them terribly already.

This sort of licorice candy is very popular in Spain - the candy stores and grocery stalls are full of long strips of creme-filled licorice of all colors and flavors.  The Pico Balla is very representative of modern Spanish candy.  Yum!  I think surprisingly, Spain is going to win out as my favorite European candy country.

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You can buy Pico Balla here.  If you’ve never tried it before, I highly recommend it!