I brought back a massive stash of Fruit & Nut bars from England last fall -- Canadian Cadbury products are just not the same -- so I can certianly advise that the transcontinental Junk Food Road has other routes, too. :)

I agree about the Junior Mints. (And I'm not saying that just because I'm a "Seinfeld" fan.)

But I prefer the York Peppermint Patty "To Go" Bites. (And I'm not saying that just because "Seinfeld" actually showed a Peppermint Patty instead of a Junior Mint.) And they're made by Hershey's. Put a bag in the freezer. It's Hershey's chocolate, it's peppermint, it's delicious. No joke. :)

Expats we know load up on Milka bars on trips back to Germany!

Not just with chocolate - last year, I ferried a 4 pack of Heinz baked beans from Jakarta to Bangkok. One friend in Jakarta had been the UK and picked up some cans and a friend in Bangkok had begged for them to be brought over. Apparently the Asian ones (made in Australia IIRC) are not the same... :D

I'd say the best American candy to export is See's. We demolished most of a large box on Christmas Day... You can keep the Hershey's though - the comment about them tasting of wax was correct IMHO.

How could I forget--fortunately grahamb's screen name reminded me--add Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers to the list of things worth bringing.

Also, of course, I agree with other posters that there are some good local chocolate manufacturers; Moonstruck in Portland, or theo in Seattle are among them, even though a lot of their products are quite pricey and may be too sweet and fanciful for European tastes. See's is relatively reasonably priced, but a lot of the flavors haven't tested well with my European friends. Some people enjoy chocolate covered macadamia nut, as these are somewhat exotic (Morty Seinfeld: "Hey! You know what these cost, they're like 80 cents a nut"), but I wouldn't bring them unless you actually are from, or travelled to, Hawaii. Stay well clear of Godiva, it's the kind of gift that says, I thought of you, at the duty free shop, and I was not afraid to spend the money.

You didn't. That particular episode played to a lot of gross mis-perceptions and quite honestly was a big disappointment. Not the standard quality fare you'd expect from that show.

Malleys
 

http://www.malleys.com/

Whenever I go somewhere for business, I bring Malley's chocolate covered pretzels.

After the visit I field many phone calls asking how they can be purchased.

YMMV but dang are they good.

Mauna Loa Macadamia chocolates and cookies. Can't get more American....uh, Hawaiian than that. :D