Coal candy or Candy coal is a confectionery in the United States,Coal candy recipe About.com Canada,Secret Toronto: The Unique Guidebook to Toronto's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes Scott Mitchell ECW Press, 2002 Spain, Italy, and elsewhere associated with the Christmas holiday and the tradition of giving lumps of coal instead of presents in the Christmas stockings of naughty children. In Japan, it is known as "kaitan'ame" (塊炭飴).
Coal executives were treated to candy coal in the 19th century at lavish dinners. In the 1970s it was reported that lobbyists for the coal industry passed out coal candy to Congressmen.One time harvest: reflections on coal and our future by Mike Jacobs 1975 300 pages
Kranz's Candies sold coal candy made out of licorice in Chicago during the early 20th century.Chicago's Loop Janice A. Knox, Heather Olivia Belcher Arcadia Publishing, 2002 - History - 95 pages
A version of coal candy once known as "Black Diamonds" is produced in the mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania by Mootz Candies. The candy was invented by Catherine Mootz in the 1950s and is anise flavored. Black in color and oily, they are made in irregular chunks and packaged in miniature buckets with a small hammer.500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane Stern and Michael Stern Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 4, 2009 448 pages page 101
They can be made of licorice.The Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant Cookbook: Family-Style Diner Delights from the Heart of Pennsylvania Tom Levkulic. Thomas Nelson Inc, Mar 17, 2004 232 pages
See also Rock candy
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